For Kyle Reeves, the third attempt to face Wheaton Warrenville South proved to be a charm. The senior left-hander worked around a base runner in every inning except the last Monday, allowing only one run in the Kahoks’ 2-1 victory at Fletcher Field.

Kyle Reeves pitches against Wheaton Warrenville South on March 21, 2014 / photo by Roger Starkey

Reeves was scheduled to face the Chicago-area team each of the last two seasons, but never saw the field. Two years ago he was hit in the head by an errant throw while warming up before the game, sending him to the hospital. Last year a deluge of snow cancelled the game.

The Kahoks’ bats were dormant for five innings Monday against Wheaton Warrenville South –  managing only an infield single, a walk and a fielder’s choice – before Aaron Peskar tallied his second game-winning hit in three games to send the Kahoks to a 6-0 start, and give Reeves his staff-leading second victory.

First basemen Nick Chance led off the bottom of the sixth by working starting pitcher Connor Ostrander for a walk, one of only two the right-hander allowed. Chance’s at bat, in which he fouled off several pitches before earning a base-on-balls, set the tone for the inning, Head Coach Pete Trapp said.

Chance advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Spencer Thomas and advanced to third on a bad-hop single from shortstop Grant Bauer. “You get a little luck bounce your way…next thing you know you have pressure on,” Trapp said.

Bauer added to the pressure by stealing second base unchallenged. Chance and Bauer represented the first Kahoks to advance past first base in the game. Peskar followed with a hard-hit groundball into center field to score the winning runs. Trapp said his senior outfielder and pitcher is a clutch player.

“He’s been a kid that I like having around,” Trapp said. “He’s not fancy, he does what he’s supposed to do when he’s supposed to do it.”

In addition to the two game-winning hits, Peskar is batting .473 and has a victory on the mound this season.

The Tigers scored their only run in the second inning when a double and passed ball set-up a sacrifice fly. Right fielder Aaron Ortiz fielded the sacrifice fly and made a strong throw to the cut-off man, whose throw beat the runner to the plate, but the ball skipped off backup catcher Mitch Reising’s glove.

Reeves’ first walk of the game, to Ben Flores, in the third, nearly changed the game. Flores advanced to second on a passed ball and third on a groundout before another passed ball sent the Tigers’ lead-off hitter scampering for home. Reising raced to the backstop, turned and fired to Reeves covering the plate to get Flores by a wide margin and keep Collinsville within a run.

The senior southpaw had to work around another jam in the sixth. Wheaton sandwiched a hit around two walks to load the bases with one out. Reeves responded by striking out the second place hitter and inducing a groundout from the third place hitter.

Reeves said he is more focused with runners on base.

“I feel like, when there are people on, you have to focus more because that pitch could mean the difference between getting out of it or the flood gates opening,” Reeves said.

With the first lead of the game, Reeves, who had allowed at least one runner in the first six innings, dispatched of the Tigers in order in the seventh.

“They came out and got two runs and I was pumped,” Reeves said. “I was ready to go in the seventh inning, I was locked in.”

CHS plays at O’Fallon Tuesday in a 4:30 contest. Pro prospect Tanner Houck gets the ball for the Kahoks in their first conference game of the season.