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For Stevenson, green means go - to Florida

There's green and gold, the school's official colors, all over the place at Stevenson.

But it wasn't until this school year that athletic teams got the green light from the administration to make out-of-state overnight trips for competition.

The baseball team didn't waste any time putting together its very first travel itinerary.

The Patriots are spending this week, their spring break, down in Vero Beach, Fla. A facility there called Dodgertown has become a destination for high school baseball teams from all over the country.

"It used to be the training facility of the Dodgers, dating back to the 1940s," Stevenson coach Paul Mazzuca said. "About five or 10 years ago, the Dodgers moved to Arizona but they kept this facility for high school and college teams to use.

"It's fantastic. You're staying in the same villas the Dodgers used to stay in, you've got the main stadium where the Dodgers played their games and you've got six other fields that can be used for games. Everything is all on one campus and the people here cater to whatever we want: full practices, batting practices, games. It's great."

About 15 teams were staying at Dodgertown along with Stevenson. The Patriots played a total of eight games, 6 varsity and 2 junior varsity, against teams from all over the country. They also got in ample practices.

"This has been a wonderful opportunity to get a lot of baseball in," Mazzuca said. "We had been missing that by staying home over spring break. The weather isn't usually very good (in the Chicago area). We had been wanting to do something like this for the last five, six, seven years and we're just really thankful the administration gave us the green light this year."

Like many coaches who take their teams on overnight trips, Mazzuca has seen an improvement in his team's chemistry and off-field connections.

"The team has definitely bonded and come together," Mazzuca said. "There are basketball courts here, a practice football field, a pool. The kids have been out doing all that stuff together. They've been having a lot of fun."

The Patriots also planned to go to Universal Studios before returning home on Friday.

Youth movement:

With only six seniors on the roster, Stevenson will need to rely on some young guns this season.

Nowhere is that more true than on the mound.

"We have no seniors in our pitching rotation," Stevenson coach Paul Mazzuca said. "We've got the opportunity for some young guys to really make the case that they belong. They are going to get to show that they can compete at this level."

So far, junior pitchers Justin Stark and Tyler Pauly are pulling away from the pack. Both were getting extensive work down in Florida during Stevenson's Spring Break trip.

"We play in one of the toughest conferences (North Suburban) in the state and our young kids needed to see some really good competition early so I'm so glad we got to make this trip to Florida," Mazzuca said. "I think it's really going to help prepare them because we have no grace period. When we come back, we're playing Libertyville."

On the road:

Another newbie to Spring Break road trips is Grant.

The Bulldogs left town for the first time this year and headed to southern Illinois, a popular destination for suburban teams. They played three games last week in Marian at Rent One Stadium and were on the road for four days and three nights.

"It was great not to have to worry about the weather," Grant coach Dave Behm said. "I think the kids loved it. We had played one game over Spring Break the last two years. It was nice to be able to play multiple games. It gave us the chance to see everyone play multiple innings and sometimes at different positions. I'd love to do this every year."

Stone's throw:

Grant pitcher Andrew Stone was rock solid last season, and appears to have picked up where he left off.

Stone's 9-1 record last year gave him the second-most wins in head coach Dave Behm's six-year tenure. Stone has started this season at 2-1.

"He came back with so much confidence from last season," Behm said of Stone. "There's a comfort level we have with him on the mound, too. Andrew is just so consistent, and you just can't take that for granted. He just doesn't have bad outings."

Sophomore starters: There are three sophomores starting for Grant.

For Ben Kusiak, it's a familiar role.

Kusiak, the Bulldogs' third baseman, also started for the basketball team this winter.

"I think playing varsity basketball has helped him," Grant coach Dave Behm said of Kusiak, the younger brother of second basemen Eddie Kusiak. "The season of experience of seeing the game at a faster speed, of playing against the top competition has carried over for Ben and he's making a good transition to varsity baseball."

Ricky Allen, who plays first and often is the designated hitter, is also a sophomore, as is pitcher Sam Fernandez.

"They've all started really well," Behm said of his young guns.

Baby steps:

The fact that Grayslake North coach Andy Strahan just added a baby to his own family seems to fit right in with the motif of his team.

"We have only three kids with varsity experience returning," said Strahan, busy at home with 31/2-year-old Tyler and new baby brother Ryan, 6 weeks. "We knew we were going to be really young anyway."

Then some bad luck made Grayslake North even younger.

Senior pitcher Dom DiProva would have been the Knights' ace, not to mention their No. 4 hitter. But he injured his knee in the basketball regionals and will likely be out until May, at the earliest.

Two days after the rest of the basketball players checked in, Bobby Krebs, another basketball player, hurt his elbow and twisted his ankle. His elbow injury revealed no tear on an MRI, but it has been slow to respond to treatment. His foot is in a boot.

"We really have no idea when Bobby will be able to come back," Strahan said. "That's two of our three returners. That's tough."

Grayslake North's third returner, Merrick Gentile, had a scare of his own when he got hit in the hand by a pitch during the team's spring break trip to Disney World and his entire hand blew up. Trainers thought it was broken, but it turns out it wasn't and he was fine to play the next day.

Gentile has been a stabilizing force for the Knights. He moved to shortstop from third base and he's hitting .615.

"Merrick will be more of a corner guy in college, so he's being really selfless playing short for us. We really need him there," Strahan said. "His leadership has really been a positive, too. It's little things he'll do in between innings, or off the field. With a young team like we have, his leadership has been very important."

Sophomore step-up:

With Grayslake North ace Dom DiProva shelved by injury for the foreseeable future, the top job on the mound was open.

It didn't take long for a front-runner to emerge: sophomore Patrick Schaefer.

"We could kind of see this coming," Grayslake North coach Andy Strahan said. "We knew Patrick has some good stuff. He pitched really well for the freshman team last year and also got a couple starts with the sophomores.

"What we like about him is that it just seems like nothing fazes him. And if there is something that does, he doesn't let anyone know about it. He's just a kid who takes care of his business. He just doesn't get rattled."

Hoops oops:

Like Grayslake North, Vernon Hills lost its top projected pitcher to a basketball injury.

Brian Schrimmer was playing in an intermural basketball game this winter and tore his anterior cruciate ligament.

"Unfortunately, Brian won't have the opportunity to lead our staff this year," Vernon Hills coach Jay Czarnecki said. "He has nice mound presence and had the most experience and opportunities last year of anyone we have back."

Schrimmer is hoping his rehab is successful. He has already signed to play baseball next year at Heartland Community College.

In the meantime, senior Ben Geren has emerged as the Cougars' top pitcher.

He came into last season with elbow problems and didn't pitch much until the end of the season.

"We think he will contribute very well," Czarnecki said of Geren. "He just doesn't have very much experience right now. This will give a lot of other kids opportunities for us on the mound. I think we'll have five or six different kids pitching regularly and the interesting thing is, they're all a little different."

That hurts:

They're keeping their fingers crossed at Vernon Hills for Tony Earhart, one of the top pitchers on the team.

Also a standout hitter, Earhart slid into second base earlier this week during a game in southern Illinois and dislocated his shoulder.

"We're just hoping there is no ligament damage," Vernon Hills coach Jay Czarnecki said. "He's a top five pitcher and our 3-spot hitter. He was one of our top hitters last year, too."

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