Baseball: Mundelein shuts out Crystal Lake Central

Three Mundelein pitchers combined on a two-hit shutout, as the Mustangs edged visiting Crystal Lake Central 1-0 in a nonconference game Saturday.

Winning-pitcher Johnny Buckner struck out nine in 4 innings, before Zachary Zentz pitched the fifth and sixth with a pair of strikeouts. Brendan Murphy struck out the side in the seventh in nailing down the save.

Mundelein (6-1) scored the game's only run in the first inning. Nick Stricker was 2-for-3, and Jake Breitenreiter went 2-for-2.

Highland Park 4, Grayslake Central 1: The Rams suffered their first loss of the season, dropping their home opener as the Giants scored single runs in the first, third, fifth and sixth innings. Sam Nozicka (1-for-3) had an RBI single in the third to pull the Rams (4-1) within 2-1. Freshman Coby Moe (1-for-3) had Grayslake Central's only other hit.

Highland Park put the leadoff hitter on base in six of seven innings. The Giants also played errorless defense.

"Our pitchers did not walk any hitters, but we made 3 errors and had only 2 hits, and you are not going to beat anybody with 2 hits," Rams coach Troy Whalen said. "Highland Park made the plays and had the timely hitting, and that was the difference in the game. Overall, it was a well-played game by both teams for this time of year."

Harrisburg 11, Vernon Hills 6: On Friday, the Cougars used a five-run top of the second to pull even at 6-6, but Harrisburg responded with 2 runs in the bottom of the inning and three more in the third. Brennan Reback was 2-for-2 with a double, 2 walks and 2 runs scored for Vernon Hills. Connor McNamara went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.