South Elgin’s Zacharia Barkho had a sinking feeling Monday when he arrived at the ballpark.
The junior right-hander knew he was late for practice Saturday, which meant he wasn’t going to be playing Monday. As he prepared for Tuesday’s start at West Aurora, he needed a boost.
“To be honest with you, my boys got me hyped up,” Barkho said. “I was late to practice Saturday, didn’t play (Monday). I was very upset. My boys got me hyped up coming out (Tuesday).
“Ready to throw some gas and get them out. I wanted that win.”
Barkho learned his lesson and did just what he was hoping to do Tuesday in a 7-1 Upstate Eight Conference victory, outdueling West Aurora ace Zach Toma for the pitching win.
Barkho went 5 1/3 innings for the Storm (11-9, 7-1), striking out seven without a walk. He allowed the only run and gave up seven hits, all singles. Connor Lund and Jack Sparacino each had two hits and scored twice. Justin Pold scored twice and Quentin Albert added two hits.
Oscar Alexander, Chase Yusi and Toma tallied two hits apiece for West Aurora (18-3, 9-2).
Barkho, meanwhile, wiggled out of big jams in the both second and third innings and South Elgin rewarded him with three runs in the top of the fourth to help him settle in.
“Pitching with a lead is different,” Barkho said. “You get to get into your groove a little bit more. We just played some small ball, bunted the ball, got people around. And it worked out really well.”
Barkho threw his fastball, but mixing his off-speed pitches was the secret of his success Tuesday, much as it has been in his past three outings.
“The curveball was working well,” Barkho said. “I feel like they were pretty off-balance with it. They started catching up to it so I had to switch to a change-up. That started working pretty well for me.
“I felt really comfortable.”
South Elgin coach Jim Kating has noticed a difference in Barkho since the team returned from spring break.
“We came back from our spring trip and kind of learned about our team and ourselves,” Kating said. “He started well against Glenbard East and Lake Park, and I think other people followed.
“He’s been steadfast. His focus and his competitiveness have really shown the last three times.”
In those three victories, two of which Barkho was credited with wins, Barkho pitched 19 1/3 innings, striking out 20 while allowing two runs on 13 hits and a pair of walks.
This was his most impressive win, going toe-to-toe with Toma, one of the area’s hottest pitchers.
“His last three outings have been outstanding,” Kating said of Barko. “He wanted the challenge. He wanted to pitch. He wanted to get us back on the winning side. He did a fantastic job.”
The Blackhawks had plenty of chances, leaving runners on second and third in both the second and third innings. West Aurora coach John Reeves was impressed with how Barkho worked.
“It looked like he was just pounding the zone,” Reeves said of Barkho. “When it came time to execute a pitch, he executed the pitch.”
Because of that, Barkho has turned into South Elgin’s ace, although he didn’t expect that to happen coming into the season.
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” Barkho said. “I knew I just had to come out and play some ball for the boys. I’ve had a fun season.
“Personally, I think I can still get better. I think I haven’t seen my peak yet. I still want to keep getting better, throwing faster, better placement. I want to see zero runs up there every time out.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
