Baseball: Prospect hangs on to down Hersey
Prospect's Matt McAleer went from mound to plate to help the Knights grind out 3-2 Mid-Suburban East baseball win over Hersey Monday in Mount Prospect.
McAleer pitched a complete game and had a pair of ground out RBI for a Prospect team that has scrapped all season long.
"Our kids have been resilient all year," Prospect coach Ross Giusti said. "We started out slow and have struggled a little bit offensively at times. Our kids have just hung in there and played hard. And that is all we ask of them."
McAleer did all the things right for Prospect (11-12-1, 6-6).
He had all four of his pitches hitting their spots well enough to limit Hersey to 5 hits, two of which came to the first three batters he faced. But he was able to bear down when necessary and make the big pitch to end threats.
"I didn't have my stuff," McAleer said. "But I felt like I was throwing strikes. They definitely left runners on and I came up with the big pitches."
Nothing might have been bigger than in the top of the seventh for McAleer and the Knights. Hersey (13-11, 6-6) had a run in and had the tying runner on second with two outs. McAleer struck out the final Hersey batter to hold onto the victory.
"He is a throwback," Giusti said. "He is one of those kids who puts on his cleats, rolls up his sleeves and plays. No thought process other than playing the game the way it is supposed to be played."
Hersey tried to make short work of McAleer in the first inning.
A.J. Ceffalio led off the game with a double. He then scored after an out on an RBI single by Daniel Clawson. McAleer settled down from there, retiring the next nine batters and finished the game with 5 strikeouts.
Prospect put McAleer on top in its half of the first.
Dan Morgan walked and advanced on a passed ball and error. He then scored on a single by Ed Brancato. After Brancato moved up on a passed ball and wild pitch, he scored on the first of two fielders choices by McAleer.
"It was fun," McAleer said. "I just put the ball on the right side. I didn't think too much and didn't try to kill the ball."
Prospect got an insurance run in the third when Morgan singled, stole second and went to third on a wild pitch before scoring on McAleer's grounder to second.
"We are just trying to focus on getting on base and the hits will come," Morgan said. "We have been doing a good job of moving guys over and getting them in."
Hersey took a page out of the Prospect book in the seventh when it tried to tie the game.
Daniel Kubsik, who doubled earlier and was stranded at second, led off the seventh with a single. He went to second on a wild pitch and then moved along on a pair of groundouts, the second coming by Trey Schmidt, that made it 3-2.
Ceffalio was hit by a pitch and then stole second. But he was stranded there after McAleer got the game-ending strike out.
"I was just a little upset with that first inning," Hersey coach Wally Brownley said. "We had some chances and didn't add on and then we gave up a couple of runs. We just didn't come up with the big hit in spots."