Benet 8, Nazareth 1

Thirteen strikeouts later, Benet's Bryan Roberts explained how he didn't have his best stuff Wednesday.

Needless to say, he had some convincing to do.

"In the first inning I was just trying to do what I usually do and get away with the fastball, but I just didn't have the speed on it," he said. "I had to rely more on the off-speed today, especially in the first inning when I got hit around a little bit."

Hit around a little bit?

Roberts allowed only three of them in 6 innings for the Redwings in their 8-1 East Suburban Catholic Conference victory over Nazareth in Lisle.

Granted, the hard-throwing Illinois-bound right-hander did struggle with his control a bit. Roberts (4-1) allowed 4 walks to give him 7 on the season against 68 strikeouts. But if not for an unearned first-inning run, Benet (11-4, 6-0) would have enjoyed a shutout.

Adam Janssen closed the game with a scoreless seventh inning.

"He's a Division I kid, and we knew what we were getting when he's on the mound," Nazareth coach Lee Milano said of Roberts. "He's going to dominate, but I was pleased with some of the at-bats we had."

An infield error by Benet opened the game, and after a two-base sacrifice bunt Matt Fulton's fielder's choice put Nazareth (11-5, 2-4) ahead 1-0. Stranding five runners in scoring position along the way, the Roadrunners and starting pitcher Michael Moles (2-1) held the lead until the bottom of the fourth.

An RBI groundout by Kyle Vesevick and an error scored 2 runs for Benet in the fourth inning. The Redwings added a third run when Mike Vanchieri was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Run-scoring singles by Vesevick and Alex Staehely boosted the lead to 5-1 in the fifth inning. The Redwings added 2 runs in the sixth when Staehely, who went 3-for-4, and O'Rourke had RBI singles.

"One through nine I thought we did a pretty good job of putting the ball in play," said Benet coach Jeff Bonebrake.

Benet's off to a perfect start in the ESCC, but much work needs to be done in the near future. The Redwings face a Saturday doubleheader against Marist and then a pair of games against state power Joliet Catholic next Monday and Wednesday.

"It's good to start out strong, especially with tough teams coming up," Staehely said. "With the whole conference top to bottom, every win's important."