Bunnelle, Mundelein solve Libertyville

After pitching a shutout against Libertyville, Mundelein senior Hillary Bunnelle removed her sunglasses and protective mask, wiped the sweat from her face and hustled for a picture outside her team’s dugout.

Bunnelle’s softball teammate Haley Morelli needed a picture of the pitcher for the yearbook.

Makeup wasn’t available.

“Yeah, I know, I look gorgeous,” Bunnelle said with a laugh.

Bunnelle’s pitching performance: gorgeous.

It had the Mustangs smiling yearbook-pose smiles.

The right-hander fired a 3-hitter, as visiting Mundelein blanked Libertyville 6-0 in North Suburban Lake Division action on a sunny Wednesday.

“I’ve had a couple of rough games the past week, so this is good,” Bunnelle said. “I felt a lot better going out there. I felt a lot more in control. My changeup hasn’t been working. That’s my favorite pitch, and I got that back today.”

Mundelein (10-9, 5-2) climbed above the .500 mark for the first time, coach Ted Juske Jr. said, since the Mustangs won their season opener last year.

The team counted only 7 wins all last season.

“It’s awesome,” Bunnelle said. “I like it. ...(Improvement) is what we’re going for. That’s the big thing.”

Bunnelle’s counterpart, Libertyville sophomore Dana Kym, was making her first varsity start in the circle. Called up from the JV team after a recent injury to ace Calley Kaluzny, Kym pitched creditably after walking three and allowing 2 runs, including one on a wild pitch, in the opening inning.

She allowed 3 earned runs in her 7 innings, walking eight and striking out three.

“She does have command of her pitches, but she was nervous (in the first inning),” said Libertyville coach Mary Tiegs, whose Wildcats fell to 4-15 and 0-7 in the NSC Lake.

Mundelein was aggressive on the base paths all game, stealing five bases and taking the extra base every chance it got.

That’s the Mustangs’ plan.

“I told them at the beginning of the year, ‘People put pressure on us. Why can’t we put pressure on other people? Make them make plays?’ ” Juske said of his players.

Mustangs leadoff hitter Justina Doll walked three times, stole three bases and scored 3 runs.

“She’s kind of our table-setter,” Juske said of the senior and four-year varsity starter. “How she goes, we go.”

Deanna Wise, another veteran, singled home Doll to give Mundelein a 1-0 lead and later scored on a wild pitch. Mustangs freshman Caity Hanscom came through with a two-out, 2-run single in the third to make it 5-0.

Bunnelle’s sacrifice fly scored Doll with the game’s final run in the fourth.

Mundelein’s Alex Hemmer (2-for-3) was the only hitter from either side to have more than one hit.

Bunnelle struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter. The only hits she surrendered were singles to Maggie Meyer, Liv Wilcox and Nicole Kruckman.

“She’s gotten a lot better (since last year),” Juske said of Bunnelle, his second-year ace. “The changeup she throws is kind of her out pitch. She’s not going to go out and overpower anybody, but she locates and changes speeds, and that’s the name of the game.”

Bunnelle retired the final 11 Wildcats she faced.

“Our bats, we’re kind of in a slump right now,” Tiegs said. “We’re not hitting.”