Baseball: Stevenson's hot bats cool off Mundelein
Stevenson threw some leather at North Suburban Conference rival Mundelein Tuesday in Lincolnshire.
Stevenson turned a pair of key double plays in the first three innings to end a pair of Mundelein threats. That enabled Stevenson to gain momentum and pull away for a 9-2 win.
"We've got an infield that has been together for three seasons now," Stevenson coach Nick Skala said. "Guys know where they are going to be. It is wonderful for me because it relaxes me as a coach."
Mundelein (7-4, 3-1), which is still playing without any of its usual players due to suspensions last week, came out inspired.
Nick Szalony led off with a sharp single and Sean Sanderson walked to put a pair of runners on with no outs. But Stevenson starter Chris Iannuzzi induced a grounder to second baseman Colin Schmitke, who promptly tagged out the runner and threw to first to help end threat.
Each team scored a run in the second.
Mundelein scored thanks to a throwing error and an RBI single by Baris Brua. Stevenson tallied on Matthew Bressler's RBI single.
Mundelein grabbed a 2-1 lead as Caden Earing singled home Szalony, who had doubled. The Mustangs again had runners on first and second, this time with one out. Patriots third baseman Michael Belbot then took a ground ball, stepped on third and threw to first for the double play to end the threat.
"My defense is always working for me and I am always grateful for them," said Iannuzzi, who settled down from there to strike out six while going all seven innings.
"We turned that huge double play in the first inning. They are always there for me."
With the momentum clearly on their side, Stevenson (12-5, 2-2) went to work.
The Patriots sent 10 batters to the plate in the third and another eight in the fourth. They were able to score four runs in each inning to put the game away.
"I told our teammates we just got to go out there and play," said Joe Dolenga, who hit an RBI sacrifice fly in the third and two-run single in the fourth.
"Just like backyard baseball. Swing at the whiffle ball. It's not that deep."
Luca Morelli had two hits, including a double and drove in two runs in the third.
"We have tried to be more aggressive at the plate," Morelli said. "Skala wants us swinging if it is there and driving the ball and getting our guys in."
Joe Richardson had two hits and an RBI while Brandon Schultz had two hits, including a double, and scored twice.
"Stevenson against Mundelein is always a big game," Skala said. "The kids know each other. It is good. It is good for our conference. They came out with a lot of energy and we came out and didn't expect that. We have to focus on what we are doing."
Szalony had three hits for Mundelein, which had six hits in the game.
"I liked how we started," Mundelein coach Randy Lerner said. "We came out with a lot of energy. We put a little pressure on them. We just couldn't maintain that throughout the entire game."