Peterson's leadoff production benefits Mundelein

Todd Parola felt his baseball team needed a spark offensively after two losses to Libertyville. So Mundelein's coach this past week moved Luke Peterson from third in the batting order to leadoff.

The hunch has been paying off. Peterson led off the bottom of the first against Fremd on Saturday with a home run over the left-field fence, and the Mustangs went on to capture a 6-1 nonconference decision for their fourth win in a row.

Peterson hit an inside fastball.

"I had been hitting third all season, and when Coach put me at leadoff, it was a little bit of an adjustment for me," Peterson said.

The Mustangs received outstanding pitching from Cooper Michalski, Patrick Betti, Jake Breitenreiter, Hunter Ashton and Ray Calabrese, as they combined to throw a 2-hitter.

Michalaski pitched the first four innings, striking out one and walking one.

"I think my fastball had some movement on it," Michalski said. "(Fremd) didn't square too many balls, and I was able to get out of a jam in the second inning."

"Our team received great relief pitching," said Parola, whose Mustangs improved 23-7. "We also had some great defense."

Fremd's Ethan Hajdukovic led off the second inning with a single and sped to second base on a wild pitch. But he was stranded as Michalski got a groundout and strikeout.

Mundelein added two runs in the fifth on Nick Brune's 2-run single to make it 5-0 and tacked on another run in the sixth.

Both Brune and Naughton finished 3-for-3. Peterson was 2-for-4.

Fremd fell to 14-15.

"Mundelein pitched strikes," Vikings coach Chris Piggott said. "They made the plays, and our offense was nonexistent."