By Drake Skleba

LOCKPORT – Historic Ed Flink Field in Lockport, under the lights, on a beautiful, warm late April night …

Not quite.

With Friday’s 7 p.m. game-time temperatures hovering just above 40 degrees, Homewood-Flossmoor and Lockport took the field in a crucial Southwest Suburban Conference Blue Division game.

Lockport junior right-hander Eric Duzan (3-1) and senior reliever Rob Walus shut down the Vikings as cold as the late April temperatures. Duzan and Walus combined on a three-hit shutout as Lockport defeated H-F 3-0. Duzan outdueled H-F's Heartland Community College-bound lefty Danny Lietz (5-3).

Nine Porter hitters batted against Lietz and nine Porter batters were retired in the first three innings.

Lockport (13-9; 4-3) picked up two unearned runs against Lietz as the H-F (16-7; 4-3) defense committed two crucial errors in the fourth inning. Porter leadoff man junior Ted Snidanko led off the fourth with a single. Snidanko picked up the first of three Porter stolen bases in the inning against Lietz. Porter senior second baseman Josh Altman laid down a beautiful bunt down the third base line and reached base as the Viking catcher fired the ball down the first base line.  Snidanko danced home with the first run of the game.

Later in the inning, Porter junior first baseman Dan Sullivan hit a roller to the H-F second baseman with the bases full of Porters. The throw to the plate was low allowing Altman to score the second unearned run of the inning.

Meanwhile Duzan was completing a masterpiece against the Vikings. Starting with an inning-ending Tommy Hook to 2B Altman to 1B Sullivan double play, Duzan proceeded to knock down nine consecutive Viking hitters through the fifth inning.

“I really had my curveball working tonight,” said Duzan. “I got ahead of a lot of hitters and my defense played well behind me.”

In the sixth, Sullivan poked an RBI single through a pulled-in Viking infield, giving Duzan and the Porters a 3-0 lead as the game headed to the seventh.

“Eric shut out a good team tonight and we played excellent defense,” said Sullivan. “I faced a quality pitcher in Lietz. I just wanted to put the ball in play and get the runners over.”

Duzan walked his first batter of the game to lead off the top of the seventh. Porter head coach Andy Satunas quickly went to his pen and brought in Walus. Walus plunked the first H-F batter he faced, bringing the tying run to the plate with nobody out. Walus bore down and retired the final three Viking hitters for a huge Lockport win.

Homewood-Flossmoor seniors Mike Hurley, Steve Roman and Ryan Redmond had singles for the Vikings.

Lockport junior catcher Derek Bangert had a leadoff double in the top of the sixth, leading to Sullivan's big RBI single.

“Eric Duzan had a great performance against a very good-hitting team tonight,” said Satunas. “He was in the zone all night and gave us everything he had in the tank. We worked on small-ball the last two days knowing we were going to face a tough pitcher in Lietz. Danny Sullivan plays all over the lineup for us and did a great job tonight.”