Mandel, Mundelein manage to beat LZ
Mundelein lefty Jared Mandel and Lake Zurich right-hander Mike Lutz hooked up in a pitchers duel Tuesday.
“It’s too bad that either pitcher got tagged with a loss,” Lake Zurich coach Gary Simon said. “Mandel and Lutz were both on their game in freezing weather.”
In the end, Mandel was a tad better.
He struck out 13 and scattered 4 singles, as the visiting Mustangs won 2-0 in a North Suburban Lake Division showdown.
Mundelein (14-2, 3-0), which got a pair of doubles from Jordan Wiegold, scored in the fourth and seventh innings. Lutz, who pitched into the seventh inning, was charged with both runs. He struck out eight.
Lake Zurich (10-4, 2-1) had its chances against Mandel in the latter innings but couldn’t come up with the clutch hit. When Mandel wasn’t getting a big strikeout, he was aided by his fielders, as the Mustangs “played a perfect game on defense,” Simon said.
Wiegold, Ryan Dolan and Thomas Gandolfi each had 2 hits for Mundelein.
“You can’t beat a good team like Mundelein on 13 strikeouts,” Simon said. “I give all the credit to Mandel. He pitched a great game.”
Grayslake Central 7, Huntley 5: Ryan Fontana blasted a 2-run homer in the bottom of the fifth to break a 5-5 tie and lift the Rams in the Fox Valley Conference game.
Grayslake Central trailed 5-0 heading into the bottom of the third.
Jon Gurchak and Sean Boban each had a pair of hits in the win.
“Very proud of the boys,” Rams coach Troy Whalen said. “They were challenged to mount the comeback and they showed a lot of character and pride. Great win against a quality team.”
Kevin Peloza, the second of four Grayslake Central pitchers, tossed 3 scoreless innings to pick up his first varsity victory. Mark Ash struck out the side in the seventh to earn the save.
“Kevin was the difference,” Whalen said. “He gave our offense a chance to come back. He showed great poise, and I’m very proud of him.”
McHenry 7, Grayslake North 1: Travis McKenzie was 2-for-3 with a double, accounting for half of the Knights’ hits in their Fox Valley Conference loss.
McKenzie and Adam Gomski (1-for-2, walk) each had 2 stolen bases for Grayslake North (5-7, 0-1).
Gomski suffered the loss, allowing 5 runs (2 earned) in 5 innings.
Grant 4, Wauconda 2: Tyler Gorski’s walk-off double in the seventh gave the hosts a thrilling win in North Suburban Prairie Division play.
Gorski (2 RBI) and Jordan Villarreal (double, RBI) each had 2 hits for Grant (8-2). Winning pitcher Jared Helmich (7 innings, 2 earned runs, 5 strikeouts) helped his own cause with a single and an RBI.
Round Lake 4, Lakes 2: Anthony Burton pitched a complete game, allowing 5 hits while striking out five and walking three, as the visiting Panthers pulled out the North Suburban Prairie contest.
Anthony Gutierrez went 2-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored and stolen base for Round Lake. Randy Eanos and Juan Abascal each triple, and Ryan Newman contributed a single and stolen base and an RBI. Burton helped himself with a single, run scored and stolen base.
Lakes fell to 5-9 and 0-3.
Stevenson 8, Warren 7: Bill Sullivan was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, and the host Patriots scored the go-ahead run in the sixth to capture the North Suburban Lake game.
Stevenson (7-4) also got a 2-for-4 performance from Steve Galanopoulos, who knocked in 4 runs. Nick Costantini threw 2 scoreless innings in relief, striking out three, to record the win.
Warren got doubles from Ben Dinter, Pat Kenney and Alex Letto.
Libertyville 8, Zion-Benton 1: Nick Coutre and P.J. Neumann each went 2-for-3 with 2 doubles in the Wildcats’ North Suburban Lake opener.
Kyle Cibrario pitched 5 innings of 1-hit ball, allowing 1 run (unearned), striking out three and walking three for the win.
Matt Vogt also had 2 hits for Libertyville (7-3).
Antioch 12, North Chicago 1: Dave Riznicki earned the win, as the host Sequoits captured their North Suburban Prairie opener to improve to 5-3 overall.