Published: May 13, 2008 06:49 am         

Janesky blanks Hilltoppers

Danville has won two straight against Schlarman

DANVILLE — Sophomore Blake Janesky followed his scouting report and his instincts on Monday.

Janesky struck out 10 — seven looking — as he tossed a three-hit shutout to lead the Vikings past the Schlarman Hilltoppers 5-0 at Danville Stadium.

“I didn’t even know that I had that many strikeouts,’’ said Janesky. “I used a lot of breaking pitches because they didn’t hit those very well.

“I knew they didn’t hitting breaking balls well from the scouting report, but I kind of learned from the game as well. Once I get going, I just keeping going with it.’’

Danville coach Gary Gritton said Monday’s performance is what he has come to expect from his sophomore right-hander, who improved to 6-3 and the Vikings are now 15-11.

“It’s amazing what a little confidence can do,’’ Gritton said. “Blake has struggled early recently and he has had a tough time getting out of the first innings.

“It got a little rocky there for a little bit with two outs and two on, but he bowed his neck and pitched out of it.’’

That was the only inning that Schlarman (18-11-1) had a runner reach third against Janesky and the only frame where more than one batter reached base.

“He threw well, he changed speeds and hit spots,’’ Woodworth said. “He did great job all day of hitting corners and he got a lot of good pitches in there with two strikes.

“In baseball, you will get beat sometimes, and we flat out got beat by Janesky today.’’

Less than a week ago, Janesky had probably his worst varsity outing.

He lasted just 2– innings against the Urbana Tigers, allowing 11 runs, seven earned on eight hits.

“My arm was real sore after the Urbana game, but I’ve been icing and doing a lot of running,’’ Janesky said. “It felt the best that it has felt in a few weeks.

“Everything was working for me today. I just had to get a good start and everything started to fall into place.’’

Senior shortstop Chadd Snyder admitted it was one of the better games by Janesky.

“I made two errors today and both times Blake came back with good pitches and got out of those innings without giving up any runs,’’ Snyder said. “It’s great to have a pitcher that can take pressure off of you in the field because you know he is going to shut a team down when you needed it the most.’’

While Snyder was disappointed in a couple of fielding miscues, he more than made up for them at the plate.

He went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple and three runs scored for the Vikings as he got their offense rolling against Hilltopper starter Vinnie Miller (4-4).

“It took a while, but I was finally able to get a few hits,’’ Snyder said. “I just try to get on base any way that I can, because I know the guys behind me can drive me home.’’

That’s what happened in both the first and third innings for Danville.

Snyder led off the bottom of the first with a double as Schlarman’s Matt Chamberlain struggled with the late afternoon sun.

“Everyone knows this is one of the toughest right fields to play at this time of the day,’’ Woodworth said.

Snyder advanced to third on a Brandon Jones groundout and scored on a wild pitch to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead.

Two innings later, Snyder drove a 2-1 pitch off the left-field wall for a triple.

With one out in the inning, he scored on a Logan Vance double to right and Tyler Burton followed with a two-run double to right center and Danville had extended its lead to 4-0.

“Those guys in the middle of lineup came up with some big hits in that third inning,’’ Gritton said. “Burton really had a big hit. When he stays in the middle of the field, he is dangerous.’’

Both Janesky and Snyder admitted that Monday’s victory is a good way for the Vikings to start their final week of the regular season. Danville plays at Rantoul tonight.

For Schlarman, Woodworth said Monday’s game is good preparation for Thursday’s Class 1A regional semifinal contest at Gifford against either Salt Fork or Fisher.

“Janesky is one of the better pitchers in the area and it’s a good tuneup for us before Thursday’s regional,’’ he said. “The main goal is to crank things up emotionally and try to compete. As the day went on, we continued to compete.’’

Danville has now won two straight over Schlarman.