Baseball: Geraghty, Mundelein edge Stevenson
It was a rare pitchers' duel when host Mundelein met Stevenson Tuesday afternoon in a North Suburban Conference baseball game.
Mundelein junior Ryan Geraghty (3-0) was outstanding in going the distance on the mound for the Mustangs as he threw a 1-hitter while striking out 12 Stevenson batters in the contest.
The Patriots' pitching was also fantastic, allowing only 3 hits. But a walk-off RBI single by Mundelein senior Tommy Stricklin carried the Mustangs to an exciting 2-1 victory as they beat Stevenson (9-3, 2-2) for the second time in two days.
Mundelein (10-1, 4-0) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first against Stevenson freshman pitcher Brady Rosenkranz (1 earned run in 4 innings) as Drew Wellington (2-for-4) reached base on an infield hit before scoring on an RBI sacrifice fly to center field by Stricklin with one out.
The Patriots bounced back in the top of the second as junior Colin Schmitke was hit by a pitch to open the inning, stole second base, and scored on a one-out RBI double to center field by Bryan Park to tie the score at 1-1. It was the first earned run allowed by Geraghty this season in his six outings as a starter and a reliever.
That would be the last hit Stevenson would get the rest of the game, though, as Geraghty retired 15 of the next 16 batters he faced, only allowing a two-out walk to Owen Housinger in the top of the third.
"I like the way we competed out there. I just had to pitch well and keep us in it," said Geraghty. "Our shortstop (Michael Farina) made a bunch of great plays. Hats off to Tommy Stricklin and shout out to him. We had to battle today."
The Mustangs' winning rally started when Farina got hit by a pitch by Stevenson reliever Jonas Salgado with one out in the bottom of the seventh before Salgado (2⅔ innings pitched) struck out the next batter.
Mundelein's Daniel Pacella (2 walks) walked to put runners on first and second before Stricklin's RBI single down the right-field line set off the Mustangs' postgame celebration.
"The conference is very tough with us, Lake Zurich, Warren, Libertyville, and Mundelein," said Stevenson coach Nick Skala, whose team lost to Mundelein 6-2 on Monday. "I'm proud of my guys in this series, but we struck out 23 times in two days so we have to be a little more productive with our bats."
Mundelein coach Randy Lerner is happy with the great start his squad is off to this season
"(Geraghty) works quick, he keeps the ball down, and he looked phenomenal overall," said Lerner, whose team struck out six times against the two Stevenson pitchers. "Tommy had a great approach, he was aggressive throughout, and they were pitching him away all day."
The Mustangs had a chance to take the lead twice before the seventh inning, but they left two runners stranded on base in the fourth and fifth innings.