Libertyville finds its way

With his starter running on fumes and a reliever ready to supply gas, Libertyville coach Jim Schurr detoured a Buss, proving again that you never know what you’re going to see on a baseball field.

Fortunately for Libertyville, disaster — if not a funny moment — was avoided.

Wildcats ace Darwin Townsend got through the sixth inning after all, and Jason Buss finished up on the mound, as Libertyville topped visiting Stevenson for the second day in a row, this time by an 8-4 final Wednesday.

“Anytime you can sweep the Patriots, it’s a good thing,” Schurr said after his Wildcats improved to 14-6 and 5-1 in the North Suburban Lake Division.

Making his second start after missing two weeks with inflammation in his throwing elbow, Townsend was in complete control as the Wildcats built a 6-0 lead through three innings. The senior right-hander finally started to run out of gas in the sixth, as Anthony Bozin (single) and Will Bourbon (walk) reached to start the inning. A mound visit by Schurr was followed by an error to load the bases.

Townsend got a popout, before burly Zach Novoselsky lifted a sacrifice fly to break the shutout. When Jon Savarise rifled a single into left to load the bases again, Schurr hopped out of the dugout again.

As soon as he did, Buss stopped warming up down the left-field line and started his jog to the mound.

Buss crossed into fair territory and made it to third base when Schurr, standing on the mound, caught his anxious reliever.

Buss quickly made a sharp right turn and hustled to the dugout.

“I’m like, ‘No, no. Not yet,’ ” Schurr said with a laugh. “It was obvious I should have taken Darwin out of the game, but it’s tough to bring in a junior (Buss) with the bases loaded in a tight ballgame.”

Schurr had given Townsend the choice of staying in or calling it a day, and the pitcher chose the former. Jack Karras touched Townsend for a 2-run single to pull the Patriots within 6-3, but the next hitter bounced out to end the inning.

“I saw him,” Townsend said of Buss. “I was like, ‘Uh-oh.’ But that’s OK. We know Jason is going to be ready to go. That’s the kind of kid he is. He’s ready to go at all times.”

Townsend was ready from the start, retiring the side in order in the first two innings. He got three called-third strikes in the second.

Through five innings, Bill Sullivan and Steve Galanopoulos had the only hits for Stevenson (12-8, 3-3).

“I think Darwin was effective because he was hitting his spots and getting ahead of hitters,” said Karras, Stevenson’s Emory University-bound second baseman.

“When he was on the mound, he had a swagger. He knew he was going to make a big pitch when he had to.”

“I felt good,” said Townsend, who threw 93 pitches. “When you’re in the groove, you just feel comfortable with whatever you have to throw.”

Townsend scattered 5 singles over his 6 innings, striking out six and walking two. All 3 runs he allowed were unearned.

“Darwin was hitting his spots unbelievably,” Schurr said. “If you can find holes in swings and pitch the ball there, you’re going to do OK.”

Stevenson didn’t do a lot well, particularly early.

“In every facet of the game, they outplayed us,” Patriots coach Paul Mazzuca said. “Their outfield play was fantastic. Their pitcher got ahead. Ours did not. They played a far better baseball game than we did.”

A day after scoring 18 runs on 19 hits, Libertyville pounded the ball again. The Wildcats touched Patriots starter Scott Irving for 2 runs in the first on Townsend’s RBI groundout and Matt Vogt’s run-scoring single. Anthony Mack’s sacrifice fly in the second came after Nick Coutre’s single ended Irving’s day.

Facing Matt Allen in the third, Libertyville strung together 5 straight hits. Townsend and Vogt started the inning with doubles. Justin Guarnaccio’s bloop single was followed by Kevin McQuillen’s base hit. P.J. Neumann then crushed a double to plate two more runs.

Mack, Evan Skoug (RBI double) and Vogt (3 RBI) each had 2 hits. Mack, who missed several games the previous week with an illness, was coming off a 3-hit game Tuesday. He had been red-hot before getting sick.

“Picking up where I left off,” said Mack, smiling.

Stevenson leadoff hitter and center fielder Max Golembo, who just returned to the lineup after missing two weeks with a hamstring pull, took himself out of the game with Libertyville batting in the third.

“You can tell he’s not right,” Mazzuca said. “He couldn’t get to balls he normally does.”