On Monday evening the Lake Forest Scouts bats were completely shut down by Brendan Murphy of the Mundelein Mustangs, who has gotten plenty of attention from pro scouts after his commitment to Arizona State University. Despite having to face off against some of the best pitchers in the conference, the Lake Forest Scouts offense needed to wake up Tuesday evening at Mundelein (location changed due to the rain) in order to have a shot at taking the best of the three game set. Peter Turelli was given the starting job as pitcher for the Scouts while Mundelein started yet another dominant pitcher in Will Michalski. The game was expected to be a low scoring pitcher’s duel, but as the game progressed into the later innings that assumption was proven wrong.
Once again, things were very quiet on the basepaths through the first three innings of the game. Mundelein got the only scoring chance in the bottom of the third, but neither team really had a chance to put a run on the board or run away with the game. In the fourth inning, however, things changed.
The Scouts bats finally woke up in the top of the fourth inning. The first two Lake Forest batters reached on a walk and an error respectively, then Brad Czerniejewski hit a sharp single to center field allowing Drew Golde to easily score from third base. With a one run lead and things finally clicking, the Scouts did not want to stop. Later on with two outs in the inning and runners on second and third, Charlie Reinkemeyer stole home on a wild pitch, extending the Scouts lead to two runs. After Brain Heidbreder drew a walk, Ryan Lee showcased his talent by hitting a sharp line drive to right field, allowing both Czerniejewski and Heidbreder to score on a two out double. With a four run lead at the end of the top of the fourth, the Lake Forest Scouts were feeling comfortable, but it did not take Mundelein long to make the game interesting again.
The Mundelein Mustangs got runners on base immediately in the bottom of the fourth. The first man up, Jeff Morton, hit a line drive double to right field. In the Mustangs next at bat, Brett Parola hit a single that advanced Morton to third. Mundelein’s little burst of hits would not stop there. Still, with no outs posted in the inning Ryan Magee came through with a bases clearing triple to right field. Now, the Scouts lead was only two. The following Mustangs batter hit a single, scoring Magee and cutting the lead to just one. The Scouts, however, would prevent any further damage in the inning when they turned a nice double play, preserving their one run lead.
After Will Michalski shut down the Scouts offense in the top of the fifth, the Mustangs were seeking to tie the game or take the lead. Brendan Murphy began the inning with a bunt single down the third base line, then later got out at second base on a fielder’s choice play. With two outs and Jeff Morton on first, the Scouts were hoping to escape the inning without any damage being done, but Mundelein had other plans. With Parola at the plate, Morton stole second base, then advanced to third base on a wild pitch. All of a sudden Mundelein only needed a single, or in this case another ball to get out of the catcher’s reach. On a 2-2 count the ball got away from the Scouts catcher again on a wild pitch allowing Morton to score, evening the game at four runs apiece.
With two innings remaining and the game tied at four, the intensity level at Mundelein High School rose quite a bit. The Scouts got off to an ugly start in the top of the sixth. Zach Zentz, who came in relief of starting pitcher Will Michalski, struck out the first batter he faced, then forced the next Scouts batter to ground out to third base. At that point it seemed as if the game would still be tied going into the bottom of the sixth, but Brian Heidbreder changed that. On a 1-2 count, Heidbreder launched a home run over the center field wallgiving the Scouts the lead back. Now, with momentum at their back, the Scouts hoped to close out the game.
The Scouts got off to an ugly start in the sixth. Kyle Wix walked the first batter to start the inning, then Will Woidat came in to try and clean things up. In the next at bat Andrew Beres dropped a bunt to the Scouts new pitcher that seemed like a sure out, but he couldn’t field it correctly, allowing Beres to reach first. With men on second and third, Mundelein was threatening to tie. The Scouts struggles in the field continued as the leadoff runner Ryan Magee scored on an error. With the game tied with no outs, Mundelein was threatening to have another big inning. After Nick Strickler dropped a sacrifice bunt to advance the Mundelein runners to second and third respectively, Drew Breitenreiter hit a sharp single, emptying the bases and giving the Mustangs a two run lead. Their big inning would not end there. Brendan Murphy hit a triple to center field scoring Breitenreiter, then Steve Sanchez, who reached on a fielder’s choice and recently stole third, scored on a single to right field. At that point, Mundelein had a 9-5 lead and would not look back.
Zach Zentz was able to close out the game without giving up a run. Mundelein earned their second straight win over Lake Forest, this time by four runs.
On Monday evening the Scouts defense was strong, but the offense could not score a single run. Last night the Scouts offense seemed on point, but their defense and pitching plagued their chances of winning. In order to beat Mundelein, the Scouts have to be strong all around. Games like Monday and Tuesday won’t cut it. They need their offense and defense to be clicking at the same time.
The Scouts will play their season finale against Mundelein tonight at 4:30 in hopes of at least getting one victory from the series. The Mustangs are now (24-4) and are a game back of the first place Libertyville Wildcats, while the Scouts are (10-15) and are tied for sixth in the North Suburban Conference with Lake Zurich. As the clock ticks on the Scouts regular season, each game becomes a little more important with playoff season coming up.
