Taskovic up to the task for Grayslake North

Brendan Taskovic is always a welcomed guest in the Whalen household.

Still.

"I've known Brendan since he was 9 years old," Grayslake Central baseball coach Troy Whalen said. "He's one of my kid's best friends. I'm sure they'll hang out tonight."

Brett Whalen plays varsity baseball for his dad. Brett's buddy figured to be in the better mood Friday night after Taskovic fired a complete-game shutout to lead Grayslake North to a 3-0 win over visiting Grayslake Central.

"I'll text (Brett) later and see what he's doing," Taskovic said. "We'll hang out or something."

Pitching for the first time against the Rams in a Fox Valley Conference Fox Division game, Taskovic scattered just 3 hits (all singles). The 5-foot-10 righty struck out three, walked three and hit a pair. His defense backed him up, as third baseman Danny Yates triggered double plays to end the last two innings, while Merrick Gentile picked everything hit his way at shortstop.

"I was feeling good warming up," Taskovic said. "I like (working) fast (on the mound). But (the shutout) wasn't possible without all the plays we made in the field."

Alex Carrillo helped make the win for Grayslake North (14-15, 6-7) possible too, as the junior catcher drove in all three of the game's runs. Carrillo had 3 of the Knights' 5 hits against Rams starter Sam Ruhlmann, who also went the distance on the mound. Carrillo finished 3-for-3. He had a two-out, 2-run single in the first and an RBI single past a drawn-in infield in the fifth.

"Really, the approach was, get guys on, get them over and get them in," Carrillo said. "My teammates did a good job of getting on first and second and then moving over to third."

Taskovic did not have a 1-2-3 inning but got big outs when he needed them. Grayslake Central (14-14, 7-9) stranded Devin Moran (1-for-2) at third base in the first, and the Rams had runners on first and second with none out in the second inning. Jay Hoffmann led off the Grayslake Central third with a single and stole second base, but got no farther.

"He throws three pitches for strikes, he attacks the zone, and he's not afraid to compete," Knights coach Andy Strahan said of Taskovic. "You have a chance with kids like that."

"He was hitting the strike zone," Carrillo, who threw out a Ram at second base, said of his batterymate. "The curve was working. The change, too. (Grayslake Central) is a good-hitting team, but we were able to beat them."

With his team struggling to execute offensively, Whalen went to his bench. Seven of the last eight batters Taskovic faced were pinch hitters.

"Just seeing if somebody else could maybe have a little magic," Whalen said. "We tried to bunt (earlier in the game). We couldn't do that. We put signs out there. We missed those."

Whalen didn't want it to sound like he was missing the point. His son's friend deserved credit. Lots of it.

"Let's not take anything away from him," Whalen said of Taskovic. "He pitched a great game. He had command. And you know what? He had fun out there on the mound."

How could Taskovic not have had a great time?

"With me growing up knowing a majority of the kids on their team, it was pretty fun," Taskovic said. "I love pitching against them. I love playing with them. They're a really good team, well-coached. It was a great win for all of us here at Grayslake North."

It was another frustrating loss for Grayslake Central, which hosts Grayslake North at 10 a.m. today. Ruhlmann struck out seven in his 6 innings of work. He walked three, hit four and was charged with 2 earned runs. The two batters he hit in the first (George Deligiannis and Gentile) scored on Carrillo's base hit.

"This is the kind of game you see from us about every other game," Whalen said. "It's just a question of which team shows up. It's an enigma."