After varsity suspensions, Mundelein baseball rallies for win over Waukegan

A dark day for Mundelein baseball ended with some hope Thursday.

Mundelein, which had a sizable portion of its varsity players suspended for violating the athletic code of conduct, used an entirely new lineup and beat host Waukegan 11-6. It was a makeup of one the games that was canceled earlier this week after the violations were reported to school officials last Friday.

“I am very pleased and proud of our team effort today,” Mundelein coach Randy Lerner said. “We are going to work together as a family and this was a great next step.”

The Mustangs (6-2, 1-0) got off to a slow start in the first four innings.

Not just because of the situation, but also because they were facing Waukegan ace Anthony Solis, who will pitch at Eastern Illinois next year.

But Mundelein was able to battle their way to a 3-3 tie with Solis on the mound.

The Mustangs then exploded in the final three innings, scoring four runs in the fifth and sixth innings to put the game away.

Sean Sanderson had a key two-run single in the fifth that helped get the Mustangs on track.

“I came up with the approach of just trying to get a base knock,” said Sanderson, who had two hits, including a double and three RBI.

“I was trying to make something happen and get is some separation. He gave me the pitch to hit and I was able to do something with it.”

Ken Nanos had two hits and two RBI and three runs scored. “It was just ended up being a good day,” Nanos said. “We came out of here with a win and that is good.”

Mundelein banged out 10 hits on the day, with nine of them coming in the final three innings.

Tyler Prezespolewski had two hits, including a triple and an RBI, Evan Niernberg had a pair of doubles and an RBI while Tony Morano tripled and scored. Baris Brua pitched the first four innings and picked up the win while Brody Paluch pitched a scoreless inning.