Mundelein has a blast in season-opening win

Well, baseball season at Mundelein sure got off with a bang.

Or was that a thud? A crash? Or maybe it was a thwack.

Luis Carrasco, the Mustangs' designated hitter, drilled a 3-run home run on Friday afternoon that sailed over the left-field fence and onto Midlothian Road, where it promptly hit the roof of an unsuspecting minivan that was passing by.

"I don't think since I've been here I've ever seen a car hit during a game," Mundelein coach Todd Parola said. "We've done it during BP (batting practice), but to have it hit square on in the middle of a game is pretty unbelievable."

You don't have to tell that to the owner of the minivan.

He or she couldn't have been happy. But Carrasco's home run sure did make the Mustangs smile. It put the Mustangs up by 10-runs in the sixth inning and gave them a 12-2 slaughter rule victory over Mather in their season opener.

"I didn't even know (about the minivan)," Carrasco said. "But it felt great. It was a good start. We have a lot of good hitters. It's going to be a good season."

The Mustangs had already gotten two big hits in the sixth inning before Carrasco even got to the plate.

Tyler Adams drilled a double and Bill McMahon brought in Adams and Mike O'Donaghue with a big single.

It was all a welcome site for starting pitcher Ben Mahar, who is hoping to get that kind of run support all season.

"Luis killed that ball. It kept carrying," Mahar said. "We've got guys who don't strike out very often and put the ball in play. We'll be able to hit the ball this year and that's a big thing."

Mahar rolled up 5 strikeouts in three innings on the mound. He was replaced by Dante Martinez in the fourth inning so that he wouldn't overdo it in the first game.

"I felt really good," Mahar said. "Coach said before the game that he was going to limit us to three or four innings at this point. It's early in the season so you can't get too excited. You just start out slow."

Mundelein started fast on offense.

The Mustangs were up 3-0 after two innings and then extended the lead to 7-0 after a big third inning.

Austin Ozog got things started in the third with a double and then Matt Risdon brought in three runs when he drilled a deep ball that was misplayed by Mather's centerfielder.

Mather finally got its offense going in the sixth inning when Raahsaan Fox and Antonio Liotta scored. Liotta was brought in on a double by Lazaro Magdariaga.

In the sixth inning, just before Carrasco's big at-bat, Mather made a pitching change and replaced starter Gabriel Cardenas with sophomore Alvin Velasquez.

Velasquez knew he was in trouble as soon as the pitch that Carrasco crushed left his hand.

"I just knew he was going to get that one," Velasquez said. "But it's only my second time on the mound."