Baseball: Kanyuh, St. Viator shut out Carmel
After defeating Carmel Catholic 6-4 on the road Tuesday in East Suburban Catholic Conference baseball action, host St. Viator kept its momentum going Wednesday afternoon in a rematch against the Corsairs in Arlington Heights.
Carmel (3-7-2, 0-3) only trailed 2-0 after three innings, but the Lions (11-3, 5-1) exploded for five runs in the bottom of the fourth en route to a 7-0 ESCC victory. St. Viator will go for a sweep of the three-game series against the Corsairs Thursday at home weather permitting.
St. Viator's Zan Schlegell reached base on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the first before eventually scoring on a two-out RBI single by Michael Nix for a quick 1-0 lead over losing pitcher Jon Hoy.
St. Viator's Bryan Hatch (3-for-4, 2 runs) gave the Lions a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third on a solo homer to right-center before they scored 5 runs on 5 hits in the bottom of the fourth.
No. 7-hitter Brandon Thomsen (2-for-3, 2 doubles) started the rally with a double before he scored on an RBI double by Ryan Jackson for a 3-0 lead.
Jimmy Reim came in to replace Hoy on the mound and he was greeted by a bunt single by St. Viator's Jack Glasstetter.
With one out, Jackson hustled down the third-base line to score on a fielder's choice by Schlegell before an RBI single by Hatch drove in Glasstetter for a 5-0 advantage. Schlegell scored on a wild pitch before Jake Vanbooven's RBI single drove in Hatch for a commanding 7-0 lead.
"Any time you can get multiple runs it's nice to give your starter (sophomore Allistair Kanyuh) that kind of a cushion," said St. Viator coach Terry Beyna, whose team outhit Carmel 13-6. "Our offense has been good all year and if you can combine that with good pitching that is a great recipe to win some games."
Kanyuh went 6 innings on the mound allowing just 3 hits while striking out 7 batters, including four in a row at one point late in his start.
"My fastball felt alive at the end, I was really locked in, and everybody is just hitting really nice now," said Kanyuh. "The top of our order produced a lot, and as a pitcher that really helps."
Sean Hogan had a double for the Lions while Carmel's Will Bartels also doubled. There was lightning seen out in the distance as early as the fifth inning, but the lightning detector never went off so the game was never stopped.
"The kid (Kanyuh) did a great job, give him all the credit in the world," said Carmel coach Chuck Gandolfi, who has over 600 career wins. "They put the ball in play and outplayed us in every phase so they're playing really well right now."