Baseball: Sweep is quite a relief for Richardson, Libertyville
A 13-spot by his baseball team in the first inning figured to be unlucky for Libertyville reliever Danny Richardson.
So much for the senior left-hander pitching in the Wildcats' first game of their North Suburban Conference doubleheader against visiting Lake Forest on Saturday.
"If there was ever a tight situation, I was told (before the game) that I was going to be the one to go in," Richardson said.
Lucky lefty?
Libertyville saw its 13-run lead cut to a single run by the fifth inning. Richardson got in the game, after all, and pitched a scoreless seventh to preserve a wild, 15-14 win for the Wildcats, who never trailed. The game took 3 hours and 5 minutes and featured a combined 25 hits, including 13 for extra bases, 13 walks, 2 hit batsmen and 9 errors.
"We never gave up," Lake Forest first baseman Drew Golde said after going 3-for-5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI. "The bench is what gives us all of our energy. They stayed with us the whole game. We haven't really been hitting too much this year, but the bats came alive today and we just clawed our way back in."
Libertyville enjoyed a big first inning in Game 2 as well, scoring six times, and held on again, winning 6-4 to improve to 13-3 and 8-0 in the NSC. Ben Arnold (solo) and Tim Jean (2-run) hit homers for the Wildcats, who also saw Tanner Kelly go 3-for-3 with 2 RBI and Derek Calamari allow 3 earned runs over 6 innings for the win.
Jean, Libertyville's senior third baseman, also homered in the opener to give him four on the season.
Consider Lake Forest's resiliency in Game 1 incredible after Libertyville sent 19 batters to the plate in the opening inning. The Wildcats pounded out 9 hits, including 7 doubles and 1 triple. Leadoff batter Tommy Rigali doubled, singled and flied out - in the first inning.
"We were just thinking, 'Let's go out there and keep doing our thing,' " said Jean, who doubled twice and drove in 3 runs in the first. "But (Lake Forest) gave us a fight. That's for sure. They never let down. I was a little surprised by that. Usually if you go up 13-0, teams give up. But these guys don't know when to stop."
Libertyville coach Matt Thompson even substituted out two starters after the opening inning, only to re-enter Arnold and Griffin Murphy later in the game. The Wildcats were playing another game, after all, and then have games Monday-Thursday.
"Any time we can preserve some energy, we're looking to do that," Thompson said. "But (Lake Forest) got back into it, so we had to put some guys back in."
Lake Forest (3-10, 2-7) responded with a 7-run second, highlighted by Golde's 3-run double. The Heartland Community College-bound Jean belted a 2-run homer to left field in the bottom of the inning to make it 15-7.
Libertyville didn't score again.
Lake Forest, meanwhile, kept coming, and its bench kept getting louder. The Scouts scored five in the fourth, getting a 2-run single from Matt Hill and 2-RBI double by Will Davis (2-for-4). In the Lake Forest fifth, Andrew Gough doubled home a run, and Hill's sacrifice fly made it a 1-run game.
Richardson relieved Peyton Jennings (winning pitcher, 1⅔ innings) to start the seventh.
"As soon as I saw Danny walk out from the pen, he was screaming, 'Let's go!' " Jean said. "I was like, 'No way they score this inning.' He was amped up. I love the way that kid carries himself."
Richardson issued a one-out walk but struck out the side to earn the save - and save the Wildcats the embarrassment of losing a 13-run advantage.
He screamed some more after the final out.
"I just try to bring as much energy as I can to the mound," Richardson said. "I got myself psyched up and sprinted (to the mound to start the inning) as fast as I could, hopefully to bring a presence."
Like Jean, Arnold doubled twice for Libertyville in the first inning. Kelly had a 2-run double in the first, Luke Plunkett doubled in one run, and Nick Angel had a run-scoring triple.