Carmel rebounds, splits with Benet

Font Size

Email

Bookmark

Black Text

White Text

As he’s done all season, Benet ace Bryan Roberts did his part to knock off a ranked opponent, shutting down No. 2 Carmel in the first game of Saturday’s East Suburban Catholic doubleheader.

But after being three-hit in a 3-1 loss, the Corsairs took out their frustrations in the second game to score an 11-5 victory in Mundelein to stay in the hunt for the ESCC championship.

"After the first game, we knew we had to come out and swing the bats in the second game," said senior Jordan Sivertsen, who hit home runs in each game, including a tape-measure grand slam to give Carmel an 8-4 lead in the second game.

Sivertsen wasn’t the only offensive star for Carmel (21-5, 11-3) against four pitchers from Benet (18-10, 12-4). Leadoff hitter Brian Siedlecki went 3-for-4 with four RBI, junior first baseman Donald Stopka went 2-for-4 with a first-inning home run, and John Zeffery scored four runs and went 2-for-2.

Junior Jeff Moree (5-0) pitched 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief and struck out seven to earn the win for Carmel.

Game 1 was a completely different story, though. After allowing a single to Siedlecki to lead off the game, Roberts (8-1) didn’t yield another hit until the sixth. The Illinois-bound Roberts finished his complete-game performance with eight strikeouts –- five below his season average -– and walked four to outduel senior right-hander Bobby Lyne (5-2), who struck out six and scattered seven hits in seven innings.

"I didn’t really have that much on my fastball today and I didn’t have a tight break on my curve," said Roberts. "But I still felt confident on the mound."

Benet broke a scoreless tie in the fifth when sophomore Mike Cunningham hit a solo homer and Mike Chmielewski (2-for-3, two runs) scored on two Carmel errors.

Sivertsen’s solo homer in the sixth cut the lead, but Benet tacked on another run on Pat Gelwicks’ RBI double. Mike Vanchieri went 3-for-4 with three RBI for Benet in the second game.