Carmel has the ammo to match camo

More a potential bash unit than a MASH unit, even though several players got ill on its annual spring break trip downstate, Carmel Catholic's baseball team is sporting stylish camouflage jerseys this season.

"Coach pulled some strings," Corsairs pitcher Garrett McClellan said.

"They're Majestic (brand), which is like what the big-leaguers wear," said catcher Cooper Johnson, tugging on his sleeve.

Carmel showed off its new threads on its home field for the first time Wednesday, and the Corsairs' performance was just as impressive. Johnson's 3-run homer and McClellan's pitching highlighted a 10-1 win over Lakes in Mundelein.

In his second start of the season, McClellan threw 4 scoreless innings to earn the win. The 6-foot, 195-pound righty allowed just 2 hits, walked four and struck out three. He threw more than 100 pitches in suffering a tough-luck loss to Peoria Richwoods last week.

"I probably pitched better the first game than I did today, but I just had to battle through," McClellan said. "It was kind of a struggle. I was a little uncomfortable the whole time, first time being at home."

The Corsairs were happy to be home, especially since they nearly ran out of pitching on their trip downstate, which also included a stop in St. Louis.

"It seemed like it was a pitcher and a position guy (that was getting sick) every time," Carmel coach Dann Giesey said.

Carmel (2-5) went 1-5 on its annual spring trip, losing three decisions by a 2-1 score as well as suffering 3-0 defeat to Highland. Giesey said his hitters faced four Division-I recruits.

Yet, Carmel's pitchers also showed off some sick stuff, so to speak, posting a 1.30 ERA, Giesey said.

"The pitching was great," Johnson said. "We were getting a ton of groundballs. The pitchers were hitting spots. We just had some struggles in the field, which hopefully we're figuring out."

Joe Santoro (3-for-4) gave McClellan early run support against Lakes (1-4-1) with a 2-run double off Eagles junior starter Ben Milewski. Carmel then broke the game open in the fourth, scoring 8 runs. Connor Pett's 2-run single made it 4-0. Matthew Collins (2-for-3) doubled off the top of the left-field fence to drive in another run, Ryan Jones (2-for-3) singled in a run, and Johnson capped the uprising with his first home run of the season.

In his first two at-bats, the Ole Miss commit walked and was hit by a pitch.

"I knew I wasn't going to get much (to swing at)," said Johnson, a junior. "But we had a big lead and (Lakes) needed to get outs so I knew that they'd probably be throwing something near to the plate. First pitch, I just sat back and was waiting for my fastball inside. I got it and put a good swing on it."

Lakes, which was missing three starters, including returning all-conference first baseman/outfielder Bryan Gross (knee), kept the game going by scoring in the fifth. Joe Ruefer's RBI groundout came after the Eagles coaxed three walks to load the bases.

Ruefer and Matt Nordlund had Lakes' only hits.

"We're struggling at the plate," Eagles coach Ray Gialo said. "We've had some good at-bats where guys have hit some balls hard, but we just haven't been able to put anything together offensively. Our pitching, for the most part, has been OK. But it just gets stressed out."

Nick Cosentino, who slings the ball from the side, finished up on the mound with 2 scoreless innings for Carmel. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound righty struck out four, walked two and did not allow a hit.

"Cosentino showed us a lot on the trip," Giesey said. "You usually want your big guys pitching downhill, but he still stays with a little downward angle. We like that arm action."