Mustangs' gems sparkle
Three hits.
That's all that Mundelein pitchers Eric Rohe and Justin Piasecki allowed as the host Mustangs swept Stevenson 1-0 and 11-0 in a North Suburban Conference Lake Division baseball doubleheader Saturday.
In the opener, Rohe allowed only 1 hit while the Patriots' Kyle Ruchim gave up three.
Mundelein improved its record to 21-2 overall and maintained its first place status in the NSC Lake at 9-1.
Mundelein catcher Brad Medina, who transferred from Carmel two years ago, accounted for the only run in Game 1 when he lined a Ruchim pitch over the fence in the fifth inning.
"He threw me a fastball high and in, and I just turned on it and hit it to left-center field," Medina said.
Rohe improved his record to 10-0 by striking out 11 and walked none. Ruchim (2-2) struck out seven and walked none.
Stevenson's lone hit came from Mike Donavan, who singled in the sixth inning.
"Both pitchers did an outstanding job," Mustangs coach Todd Parola said. "Stevenson's pitcher probably didn't deserve to lose and Rohe sure didn't deserve to lose either. I thought both pitchers pitched outstanding games. It was a very good high school baseball game."
Rohe has pitched 7 shutouts and has an earned run average just over 1.00 for the season. A year ago, he went 6-5.
"Probably my game preparation (has been the biggest difference)," Rohe said. "I'm always getting ready, getting my mind in the game. And also my curveball this year has been a lot better."
"His strikeout pitch is definitely the curveball," Medina said. "It's pretty much unhittable. When he starts striking them out, they just can't hit him because he gets on fire and gets pumped."
Mundelein's defense has also been key to his success this season, Rohe added.
"Our defense is solid," the senior said. "It's probably the best defense I've ever played with."
In the second game, Piasecki (5-1) allowed only 2 hits in 5 innings.
The Mustangs were leading 2-0 when they broke the game open by scoring 5 runs in the fourth. They added four in the fifth.
Stevenson's Scott Firth threw the first four innings.
"I really didn't have my best stuff today," Firth said. "I wasn't throwing as hard as I normally do and I was leaving a lot of pitches up in the zone."
In the Mundelein fourth, Colton Tortorello (2-for-4, 2 doubles) hit a 2-run double. Two batters later, Jack Walliser hit a 3-run blast over the left field fence for his first home run of the year to give Mundelein a 7-0 lead.
Mundelein ended the game in the fifth, as Mark VanderVennet, Piasecki and Jamie Baldwin drove in runs.
Stevenson fell to 12-11 overall and 5-5 in the NSC Lake.
"We had a hard time getting any offense generated," Patriots coach Paul Mazzuca said. "Kyle (Ruchim) is our starting second baseman and has also been pitching for us. We wanted to see what he could do against the best team in the conference and he battled. He changed speeds, kept the ball down in the zone and gave us the opportunity to win."