Unfortunately, it's baseball fever for Mundelein

Batten the hatches.

Draw the shades.

Lock the doors.

And make sure everyone else stays away. Far away.

That's the mindset Mundelein coach Todd Parola was working under for most of his team's spring break trip to southern Illinois.

When two of his players, Bill McMahon and Kevin Rohe, got sick with a serious case of the stomach flu, he wasn't going to take any chances. His mind jumped to those cruise ships and what often happens when an illness breaks out.

One minute one person is sick, the next minute the entire ship is infected.

"We evacuated their rooms, we had them quarantined, we were worried that everyone else was going to get sick," Parola said. "This was the first time in 14 years of going on this trip that something like this happened and we weren't sure how it was all going to work out.

"Luckily, no one else got sick. But Bill and Kevin, it was too bad. They were really down and out."

Parola said that his team left town on Sunday and that McMahon and Rohe were sick by Monday. They played in only one game.

"We aren't sure what happened, if it was food poisoning or what," Parola said. "They're better now, but it took awhile."

Time for more: To ease his pitchers into the new season, Mundelein coach Todd Parola has been stingy with the innings.

But no more.

"Early on, we've tried to keep the pitch counts down," Parola said. "I don't think we've had anyone throw more than 65 pitches in a game.

"But now, we're at the point where we need our guys to give us more. Our pitchers will need to extend themselves more."

Parola is ready to see a lot more of Ben Mahar and Dante Martinez, his No. 1 and No. 2 pitchers, respectively. Both have been solid in their limited outings, leading Mundelein to a 5-2 record.

"They're both throwing strikes and mixing their speeds," Parola said. "Now, we're just going to have to add to that."

Parola is also hoping to add another pitcher to the rotation.

Colin Franklin is just now joining the team after off-season knee injury kept him out of commission early on. He hurt his knee during the winter hockey season.

"He actually pitched for a few innings on our (Spring Break trip to southern Illinois)," Parola said of Franklin. "He's running now and everything like that so we're hoping he'll be able to play a lot for us from now on."

Real thing: During the summer, Mundelein junior Luis Carrasco showed signs of prowess at the plate.

But the big question was, would that translate to the spring season?

"There's a big difference between the summer and the spring," Mundelein coach Todd Parola said. "We knew Luis was capable of big things, we were just waiting to see what would happen once the season started."

So far, the spring has been a continuation of the summer.

Over Spring Break, Carrasco clocked his second home run of the season. He also leads the Mustangs in overall hitting.

"He's our most consistent player offensively," Parola said of Carrasco. "He just finds ways to get the barrel on the ball. He can hit the curve and the fastball and he's able to turn on the inside fastball. He's able to do a lot of things to get a hit."

That hurts: Good thing Chris Rana has good reflexes.

If not, the Round Lake pitcher could be nursing much more than a sore chin.

He was pitching against Waukegan last Monday and when a line drive rocketed right toward his head, he quickly raised his glove for protection. The ball still made contact with his face, but it was deflected slightly by the glove.

Rana is lucky he needed only 8 stitches on his chin.

"It just grazed him because he was able to get his glove up," Round Lake coach Ed Adamson said. "Otherwise, it could have done a lot of damage."

As it was, Rana was knocked down.

But, as soon as he got up, the first thing he said was that he wanted to keep pitching.

"He had no idea he was bleeding everywhere," Adamson said. "He's just such a tough kid and he loves baseball so much. He's always wanting to play and work on his game. But, of course, we sent him to the hospital."

Adamson says that Rana could be ready to pitch again as early as Saturday.

"He says he's ready to play again," Adamson said. "If he's good to go and the trainers are OK with it, we'll pitch him."

That's good news for the Panthers. Rana is the team's No. 2 pitcher and has looked strong so far this season.

Good company: There was no break on spring break for Libertyville.

The Wildcats had a full plate while playing in Arizona at the Big League Dugout National Invitational.

"Of the 12 teams in the tournament, five were ranked among the Top 20 in 'Baseball America,'" Libertyville coach Jim Schurr said. "And we were in the toughest pool. We played two really good teams from Arizona and one from California and one from Utah. We went 1-3 but we did a lot of good things."

In the Wildcats' opening game, they faced Arizona perennial power Hamilton, which is ranked 10th in the nation and features three players who have committed to either Arizona State or Arizona, both collegiate powers.

"We had them beat but we ended up losing in extra innings," Schurr said. "The good thing was that I think our kids believe now that they can compete with anyone."

Good showing: Against some of the top teams in the country, Tyler Schweigert played some of his best baseball.

Over spring break, the Libertyville shortstop was named to the all-tournament team of the Big League Dugout National Invitational. Schweigert hit 3 home runs over four games and maintained a .600 batting average. He also helped the Wildcats turn a few double plays over the course of the tournament.

"Tyler is a great shortstop but he also has that kind of ability at the plate," Libertyville coach Jim Schurr said. "We were expecting him to be a leader for us offensively this year and he's definitely been that."

Tough trip: Libertyville pitcher Mark Boyle didn't have much fun on his team's Spring Break trip to Arizona.

He sprained his ankle sliding into second and was out of commission shortly after the Wildcats arrived.

"It happened on the second day," Libertyville coach Jim Schurr said. "And he didn't play the rest of the time we were there and he didn't get the chance to pitch."

Boyle is one of Libertyville's top three pitchers.

"The good news is he won't be out long," Schurr said of Boyle. "He should be fine. I think he'll be back (on the mound) the next time we need him."

All for nothing: Lakes coach Bill Rosencrans was really worried about his second baseman last summer.

But it turns out he didn't need to be.

Sophomore Nick Traska impressed coaches with his defensive play at second base during the summer season. But it was his offensive skills that were causing some apprehension.

"His hitting was a concern," Rosencrans said of Traska. "Last summer, he was barely hitting the ball out of the infield. Literally. And we were worried about that.

"But he was so solid at second and we really didn't have anything else going there. We needed someone there for defense, so we just figured we were going to have to deal with his hitting,"

Let's just say that dealing hasn't been such a big deal after all. In fact, Traska's .480 batting average and 9 RBI have been very easy to take.

"He's leading our team in RBI and he's actually one of our best hitters," Rosencrans said with a laugh. "It's amazing. After the summer, I think Nick recognized that he needed work on his hitting and he really ran with that. We were hitting twice a week during the fall and winter and he never missed a work out. Literally. I don't think he ever missed a day."

Rosencrans said that Traska, along with fellow sophomore Jake Brown, a shortstop, were frequent weight room visitors, too.

"The difference between last summer and now is just unbelievable for Nick," Rosencrans said. "We've actually moved him up to our No. 2 spot in the lineup. He just really worked himself into such a better hitter. He's got a good approach now. He's a good, solid hitter. It's been great to see."

Off-field fun: It wasn't all baseball for Lakes on its spring break trip to the St. Louis area.

The Eagles also did some cardio work - by playing laser tag.

"We rented out this giant, two-story laser tag place and we had a great time," Lakes coach Bill Rosencrans said. "The senior class won, but the coaches definitely were competitive."