Baseball: Yakimisky, Mundelein tame Libertyville
Randy Lerner remembers coaching the sophomores a couple of years ago.
That's when he first laid eyes on pitcher T.J. Yakimisky.
"I remember he was such a competitor and battled furiously," said Lerner, now the varsity baseball coach at Mundelein.
"He's really stepped up for us, especially since we've had some injuries."
Fast forward a couple of years and you have the same suspects, only now on varsity, and Yakimisky impressed his coach once again during a 7-4 North Suburban Conference victory on Senior Day.
"It's a testament to his competitiveness that he battled out of the very first inning," Lerner said. "That helped set the table and give us confidence and energy."
Two singles and a walk had loaded the bases but Yakimisky fanned the final two batters to get out of the first frame.
"I was trying to mix up my pitches to get ahead," said Yakimisky, who raised his record to 1-3. "We have a great defense and knew we had to score first after getting out of that inning."
Yakimisky ended up tossing 5⅔ innings, scattering 6 hits with 8 strikeouts and 1 walk. Rahul Champaneri pitched the final ⅔ for the save.
Back on offense, Mundelein (11-9, 7-3) did indeed score first in the bottom half of the first when Andrew Schroeder smacked an RBI single to plate leadoff hitter Christian Diaz (single) to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead after the first.
"We didn't have much energy a few days ago but it was there carrying over from prom last night," added Yakimisky.
After each team traded three-and-outs in the second, the big inning came in the third.
Libertyville (14-11, 5-5), which beat Mundelein at its place earlier in the week, put a 2-spot on the board to take a 2-1 lead.
With two outs, Dylan Drumke belted an RBI single to plate Tanner Kelly, who had singled. The Wildcats also scored when Drumke then scooted home on a wild pitch.
"We had more opportunities to cash in and couldn't," said Libertyville coach Matt Thompson. "Our pitcher (Derek Calamari) had some tough luck out there today."
Calamari (2-5) ended up going the distance in taking the loss, scattering 10 hits with 3 strikeouts and 2 walks.
Mundelein answered the Cats in the bottom of the third when it posted a 5-spot to take the lead for good at 6-2.
With one out and the bases loaded, Austin Greco got things rolling, lining a single left to score Sam Eddy, who led off the inning with a single.
Later in the frame, Yakimisky helped himself by launching a 2-run double to plate Justin Binz (reach on error) and Greco.
The Cats inched closer (6-3) with a single run in the top of the fifth. Calamari smacked a 2-out RBI single to plate Drumke, who doubled earlier.
The Mustangs added another run in the bottom half of the sixth when Diaz roped a double to left-center, scoring Eddy (reached on error) for a 7-3 cushion.
Libertyville didn't go quietly in the top of the seventh, plating another run to close the gap.
Drumke hit an RBI single to score Andrew Kim, who led the frame off with a walk. Drumke finished 3-for-3 with 2 runs and 2 RBI.
"I was proud of how we hung in there and tried to rally in the seventh," said Thompson. "But that five-spot really hurt us. There were a lot of plays we should have made."