Sivertsen's slugging helps Carmel earn split

Benet Academy's Bryan Roberts and Carmel Catholic's Jordan Sivertsen, Division I-bound baseball players and summer teammates, caught up with each other after a doubleheader in Mundelein on Saturday.

"He's a good buddy of mine," Roberts said. "(We talked about) how he's been doing this year, how I've been doing this year."

And, "of course," Roberts said with a smile, they talked about a certain pitch Roberts threw to Sivertsen in Game 1.

Sivertsen slammed a 3-2 fastball over the fence for a solo home run.

"Bad pitch and he just took it out," Roberts said. "I didn't have my best stuff today but I worked with what I had. I had to rely on a little bit of a cutter/slider type thing and just had to keep the pitches down."

He did.

Roberts fired a complete-game 3-hitter, as Benet won 3-1. Sivertsen's grand slam highlighted Carmel's 11-5 win in Game 2 of the East Suburban Catholic Conference doubleheader.

Both Carmel (21-5, 11-3) and Joliet Catholic entered ESCC play Saturday with 2 losses, 1 fewer than Benet. Carmel, which was swept by JCA, has a home-and-home series with St. Patrick this week, before wrapping up ESCC play by hosting defending conference champ Marist in a doubleheader Saturday.

"We really needed that first one (against Benet), but at least we got the second one so we can keep it close," Sivertsen said. "Maybe (JCA) will lose a game."

Which is what happened, as Joliet Catholic and Marist split two games Saturday.

Benet (18-10) is 12-4 in the ESCC.

The Redwings gave Roberts (8-1) a 2-0 lead to work with in the fifth. Mike Cunningham hit a homer off Carmel starter Bob Lyne.

Sivertsen's two-out home run in the bottom of the sixth cut the Corsairs' deficit in half, but Benet added an insurance run in the seventh.

Roberts, a right-hander who's signed with the University of Illinois, struck out eight.

"We did our best against Roberts," Carmel coach Chuck Gandolfi said. "What are you going to do?"

The Corsairs fared better in Game 2. Donald Stopka homered in the top of the first. Benet answered with 3 unearned runs off Sivertsen in the bottom of the inning, with Roberts starting a two-out rally with a double.

Carmel got doubles from David Venegoni and Kevin Hendricks in a 3-run second before Benet tied it at 4-4 on the first of 2 doubles by Mike Vanchieri (3-for-4).

In the Carmel fourth, walks to John Zeffery and Hendricks and a bunt single by Brian Siedlecki loaded the bases. The Redwings then brought in reliever Mike Gassett to face Sivertsen.

Carmel's Southern Illinois University recruit deposited a pitch over the scoreboard in left field.

Sivertsen entered the day with just 3 homers. He had 24 in his first three varsity seasons.

"Usually I hit them late (in the season)," Sivertsen said. "I'm hitting OK but not like I should be. I'm not being aggressive, I guess. I'm seeing a lot of off-speed pitches, like last year, too. Most first pitches are curveballs."

"If he swings better, he'd have more home runs," Gandolfi said. "He hasn't been patient. Normally he's got about two or three or four homers to right-center, and he hasn't been hitting the ball that way very much. But he's getting better."

Carmel pounded out 11 hits against four pitchers in Game 2. Leadoff-hitter Siedlecki finished 3-for-4 with 4 RBI, while Stopka added a pair of hits.

Jeff Moree improved to 5-0 on the mound, striking out seven in 3¿ innings of relief.

"Always (a split with Benet)," Gandolfi said. "Usually the team that would play best would lose the game, and then the other team would play better and would lose."