Wheaton-Warrenville South rallies past St. Charles East 12-5 after big second and fifth innings

WHEATON, Ill. - St. Charles East jumped out early Tuesday, but Wheaton-Warrenville South answered with two decisive crooked-number innings and pulled away for a 12-5 win over the Fighting Saints.

The turning point came in the bottom of the second, when the Tigers erased a 3-0 deficit with a five-run inning built on five hits. They added another five-run outburst in the fifth to stretch the margin to 11-5, capitalizing on several Saints miscues and taking firm control at 1993 Tiger Trail.

St. Charles East wasted little time taking the lead. Kyle LaRose opened the game by getting hit by a pitch, and after a one-out single from James Feigleson, Gavin Fuscone drove a two-run home run to give the Saints a 3-0 advantage in the top of the first. LaRose continued to create pressure throughout the afternoon, reaching base twice with a walk and a hit by pitch, scoring two runs and stealing a base.

After Wheaton-Warrenville South surged ahead in the second, the Saints chipped away in the top of the third. Feigleson brought home his second RBI of the game with a groundout to third, trimming the deficit. The Tigers answered again in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI double to make it 6-4.

Feigleson and Fuscone supplied most of the Saints' offense. Feigleson finished 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. His solo shot in the top of the sixth, his fifth home run of the season, accounted for St. Charles East's final run. Fuscone also went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs with his first-inning homer.

Wheaton-Warrenville South got that run back in the bottom of the sixth on its 11th hit of the game, another RBI double, and closed out the 12-5 result. For St. Charles East, the early burst from LaRose, Feigleson and Fuscone provided a strong opening, but the Tigers' second- and fifth-inning rallies proved to be the difference.