Baseball: McAleer, Prospect blank Round Lake in regional opener
Matt McAleer made sure that Prospect didn't take a knee.
McAleer pitched six shutout innings and drove in 3 runs with a pair of hits as the Knights blanked Round Lake 8-0 in the opening round of the Class 4A Deerfield regional Monday in Mount Prospect.
"It was fun," said McAleer, who is 4-2 on the mound this season.
"I just pitched to contact and let my teammates make plays. It was awesome. I think this gives us a lot of momentum for our next game."
McAleer stymied 19th-seeded Round Lake.
He retired the first nine Panthers he faced and scattered 2 hits while he striking out 7 and walking 2.
"It is great to see Matt pound the strike zone and get us out of here" Prospect coach Ross Giusti said. "He got us outs. He has been doing it all year. He has been Mr. Consistent for us. He has a lot of confidence behind him."
McAleer also came up big with his bat for Prospect (16-13-1).
The junior lofted a triple to the gap in the first inning to score Dan Morgan, who had walked. McAleer then came home to score on a fielder's choice by Ethan Burgh.
Prospect added single runs in the second, fourth and fifth innings,
Ed Brancato had a sacrifice fly to score Morgan, who had singled in the second.
"I just liked my approach," said Brancato, who also had 2 hits on the day.
"I just want to go up there and be aggressive and put the ball in play."
Jacob Kiel, who walked, stole two bases and later scored on a fielder's choice by Morgan in the fourth. Kiel then had a sacrifice fly in the fifth to score Tyler Priessing in the fifth.
The Knights broke the game open in the sixth. McAleer's single drove in both Morgan, who had walked, for the second time and Ed Brancato, who had two hits on the day. McAleer the scored on Priessing's fielder's choice.
"We did what he had to on offense," Giusti said. "It was a good all around game for us."
Round Lake (6-22) came into the game winners in two of its last three games. But the Panthers struggled to get anything going against McAleer or Burgh, who came in to pitch in the seventh.
"We kind of came out flat in pregame and it carried over a little bit " Round Lake coach Ed Adamson said. "Their pitcher had a lot to do with that. I thought with Wyatt (Hill) and the way he had been pitching we would have a chance at the end. It just didn't work out."
Prospect, which is seeded 14th in the St. Viator sectional, will play third-seeded Lake Forest (22-10) on Wednesday in the Deerfield regional semifinals at 4:30 p.m.
"They have won 20 games for a reason," Giusti said of Lake Forest. "We are playing a lot better than a 14 seed over the last couple weeks. We don't have anything to lose. We are going to go there and do our thing."