Sefcik helps Carmel sweep Nazareth

St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright would have been proud of Carmel Catholic's Quinten Sefcik.

Sefcik showed off a Wainwright-esque knucklecurve along with an equally effective fastball and changeup to pitch a 3-hit, complete-game shutout, as the Corsairs beat visiting Nazareth Academy 2-0 in Game 2 of an East Suburban Catholic Conference doubleheader Saturday.

“I got the knucklecurve from him,” Sefcik said of Wainwright.

Sefcik struck out three and walked two.

“I picked up the knucklecurve last year and threw strikes, so this year I use it a lot,” said Sefcik, who improved to 5-1.

Carmel coach Dann Giesey, whose team won the opener 5-1, tipped his hat to Sefcik, who will be heading to the University of Illinois in the fall.

“He's the best pitcher we've seen all year, and we happen to have him,” Geisey said after his Corsairs improved to 18-8 and 6-4 in the ESCC. “He's in command of the game. He takes control of the game, and he'll come right at you and challenge you every time.”

Nazareth's Peter Minella also pitched outstanding ball, as he gave up 3 hits. Brandon Bossard came into the game in the fifth inning and shut down Carmel the rest of the way.

“(Minella) had a good curveball and was very good at spotting his pitches,” said Nazareth coach Lee Milano, whose Road Runners dropped to 19-8 overall and 6-5.

“Everything was working,” said Minella, who pitched the first four innings. “Our team bailed me out defensively. (Carmel) had the better game.”

The Corsairs, who were the visiting team in the second game, played mistake-free ball behind Sefcik.

“When we play good defense, we're tough to beat,” Giesey said. “When we make the routine plays and we don't walk people, we usually win. That's what happened today.”

Carmel scored both of its runs in the top of the first. Leadoff batter Joe Santoro singled, Sefcik bunted him over, and Ian Kristan reached on a bunt. Cooper Johnson and Andrew Wienke then hit back-to-back singles.

Tim Dalpoto doubled for one of the 3 hits allowed by Sefcik.

“We came out and scored two early runs, and had great defense,” Sefcik said. “All my boys played great. No errors today. It was awesome.”