Smith makes noise with bat

When Dillon Smith's bat connected with the ball, the sound was sweet.

For the Mundelein senior slugger, when the ball hit the back of Grant's new football stadium press box located beyond the fence in left field, the sound was even sweeter.

"I didn't see (the ball) actually hit, but I heard it," Smith said of his prodigious home run. "Then I looked up and I saw it coming down."

Talk about making some noise with the bats.

Mundelein pounded Grant 13-0 in five innings in nonconference action Thursday thanks to 15 hits, including 3 homers and 5 doubles.

"We hit a lot of balls hard," coach Todd Parola said after his Mustangs improved to 8-1.

No ball was hit with more authority than Smith's 2-run shot that capped a 7-run fourth inning.

His towering shot - hit into a stiff wind, no less - soared over the 347-foot sign and bounced off the press box.

It was a year ago on Mundelein's annual spring trip downstate that Smith hit a homer against Carbondale that Parola called "one of the hardest-hit balls I've seen since I've been here."

Smith said his shot against Grant was his best one ever. He belted 5 homers as a junior and has a pair this season.

"It felt good coming off the bat," Smith said.

"He's a very good athlete so he's capable of generating some bat speed," Parola said. "If we can get him to be a little more consistent, that would be great."

Colton Tortorello and Justin Button also hit their second home runs of the season - both 2-run shots. Tortorello went 3-for-3, coming a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. Besides Tortorello, the Mustangs got doubles from Smith, Jack Cunnion, Anthony Cancelli and Mike O'Donoghue. Smith's double just missed clearing the fence in right-center.

Matt Risdon also had 2 hits for Mundelein, while Jay Mueller had a single and 2 RBI.

Colin Franklin was the beneficiary of all the run support, as he pitched 4 innings of 2-hit ball to improve to 3-0.

The only trouble Franklin faced was in the bottom of the first. Grant loaded the bases after two out when Thomas Gier was hit by a pitch, Jeremy Wiker singled and Peter Tragos walked. But Franklin got a groundball to get out of the inning unscathed.

The Mustangs then scored the game's first two runs in the second, and the offense didn't relent.

"It was just a good day (offensively)," Smith said. "I think we need to do it more consistently. If we could hit like this every game, we'd be pretty good."