Baseball: Got to hand it to Mundelein's Hanscom
Shy of advancing to the Class 4A state championship game, Mundelein's baseball team will fail to win 20 games in a season for the first time since 2004.
Assuming the Mustangs can't pull off the miracle, they will always have Thursday and Jonathan Hanscom's gem.
Maybe Saturday, too.
Hanscom, the modestly built junior who's been getting varsity batters out consistently since his last spring, was at his best Thursday. He pitched a 5-hit shutout, striking out 12 and not walking a batter, as Mundelein beat seventh-seeded Libertyville 3-0 in a semifinal of the Stevenson regional.
No. 11 Mundelein (15-13) advances to Saturday's 11 a.m. final against No. 15 Highland Park (16-15), which upset No. 2 Stevenson Wednesday.
"The loss of Stevenson opens a big hole to the sectional championship," Mundelein junior Austin Greco said after hitting a solo homer and driving in another run on a sacrifice fly. "Yeah, we were a .500 ballclub, but now we just got to play."
Pitching performances like Hanscom's go a long way.
"He was changing speeds and throwing strikes with both (fastball and changeup)," said coach Matt Thompson, whose Wildcats finished 21-14. "He was challenging guys with his fastball, and he kept his off-speed (pitches) down and didn't make a mistake there."
As far as aces of Mundelein pitching rotations go, the 5-foot-10, 150-pound Hanscom hardly resembles Brendan Murphy (6-4, Milwaukee Brewers organization) or Steven Sanchez (6-7, University of Arkansas). Hanscom throws right-handed, too, as opposed to Murphy and Sanchez.
"Different physique, yes," said Greco, grinning. "But he did his job. He was amazing. He kept us in the game. Shutout. Five hits. Can't do anything more than that."
Hanscom didn't allow an extra-base hit on a warm afternoon and set down the side in order in both the sixth and seventh after Libertyville stranded runners on second and third in the fifth. His 12th strikeout ended the game. He relied mainly on his fastball, throwing his curveball about 25 percent of the time, he estimated.
Mundelein coach Randy Lerner called Hanscom a "bulldog."
"It's probably one of (my) better games," Hanscom said. "The whole team was rowdy. It was all fun."
It was less fun for him when Libertyville beat visiting Mundelein 6-2 on May 1. Hanscom allowed 6 runs (3 earned) in 5 innings.
"I feel like I got pinched a little bit behind the plate the first time," Hanscom said. "This time (the umpire) was calling more strikes, so I was able to hit my spots a lot better."
Libertyville starting pitcher Ryan Klainos threw 4⅓ innings (2 earned runs). Greco led off the top of the fourth by hitting a pitch over the fence in left field for his fourth homer of the season. Justin Binz doubled home Daniel Pacella with two out in the inning, and Greco's flyball in the fifth scored Christian Diaz (1-for-4) with the Mustangs' final run.
" (Klainos) didn't really establish his curveball," said Thompson, whose Wildcats got a pair of hits from Will Murphy. "Then they could start locking in on fastball a little bit."
Andrew Schroeder went 2-for-4 for Mundelein, which split a pair of North Suburban Conference games with Libertyville.
"It's not what we planned, but we've known all along that we've got it within us," Lerner said. "We've had injuries, weather got to us, and we've had different circumstances throughout the year that we had to battle through. Our mantra last week was, 'Each day we got to get better,' and each day we have gotten better. Today we showed that."
Having Greco on the field Thursday was another positive for Mundelein. The Miami (Ohio) commit started in right field after making his season debut in the field Monday in a playoff tuneup against New Trier. A strained labrum in his rotator cuff had limited Greco to DH duties this spring. He has not pitched all season and will not, he said.
Regardless, the Mustangs showed against their rival that they remain a proud program.
"It feels amazing," Hanscom said. "We haven't won a lot this year, but we figured out our team."