Baseball: Pietschmann shouldering the burden for Carmel
The darts fired from right field by Eddie Pietschmann might have looked familiar to Carmel Catholic baseball fans.
"He was the ace of the staff as a freshman (lower level)," Corsairs coach Bill Taylor said.
Pietschmann's sophomore baseball season wasn't so peachy. He missed it with an injury to his left shoulder. But he's back for his junior campaign, and as the 6-foot-4, 200-pounder demonstrated again during Carmel's 17-5 win over visiting St. Viator on Wednesday, Pietschmann is ready to show off his arm and talent.
Nearly a year ago to the date, the long-haired right-hander underwent shoulder surgery, which kept him away from baseball activities for six months.
"I'm feeling a lot better," Pietschmann said. "Therapy went well, and my strength has come back."
Evidently.
Pietschmann hit a game-winning two-run home run against Libertyville last week, then homered again in Joliet Catholic's big ballpark on Saturday. In helping Carmel (7-3, 2-2) beat St. Viator (10-6, 1-3) for the second time in three days, he went 3-for-3 with a triple, 3 runs scored and 2 RBI. He showed off his athleticism on his triple, which was hit to deep right-center, as he sped to third and notched a "Little League" homer when the relay throw to third sailed into the parking lot.
"He's athletic," Taylor said. "He can run, too.
"We're glad he's back healthy," Taylor added, smiling.
Coming off what Taylor called "probably the best game we've played all year (Monday at St. Viator)," the Corsairs might have been just as impressive. They pounded out 14 hits, despite not batting in the bottom of the fifth. Like Pietschmann, Matt Collins (2 RBI) was 3-for-3 for Carmel. Joey Lake (double, 4 RBI) and Joe Santoro (bunt single, RBI) were both 2-for-3. Austin Ehren tripled and scored three times.
St. Viator didn't help itself early on, committing 4 errors in Carmel's six-run second that hiked the Corsairs' lead to 7-0. For the game, three Lions pitchers combined to walk five and hit five batters.
"The last two games, Carmel came to play and we didn't," St. Viator coach Mike Manno said. "(The errors) set the tone. You can't pick up a groundball, and then all of a sudden they score six. It changes the complexion of the game."
Pietschmann's defense shined. The right fielder made a sliding catch to rob Jack Sexton of a hit and then doubled the runner off first base.
"I saw the ball come off the bat pretty well," Pietschmann said. "I got a good jump on it, saw that (the base runner) was halfway down to second, got up quickly and threw to first."
Pietschmann also winged a strike to home when a base runner rounded third before retreating. He has pitched in some JV games this spring, Taylor said, but has yet to take the mound in a varsity contest.
"He's working his way back on the mound and, offensively, he's done a great job for us," Taylor said. "We're trying to build up his arm. Like I told him at the beginning of the year, 'We're going to take it at your pace, and when you're ready, you're ready. There's no need to rush it.' "
St. Viator had 9 hits, including a pair of doubles by Cole Kmet. Mike Ragauskis, Dan Sullivan and Kmet each went 2-for-3, while Mike O'Neall and Bobby Perna contributed RBI singles for the Lions.
"We need to score a little bit more," Manno said, "if we're going to win a game like that."