Baseball: Mueller helps Lakes out-pitch Grant

Five batters into his pitching start at Grant on Saturday morning, Lakes' Logan Mueller looked like he might challenge the single-game pitch count his coach tallied that one day a long, long time ago.

"Ten innings against East Troy, in high school - 162 (pitches)," said Bob Holst, Lakes' early-40s head coach and former Wilmot Union (Wis.) lefty.

Truth is, thanks to IHSA rules that were put in place last year, Mueller would have never flirted with a pitch count even close to Holst's 162.

But that fact that Mueller maxed out on pitches - firing 112 in 6⅔ innings before being relieved by E.J. Roncone - said a lot about the junior right-hander's perseverance. He survived a shaky first inning to earn the win, Roncone retired the only batter he faced to notch the save, and Lakes prevailed 1-0 for its second straight victory over Grant in the finale of the teams' three-game Northern Lake County Conference series.

Lakes, which won 2 of 3 from Grant, improved to 13-7 and 7-5 in the NLCC. Grant dropped to 15-4 and 7-2.

"He kept with the same stuff throughout the whole game," Grant's Augustana-bound first baseman Chase Maifield said of Mueller. "He got into 2-0 counts where it looked like we were going to force a walk out of him, and then we got ourselves out part of the time. But he was definitely throwing good stuff."

Mueller allowed only 2 hits (both singles to sophomore Val Cerna) but walked four and hit four batters. After he loaded the bases with Bulldogs with two out in the first, sandwiching a walk with two hit batsmen, he got a mound visit from his coach.

Said Holst: "I said, 'Hey don't worry about it. I've been in this situation. Just play the game. Bases are loaded. Who knows what can happen? A comebacker to you? We can get out of this, or we can freak out and get upset and not get out of it.' "

Mueller got out of it. He worked the count full on dangerous-hitting Mikal Ashley, before burning the outside corner for a called-third strike.

"We just needed a big hit in that inning," Grant coach Dave Behm said.

"That was a rough start, but I knew my team would be able to help me out and get us some run support, and the defense would take care of it," Mueller said. "The offense got me the run support, and I felt more comfortable."

Roncone drove in the game's only run with a fourth-inning single off Grant starter Chris Nesterowicz that scored Joe Glassey from second base.

Mueller worked primarily off his fastball, mixing in a slider and curveball.

"I didn't throw a changeup today, but typically that's one of my secondary pitches," Mueller said. "My release point was off the first couple of innings, and then the third inning rolled around and I started to find it. The defense picked me up the entire game."

Lakes turned double plays, bothered triggered by shortstop Andrew Gaetano, in the first and sixth innings. Catcher Jeff Nielsen threw out a would-be base stealer to end the second, and Mueller got the final out of the fifth when he picked a runner off first.

"I feel very confident in my first baseman that he'll make the plays (on pickoff attempts)," Mueller said of Glassey, who was the winning pitcher on Friday. "I don't have to worry about throwing one past him."

Lakes managed only 4 hits off Nesterowicz and Jay Patel, with Michael Behrendt going 2-for-2 with a walk.

For Grant, the two consecutive losses matched their 2-game losing streak from earlier in the season.

"I'm not too worried about it," Maifield said. "I think we're going to bounce back."

Grant did, improving to 16-4 by beating visiting McHenry 3-1 in its second game Saturday. Mike Lopez pitched 6 innings, allowing no earned runs, and Maifield threw the seventh, striking out two, for the save.