Belleville West pitching its way to the top of the conference

Pitching has been the foundation for Belleville West’s recent turnaround.

The Maroons, who were projected as a middle-of-the-pack team in the Southwestern Conference, instead have won eight in a row to improve to 13-6 overall and 7-0 in the league.

West pitchers have allowed three or fewer runs in all eight victories.

“We feel like we have two No. 1s in Jack (Lanxon) and Luke (Vallandingham), and knocking on the door is Chad (Sauls),” Maroons coach Todd Baltz said. “We’ve used him a lot in relief, but if we had a little bit busier weeks, I think he would be in some of those starts.

“We’re in the part of our season where we’re pretty much down to two games a week. But yeah, the pitching’s been producing and keeping us in games and we’ve been able to score enough runs. Those are the reasons we’re doing well at this stretch of the season. It starts with pitching, no matter what time of year it is.”

The Maroons were 5-6 after a 2-1 loss to Salem on April 1. The winning streak began April 4 against Collinsville and has included victories over Edwardsville and O’Fallon.

Lanxon, a senior left-hander, is 5-0 with a 2.14 ERA in six starts, with 43 strikeouts in 36 innings. Vallandingham, a senior right-hander, is 1-0 with a 1.26 ERA in three starts, while Sauls is 3-1 with an 0.70 ERA in seven games and three starts.

In addition to his pitching masterpieces, Lanxon also is the Maroons’ offensive leader with a .393 average, six doubles, seven triples and nine RBIs in 61 at-bats.

“Jack’s been around for three years and brings a lot of that confidence,” Baltz said. “It’s kind of spread throughout the team. They know that we can compete. We’ve been playing with confidence, and that never hurts.

“Jack’s probably our best player. He doesn’t do a lot of talking and he’s not a rah-rah kind of guy, but he certainly leads by example and he does all the right things every day. A lot of guys see that and respect that, certainly.”

Other contributors on offense include sophomore second baseman Will Lanxon (.344, seven RBIs), senior third baseman Logan Betz (.333, six RBIs), senior right fielder Nick Westerheide (.333, five doubles, team-high 12 RBIs) and senior shortstop Buddy Gore (.308, six RBIs), who has struck out just once in 52 at-bats. Ty Shylanski, a senior catcher, has nine RBIs.

“Offensively, we’re better that what our numbers show,” Baltz said. “We’ve been getting key hits here and there. One thing we talk a lot about is when you get runners in scoring position, you’ve got to capitalize. We’ve left a few guys on base at bad times, which has left us vulnerable. But we find a way to score just enough runs, it seems like. When your pitching is holding the other team down, you don’t have to score a lot of runs.”

Baltz said recently that he would like the Maroons to be able to fly under the radar, but with an extended winning streak, that’s become impossible.

“We’ve knocked off a couple of good teams and put a streak together,” he said. “It’s not going to go unnoticed, and I’m sure people are noticing a little bit. Either way, it doesn’t make a difference. You’ve still got to come to play each day. Winning or losing, you’ve got to bring your best game every day and hopefully come out on top.”

West’s next seven games coming are against Granite City, Belleville East, Highland, Edwardsville, Collinsville, Alton and Freeburg. The games against East (Thursday), Highland (Friday), Edwardsville (May 2), Collinsville (May 4) and Alton (May 9) are at home.

“The goals are the same. Come mid-May, you want to be playing your best and preparing for the postseason,” said Baltz, who would like to see improved approaches at the plate and a crisper mental focus. “Any time you get to this point of the season and give teams extra outs or give away at-bats with runners in scoring position, that can come back and bite you.”

This story was originally published April 24, 2017 at 3:25 PM with the headline "Belleville West pitching its way to the top of the conference."