Benet shows it can pitch a little, too, in win over Downers Grove South
It's a safe bet that Benet's baseball team is going to hit the ball this season.
Will the Redwings pitch it?
They're hoping they saw a glimpse of the answer in Tuesday's 11-1 five-inning win over Downers Grove South in Lisle.
Creighton-bound ace John Boyle pitched 3 shutout innings with 7 strikeouts and juniors Patrick Callahan and Eric Patzelt threw some valuable varsity innings as Benet coach Jeff Bonebrake began the process of sorting through his many pitching options.
Judging by Tuesday's performances, it'll be a fun sort. The trio allowed 5 hits as Callahan pitched a scoreless fourth inning and Patzelt allowed the lone run on Dan Walsh's RBI single in the fifth.
"Boyle came out and pitched well," Bonebrake said. "We got some big hits early and that kind of opened it up. From a confidence standpoint hopefully this helps us."
Confidence beamed at the plate through nearly all five innings. Alex Staehely, also headed to Creighton, went 2-for-3 with a 2-run fourth-inning homer and 3 RBI.
Mike Vanchieri went 3-for-3 with a first-inning home run and 2 RBI. Mac Coffey and Zac Lewinski each had 2 hits for Benet, which opened the season with 13 hits.
The game ended in the bottom of the fifth when the Redwings scored 2 runs on four straight singles to start the inning. Nick Moore scored on an error and Lewinski drove in the winning run with an RBI single up the middle.
"It was a real good start, especially with Boyle throwing well on the mound," Staehely said. "There were question marks about our pitching, but I think with Patzelt, Callahan and Boyle, they looked good today. And with eight returning starters, we should be able to hit the ball."
Connor Reilly sparked a 4-run second inning with a 2-run double. The Redwings added 3 runs in the fourth, two on Staehely's homer and the third on Vanchieri's single.
Despite the five-inning loss, Mustangs coach Darren Orel believes his team's season opener was a good experience. A young team with only one returning starter in Walsh needed to get on the field.
Leadoff hitter Joey White had 2 hits, including a third-inning double.
"We're young and we've got to develop some kind of swagger," Orel said. "Play a little bit more aggressively, relax a little bit more. We'll be a different team three, four, five, six weeks from now once we kind of get rolling a little bit."
BOX SCORE
benet 11, downers grove south 1
Downers South 000 01X X -1-5-2
Benet 240 32X X -11-13-1
2B: DGS: White. B: Reilly
HR: B: Staehely, Vanchieri
WP: Boyle (1-0) LP: Fox (0-1).