Hot-hitting Stevenson handles Palatine

What makes for a good hitter in baseball?

Having a good eye, a good swing and good patience at the plate certainly helps.

But at Stevenson so far this season, something else, something not quite so tangible, has helped the offense go.

Good hitting for the Patriots has been just as much about having a lively, competitive dugout.

"We're all having a lot of fun, we're all good friends and it's like we all feed off of each other," Stevenson senior outfielder Korey Cutler said. "One guy gets going and we all get going."

The Stevenson offense has been going fast and furious from the start, and that trend continued on Wednesday. The Patriots rolled up an 11-0 nonconference win against Palatine that moved them to a sparkling 4-0 on the season.

In just five innings, Stevenson rolled up a total of 16 hits, including four doubles and a home run.

Cutler alone had three of the doubles while senior infielder Teddy Heiser had the home run.

"Their pitcher just made a mistake with a fastball and I made him pay. But it seems like everyone has had a big game (offensively) like that this season for us," said Heiser, who drilled his home run approximately 380 feet over the fence in dead centerfield. It was his first home run of the season and the third of his career. "We all practiced really hard together over the off-season. Everyone works hard and it's paying off."

The offensive surge that occurred against Palatine and has been a constant since the beginning of the season has taken the pressure off of Stevenson's inexperienced pitching staff, which has been a pleasant surprise but opened the season with enough question marks to leave head coach Paul Mazzuca seriously worried.

Not only did the Patriots lose three Division I pitchers to graduation, the top three pitchers Mazzuca had pegged to take their place are totally out of commission. Two are out for the season with injury and the other elected not to come back out for baseball.

But Greg Kingery, Merrick McGrady, Tyler Radtke and now Kyle Ruchim all have started with wins.

"Looking back before the start of the season, you just had no idea," Mazzuca said of his pitching staff. "When you have a lot of guys without much varsity experience, it's like, you just never know.

"The big test will be the how these guys do the second and third time out. We'll have to see if their bodies can handle the varsity pitching load."

Mazzuca already knows Ruchim can handle it.

Out of his four pitchers that have started games this season, Ruchim is the only one to have seen significant innings last year. That experienced showed against Palatine as we went the distance and gave up only 1 hit.

Normally the Patriots' everyday shortstop, Ruchim will be counted on to pitch more this season as the newer pitchers get more comfortable on the mound.

"Kyle has been pitching on and off since sophomore year so I know what I'm going to get when he pitches," Mazzuca said. "He can change speeds, he can keep hitters off-balance and he just really competes."

Mazzuca was counting on Ruchim to compete from start to finish against Palatine.

Even though the Patriots were up 11-0 by the third inning, the conditions (a dry day with a stiff wind blowing out) were perfect for a quick offensive spurt that could have put the Pirates right back into the game.

"Our team was pretty focused until the end," Heiser said. "We know that Palatine is a really good program. They gave us a good game last year in the regional and the conditions were good (for a comeback)."

That's why Mazzuca wasn't breathing easy until the last out.

"As easy as we got a big lead, they could have come back," Mazzuca said. "I was pleasantly surprised that we ended up keeping them to one hit."