One thing Hinsdale Central baseball coach Tom Dorrance won't do is rest on the laurels of his team's promising start to the season.

Despite getting off to one of the program's best starts ever, he didn't like what he saw Saturday when the Red Devils suffered their first loss of the season and split a West Suburban Conference Silver Division doubleheader with York.

"We didn't bring a whole lot of tenacity," Dorrance said. "We didn't bring a killer instinct with us and we've got to fix that. We're better than we showed and we have to focus."

After losing the opener 9-6 on a three-run home run in the sixth inning, Hinsdale Central (13-1, 4-1 in Silver) bounced back to win the second game 9-7 in Hinsdale._ Hinsdale Central led 2-0 in the first game on an RBI single by Brett Morse (3 for 3) and RBI double by Drew Bailey, but York erupted for six runs against ace Nick Kurash in the third inning to grab a 6-2 lead. Kurash (4-0) struggled with his control (6 walks, 2 hit batters), but didn't suffer the loss because the Red Devils rallied with three runs in the bottom of the third and one in the fifth to tie the game at 6-6. Mark Noth (2 for 3, 2 runs) and Morse had RBI singles and Alex Bellusci picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Bellusci then tied the game with a two-out RBI single in the fifth.

York (6-8, 4-4 in Silver) regained the lead for good in the sixth on a three-run homer by Kevin Sullivan and the Red Devils went down in order in the sixth and seventh innings.

"There's a little pressure," Bailey said of staying perfect. "I think we relaxed a little too much. It was hard losing our first game, but we didn't play our best and we bounced back and played better in the second game."

Hinsdale Central enjoyed a 6-0 cushion after two innings in the second game. Noth had an RBI double and Colin Cimala blasted a three-run homer in the first. Andrew Nicholas belted a two-run homer in the second inning.

York scored five runs in the fourth to get as close as 6-5, but the Red Devils tacked on three runs in the fifth on an RBI single by Sam Katz (2 for 3, 2 runs) and two-run double by Bailey (2 for 3) to take a 9-5 lead. They held on in the seventh when York scored twice and had the tying runs on second and third.

"I've been struggling a little bit, so just getting back in there and starting to hit was nice," Bailey said. "Everyone is going to have their struggles and they will break out of it sooner or later. And I just broke out of it today."

Kasey Ourada (3-0) was the winning pitcher, allowing four earned runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and three walks.

So did the Red Devils get a little too comfortable with their strong start?

"That's human nature," Dorrance said. "I guess I can't rip them apart for being humans. I'm not getting down on the kids. We're a good solid ballclub and I'm confident that they have it in them, but they have to make darned sure they bring it with them every day. After our first 12 wins, it was a little disappointing to come out here and play like we did today."

On April 11, Hinsdale Central beat Willowbrook 6-2 to sweep their nonconference series as Anthony Fountas threw a complete game, allowing one earned run on four hits with five strikeouts and three walks. Noth ripped an RBI double, while Nicholas, Tobi Adeyemi and Sam Katz added RBI singles. Katz also had an RBI sacrifice fly, and Morse scored twice.Hinsdale Central plays a key Silver series against Lyons Township (13-3, 8-1) beginning with an 11 a.m. doubleheader Saturday, April 22, in Western Springs.


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