Baseball: Libertyville shuts out Stevenson to remain unbeaten

It didn't take long for Libertyville to make themselves feel at home in Lincolnshire on Wednesday.

A strong early start paced the Wildcats to an 8-0 win at Patriot Park and improve their perfect record to 16-0 overall and 4-0 in NSC play.

The Wildcats scored runs in each of their first three innings scoring three in the first, one in the second, and three more in the third.

A two-run double by junior DH Chase Lockwood commenced the scoring followed by an RBI sacrifice fly by junior left fielder Jack Cenar.

Senior catcher Quinn Schambow then made it 4-0 on a run-producing ground ball out in the second.

Junior second baseman Trevor Wallace connected on another two-run double in the third and would cross home later in the inning on a wild pitch.

Wallace would later finish the scoring by scoring on a single by senior center fielder Mason Strader in the top of the seventh.

Meanwhile sophomore starter Brady Buenik kept Stevenson (7-10, 1-3) in check as he held them to just 2 hits while fanning 6 over 5 innings followed by senior Zach Seiler closing the game out allowing just one hit while striking out two.

Buenik allowed himself to stay focused as he successfully negotiated game-time temperatures that started in the mid-50s and steadily dropped into the high 40s by game's end.

"I try not to let the cold bother me too much," Buenik said. "If you let the cold bother you it's going to affect you. So, I just thought (to) go out there and pound the (strike) zone and do what I do best and get people out."

He also helped praise on his catcher, Schambow, an Oklahoma State recruit, for aiding his outing.

"He's awesome," Buenik said. "I can definitely say Quinn helped me out behind the plate. There's no other guy I'd want behind there."

Buenik's effort also received praise from his coach as well.

"I'm real happy with the way Brady's thrown the ball," coach Matt Thompson said. "He threw a little bit for us a freshman. It was good to get that (experience) under his belt because this year he seems a lot more confident. Not fazed. The Stevenson fans were razzing him and so that was great."

Thompson also liked his team's victorious performance in addition.

"Obviously our defense played really well. Plus hitting the ball well (offensively) and scoring early helped too. All phases of our game have been put together and we've got to keep that going."