Kimpler and Co. claim a no-hit victory for Libertyville

A baseball game - and a day - that lacked perfection proved special for Ben Kimpler nonetheless.

Libertyville's three-sport star had never thrown a no-hitter in his three varsity seasons. On Tuesday, under gray skies, he settled for sharing one.

Kimpler, with help from relievers Matt Friello and Colin Fields, beat host Mundelein 3-0 in a North Suburban Lake Division opener on a breezy day that featured a game-time temperature of 41 degrees. With rain falling, the game was called after six innings due to darkness.

Despite issuing 10 walks, Libertyville improved to 7-1. Mundelein, which saw junior ace Brendan Murphy surrender 3 runs in the first inning, fell to 7-2.

The 6-foot-7 Kimpler pitched 5 innings, striking out three. He did walk a hefty 7 batters, which explained his exit.

"I'm so proud of Ben," Libertyville coach Sean Ferrell said. "He deserved (the no-hitter). He's a tough kid."

"I didn't even know (about the no-hitter) until I came out and I looked at the score book," Kimpler said after throwing 94 pitches. "It's one of those things where you're just into the game so much that you're not focusing on yourself. You're just focusing on the team and the final outcome of the game."

The closest Mundelein came to getting a hit was in the fourth, when Brett Parola lined a Kimpler pitch to the gap. Wildcats center fielder Daniel Marks got a good jump on the ball, which hung up, and ran it down in left-center field. An inning earlier, Libertyville second baseman Ryan Greenberg made a running catch on Zack Zagula's popup down the right-field line.

Friello, a 6-3 senior lefty, relieved Kimpler to start the bottom of the sixth. After he walked Zagula and Will Michalski to start the frame, Fields replaced him. Fields promptly walked Parola to load the bases.

But Fields, a 6-foot sophomore right-hander, struck out the next two batters. He got the final out on a groundball to Greenberg at second base in earning the save.

Mundelein, even without getting a base hit, stranded 9 runners.

"It was awful. Embarrassing, actually," Mustangs coach Todd Parola said. "We looked like a bunch of frozen (players) in the (batter's) box."

"Even though it was like 40 degrees, it was a pitchers game because they're the only ones out there that are moving every pitch and staying warm," said Kimpler, who improved to 3-0. "Getting the feeling in the hands was definitely a factor, but just going out there and having confidence in yourself is the biggest thing for pitching."

Kimpler walked at least one batter in each of his five innings. Nick Stricker led off the Mundelein fifth with a walk, but Kimpler got help from first baseman Tim Calamari, who triggered a 3-6-3 double play, before Kimpler got Reese Dolan on a soft liner to end the inning.

"Ben is pretty much as close to automatic as it gets," Libertyville catcher Jack Petersen said. "He comes out every week and we know that we can count on him to throw a good 5-6 innings. He did that today and helped us win."

Greenberg, a lefty-hitting sophomore, led off game by singling to left field. Murphy then hit Chase Patterson and walked Calamari to load the bases. The cleanup-hitting Petersen then singled up the middle for the game's first run. Marks was next, and he coaxed a walk to make it 2-0. After a strikeout, Brant Kim drew another bases-loaded pass from Murphy.

"We knew Murphy was going to try to get ahead with his fastball," Petersen said. "We were just looking to get in fastball counts and drive the ball low because the wind was holding it up today."

Petersen and Greenberg each went 2-for-3. Brian Murphy had Libertyville's only other hit.

"We've been working really hard on two-strike hitting and our approach the last week," Ferrell said. "I liked in the first inning that we took (Murphy) to a couple of 3-2 counts. I felt we had quality at-bats."

Mundelein's Murphy left after walking his fourth batter. He struck out eight but also hit a pair in his 3⅔ innings. The runs were the first that the 6-4 lefty allowed this season (14⅔ innings).

"Give (Libertyville) credit. They dealt with the conditions better than we did," Todd Parola said. "Not only did we have only one hard-hit ball, but I don't think we even had good swings."