Libertyville keeps winning

Libertyville's American Legion baseball team continues to score so many runs that it's hard to keep track of all the individual stats.

Josh Albers went 5-for-5 Thursday night, as the Bandits stayed alive in the 2nd Division tournament with a 22-11 win over host Freeport.

"He had 5 RBIs," assistant coach Dan Gooris said of Albers, "or 6.".

John Brennan, Chase Guarnaccio, Willy Caldwell and Tim Matheson each had 3 hits for Libertyville (16-8-1), which improved to 2-1 in the double-elimination tournament.

The Bandits play at 5 p.m. again today against either St. Charles or Lima. The loser will be eliminated.

In ousting Freeport, Libertyville also got a pair of doubles from Tom Jacobson and produced 22 hits. Matheson and Guarnaccio both tripled. The Bandits scored 4 runs in the top of the first inning and never trailed.

Dan Regel threw 6 effective innings for the win, and Brian Whartnaby tossed the final 3 for the save.

Libertyville scored 24 runs against Lake Forest in the 10th District final four last week, then opened the 2nd Division tourney by outslugging Freeport 18-10.

"At this point, everyone is just seeing the ball well," Gooris said. "It's just been a trickledown effect. Everyone is going up with a plan and battling up there. They're giving themselves a chance and seeing good pitches."