Libertyville rises - and shines - on road trip
Libertyville's baseball team woke up hungry Wednesday morning in Arizona.
After two tough losses against some of the best teams in the country, Libertyville feasted on an unsuspecting Taylorsville, Utah squad that had come to the desert for spring break. The resulting 15-6 win was just what the Wildcats needed on another perfect, sunny day.
Tyler Schweigert got the win on the mound with 6 effective innings, giving up only 1 earned run.
But the story of the day was the early morning awakening of the Libertyville offense. The Wildcats got started in the top of the first with a leadoff triple by Schweigert followed by an RBI single by Joey Eichmann, a double by Chad Uhler, an RBI single by Brad Martin and an RBI groundout by Brandon Fowkes.
With a 4-0 lead after a half an inning, the Wildcats never looked back.
Martin finished with 2 hits, including a home run, 5 RBI and 4 runs scored. He also played stellar defense at first base.
Schweigert added 2 doubles and scored four times. Nathan Clark singled twice and had 3 RBI, while Josh Prochotsky had a single and stolen base.
Danville 5, Mundelein 4: Luis Carrasco went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, and Matt Risdon was 2-for-3 with a double for the visiting Mustangs.
Carmel 15, Prairie Ridge 3: Heavy winds put lots of air into Carmel's sails, as the Corsairs dropped the Wolves to 4-2.
Carmel countered three Prairie Ridge solo blasts with four long balls of their own, as they provided more than enough run support for winning pitcher Jon Huisel.
The senior right-hander threw all 5 innings, striking out six and allowing no walks.
Accounting for the offensive eruption were Kyle Bessa (double, 3 runs, 2 RBI), Alex May (home run, 4 RBI), Jimmy Spagna (home run, triple, 2 RBI), Chris Divarco (home run), Paul Poirier (home run, 3 RBI) and Mike Pudlo (2 hits, 2 runs).
The win evened Carmel's record at 2-2 as it prepares for Saturday's doubleheader against Stevenson.
West Chicago 24, Grant 5: Jeremy Wiker homered twice for the Bulldogs, and Kyle Hunter also went deep in the loss.
St. Charles North 14, Vernon Hills 2: At Rent One Park in Marion, the Cougars fell despite 2 hits apiece from Chris Marras and Eric Oberwise. Brian Palmer had a triple.
Carterville 5, Vernon Hills 3: At Carterville, the host school handed the Cougars their second loss of the day.
Vernon Hills got a home run from Tyler Coppney and doubles from Zach Kisley, Cesar Gallegos and Scott Kempel (2 RBI).
Vernon Hills 15 Grayslake N. 8: On Tuesday at Rent One Park in downstate Marion, the Cougars earned their first win of the season.
For Vernon Hills (0-4), its common theme had been the inability to capitalize on offensive opportunities.
That wasn't the case against Grayslake North.
With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, the Cougars finally received the timely hitting which had been missing. Eric Oberwise delivered a base hit to put VH ahead 1-0.
Following Brian Palmer getting hit by a pitch, Scott Kempel hit a two-strike pitch that one-hopped the left center field wall, approximately 400 feet away. Kempel circled the bases for an inside-the-park home run.
The offensive surge continued the entire game as the Cougars ended with 16 more hits, including 4 doubles and a triple.
Grayslake North showed a lot of fight, narrowing its deficit to 11-8 with a run in the sixth. But Vernon Hills put the game out of reach by scoring four more times in the bottom of the inning.
Kempel earned the win, and Cesar Gallegos pitched 2 innings of quality relief. Second baseman Anthony Mazza was the defensive standout for the Cougars with 7 assists. He also helped turn a 6-4-3 double play.
Oberwise led the offense by going 4-for-4 with 4 RBI and 2 runs scored. Zach Kisley went 3-for-5 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI and 2 runs. Besides his homer, Kempel also doubled. He finished 3-for-4 with 4 RBI and 2 runs scored.
Chris Marras (2-for-3, double, 2 runs, RBI), Chris Argianas (1-for-4, 2 runs, 2 RBI), Palmer (1-for-3, 2 runs), Tyler Coppney (2-for-4) and Mazza (1-for-4, RBI) also contributed.
Lakes 2, Highland 1: On Tuesday, the Eagles picked up their second win in as many days on their annual spring break trip.
Lakes received stellar pitching performances by juniors Nick Hibbing and Paul Kukulka. Hibbing started the game and threw 4 shutout innings, allowing only 1 hit. Kukulka followed up by allowing only 1 run through the final three innings.
Lakes scored its first run in the top of the first when Travis Vanderwall doubled with two outs. Kukulka walked and Wills Massie reached on an error to load the bases. Sophomore Nick Traska then drew a walk to force in a run.
The Eagles added another run in the top of the fifth with aid of two Highland errors.