The Jam Guy: Anthony Johnson wiggles out of trouble as Batavia takes series from St. Charles North. ‘I guess I’ve always done that.’

Senior pitcher Anthony Johnson has a knack for getting out of jams for Batavia.

It’s nothing new, really.

“I guess I’ve always done that,” Johnson said. “My freshman year, I would always load the bases in the first inning and somehow I would get out of it every time.

“I guess it just puts the pressure on me to pitch well and then I pitch well.”

Johnson went to that well again Tuesday, and his experience in those tense situations came in handy during a 4-0 DuKane Conference win over St. Charles North.

While Johnson and reliever Blake Sotir ended up allowing 15 runners, they stranded 14 and the Bulldogs also cut down the other one on the bases.

That allowed Batavia (17-10-1, 14-7) to close out the series by taking two of three games from St. Charles North (17-12, 12-8).

Kudos to the starter on the mound.

“He seemed to be making the pitches at the right time,” Batavia coach Alex Beckmann said of Johnson. “He put himself in those spots and really executed when he needed to.

“That was great to see from him. He kind of finds another level of focus when he needs to. He definitely showed that (Tuesday).”

The North Stars left the bases loaded in the second, fifth and sixth innings.

Johnson recorded a strikeout to escape the second and induced a fly out to finish off the fifth for Batavia. Sotir got a pop out to end the sixth.

“I’m just excited to pitch,” Johnson said. “I like to go out there. I like to compete and help my team win as much as possible. I just go out there and pitch.”

Johnson only hits the upper 70s with his fastball, but he finds a way to wiggle out of tough situations while working in tandem with catcher Henry Saul.

“I like to mix up my pitches with curveballs and sliders,” Johnson said. “I developed a new two-seam (fastball) two weeks ago thanks to my pitching coach.

“That helps a lot. My catcher being there, he’s great behind the plate. I love pitching to him.”

Johnson went 5 2/3 innings, allowing no runs on three hits and four walks. He struck out five.

“This was the hardest I’ve seen him throw,” Beckmann said. “He’s not going to overpower many people, but he’s just a good baseball player.

“Good hitter, good pitcher, can play the field if we need him.”

After taking a series from DuKane Conference champion St. Charles East, the North Stars took a step back in losing to Batavia.

Clutch hitting was the main culprit, according to St. Charles North coach Todd Genke.

“It was unfortunate,” Genke said. “You come out and your goal is to get guys on base. You try to execute and move those guys across the plate, and for whatever reason, it didn’t happen.

“We’ve been having some issues with that. Guys are getting on base and we’re not getting that big hit. We don’t get shut out at home very often. It just happened.”

Batavia scratched across runs in the first, second, fourth and sixth to support Johnson.

Charlie Saul singled in his brother Henry in the first. Eric Newberry singled and scored on an error in the second. Henry Saul doubled in Newberry in the fourth.

Alex Taylor singled in Austin Winslow in the sixth to cap the scoring.

Johnson also made his case to be in the playoff rotation for the Bulldogs, who have a final nonconference tuneup Friday against Kaneland at Northwestern Medicine Field in Geneva.

“We have some options,” Beckmann said. “We don’t really have one dominant guy. We have to think about that the next few days, what we want to do.

“We have some starters for the playoffs, and Anthony is definitely one of them.”

Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.