Baseball: Vernon Hills stays hot by beating Round Lake
Old North Suburban Conference Prairie Division rivals got together for a nonconference baseball game when host Vernon Hills met Round Lake Saturday under sunny, but cool weather conditions.
The Cougars built a 5-0 lead after three innings, and they ultimately rolled to an 11-1 victory in five innings as the Panthers' pitching struggled to find the strike zone throughout the early-season contest.
Vernon Hills improved to 4-0.
The Cougars struck first in the bottom of the second as No. 7-hitter Derek Jarrell drew a bases-loaded walk. A fielder's choice RBI by Jordan Krasner made the score 2-0 before Quinn Geren's sacrifice fly boosted the lead to 3-0 against Round Lake starting pitcher Wyatt Hill.
An error on a bunt by Brendan Holloway resulted in another run for the Cougars, and they never looked back after that point of the game. Danny Wizceb picked up the win on the mound for Vernon Hills.
It was Round Lake's first contest of the young season as the Panthers were unable to get in any games so far in 2019.
"This is the first time we've actually gone on a field because our field isn't ready yet," said Round Lake coach Ed Adamson, whose team was outhit 5-2. "We just have to do a better job throwing strikes. You are not going to win many games allowing 12 walks."
The Cougars added another run in the bottom of the third as an RBI single by designated hitter Jake Morris drove in Caleb Thomson for a 5-0 lead.
The Panthers did get their offense going in the top of the fourth as Gio Cirelli's fielder's choice RBI drove in pinch runner Manny Gomez to cut the gap to 5-1. But Vernon Hills was able to get out of the inning without any further damage.
In a scary incident, Round Lake catcher Lennard Pureza was hit in the left eye leading off the top of the fourth inning. Pureza walked off the field under his own power, and he was taken to the hospital after the game for more treatment, testing and observation.
"Hopefully our catcher will be OK," Adamson said. "He's our leader on defense. ... (Vernon Hills) is a good team. They're well coached, and they do a lot of things right."
Vernon Hills added 2 runs on no hits in the fourth against Round Lake relief pitcher Bryant Porcayo, who also struggled with his control in his first outing of the season.
Holloway walked and eventually scored on a bases-loaded walk by Thomson. Josh Liu walked and later scored on a bases-loaded walk by Jack Barsczc for a 7-1 advantage.
"I was really impressed by their starting pitcher (Hill)," said Vernon Hills coach Jay Czarnecki, whose team will play four games in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., beginning on Monday. "He did a good job of keeping our hitters off-balance, but we were able to run and that helped break his momentum. I feel bad for their catcher (Pureza). He did a really nice job behind the plate, and I hope he's OK."
The Cougars' reserves put the game away with 4 runs on 3 hits in the fifth highlighted by a 2-run double by David Palmer. Jacob Gates also had a double down the left-field line during the rally, while a bases-loaded walk by Alex Yu ended the game.
"Many of our guys got a chance to bat and they produced," Czarnecki said. "That was good to see."