Bartlett outfielder Myles Zilinsky has come a long way since last season, possibly a greater distance than the two balls he launched Tuesday against Schaumburg.
A .218 hitter last year, Zilinsky powered two home runs over the fence in right-center off different pitchers and led a powerful Bartlett attack in a comeback from a 5-0 deficit, but the Hawks couldn’t make the little plays and suffered a 7-5 nonconference loss at home to the unbeaten Saxons.
“In the offseason I’ve been working on my swing, making it more short and compact, not trying to do too much with the ball, not trying to pull it,” Zilinsky said. “I’ve been working the middle and away and trying to pull it only when I can.
“I know i’m more of a gap, line-drive hitter. But the home runs will come if you do the right things.”
The first home run off Saxons starter and winner Brendan Beck came after Cameron Mays singled in the bottom of the third inning with Schaumburg (4-0-1) leading 5-0.
The Hawks (1-1) kept on hitting in an 11-hit attack that included five for extra bases. Cory Krolikowski doubled and Jordan Flint singled him home after the left-handed hitting Zilinsky had homered.
“We expect to hit the ball this way,” Flint said. “We hit the (tar) out of the ball all summer season.”
Zilinsky did exactly that again in the fifth after Mays had doubled off reliever Christian Poulsen. He hit a 3-1 fastball for the first homer, but launched his second homer on an 0-1 curve to cut the Hawks’ deficit to 6-5.
Zilinsky did well enough in summer ball to earn an NCAA Division I scholarship to Oakland, Mich., even without a good junior season in high school.
“Myles has been a dedicated player,” Bartlett coach Chris Pemberton said. “He kind of had some struggles last year, but didn’t let that deter him coming into this year and has been a solid worker.
“He got through that thing last year and I’m looking for a big year for him.”
Zilinsky and the other Hawks hitters couldn’t complete the comeback against Poulsen. Zilinsky grounded out leading off the seventh and Bartlett went down in order. They had a two-out single by Austin Hilbert in the sixth, but Mays, who went 3-for-4, flew to short for the final out.
“Poulsen has been great in relief,” Schaumburg coach Cal Seely said after Poulsen got the save. “He’s a tough kid. He gave up the big home run, but he doesn’t quit and once he gets in a rhythm he’s tough to stop.”
Wild pitches scored two of Schaumburg’s runs, including a critical sixth run in the fourth. Two wild pitches in the sixth by reliever Scott Palmer put a runner in position to score on a sacrifice fly.
Christopher Broccolino drove in three Schaumburg runs with two hits.
“For an early season game, after being off for a week, we came out and hit the ball hard in a lot of occasions — that part of the game wasn’t the issue,” Pemberton said. “Overall, we’ve got to get a little bit tighter on our defense and capitalize on situations where we can shut the door.
“We had a bunch of 0-2 (counts) on batters that we didn’t finish off. We’ve got to be more complete facing hitters and also take care of the ball between our battery.”
