Grayslake Central splits in Orlando
Making its ninth consecutive trip to the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Fla., Grayslake Central's short-handed baseball team opened its 2015 season by splitting its first two games.
The Rams lost to Van Buren (Arkansas) 5-2 under the lights on Monday night, before bouncing back to defeat Southridge (Oregon) 8-2 Tuesday.
Grayslake Central is playing this week without ace Justin Guryn, who was hit by a batted ball in practice. His status for returning to game action remains in question.
"Having Justin out hurts because you hate to see a senior miss any time during his final season," Rams coach Troy Whalen said. "At the same time, this gives others an opportunity to step up and contribute, whether they are ready to or not."
In its season opener, Grayslake Central outhit the victors 10-5, but failed to come up with the big hit. The Rams were down 3-0 after one inning and trailed the whole game. Sophomore Ben Fitzgerald had a run-producing triple, while Jay Hoffman added 3 singles and Greg Gauger smacked 2 singles for the Rams.
Juniors Griffin Edwards and Brett Whalen tossed the final 5 innings of relief. They allowed only 1 earned run with each striking out 2 batters and not issuing a walk.
On Tuesday morning, another pair of juniors, Sam Ruhlmann (4 IP, 2 runs, 3 hits) and Ethan LaBeck (3 IP, 0 runs, 2 hits) showed "mound poise and composure," Troy Whalen said, in leading the Rams to their first victory of the season. LaBeck got the win in relief of Ruhlmann as Grayslake Central rallied from an early 2-0 deficit by plating 3 runs in the fifth, 3 in the sixth and 2 more in the seventh. In total, the Rams scattered 12 hits.
Senior Jeff Terronez provided the spark, as he laced a 2-run single in the top of the fifth with Grayslake Central trailing 2-1 to give the Rams a lead they would not relinquish. Terronez had 2 hits and 3 RBI on the day.
LaBeck helped himself with a double. Hoffman (2 RBI), Anthony Fitzgerald and David Llorens each added a pair of singles.
"We've had contributions from several people early in the season, and that's great to see," Troy Whalen said. "A lot of players are getting varsity at-bats for the first time. Being able to see some quality at-bats is a bonus for this time of year. Our four junior pitchers (Edwards, Whalen, Ruhlmann and LaBeck) have gotten off to a solid start. (They) did a great job of throwing first-pitch strikes and demonstrated little, if any, nerves."
Grayslake Central returns to play in the Magic Kingdom today against Monsignor Bonner (Philadelphia, Penn.).
Grayslake North 13, Dawson School (Colo.): 0: George Deligiannis and Merrick Gentile each had 3 hits and 3 runs scored for the Knights.
Deligiannis doubled and knocked in 2 runs, while Jake Damore also had 2 RBI for Grayslake North (2-1). Gentile stole 2 bases. Sophomore Patrick Schaefer (3 IP, 7 strikeouts) and Jeff Ritter (2 IP, 2 strikeouts) combined on a 5-hit shutout.
Mundelein 14, Century 4: At SIU, the Mustangs improved to 4-0, as Sam Osisek and Cooper Michalski tripled.
Zach Zagula and Brendan Murphy doubled for Mundelein, and Patrick Betti earned the win.
Jacobs 6, Wauconda 5: Collin Shrader was 2-for-5 for the Bulldogs in their loss.
Both Joey Schaer and Dylan Latiolais (triple) had 2 RBI for Wauconda, which managed only 4 hits.
Warren 4, Benton 3: Michael Rosenberg was 2-for-3 with a double and triple for the Blue Devils.
Andrew Hill also doubled for Warren, while Sean Hannigan pitched 6 1/3 innings for the win. Hannigan was also 2-for-2 at the plate.
Warren 10, Marion 4: At Southern Illinois University on Monday night, Andrew Hill was 2-for-3 with a double and 3 RBI for the victorious Blue Devils, while Zach went 2-for-4 with 3 RBI.
Matt Burch tripled for Warren, and Scott Gordon was the winning pitcher.