Lyons sweeps doubleheader from Leyden

Updated: May 14, 2011 7:43PM

Saturday’s doubleheader between Lyons and Leyden was played like a West Suburban Conference championship series.

It was just another nonconference doubleheader when the schedule was made last year, but this year’s final twinbill for both teams became a showdown between conference champions from the Silver (Lyons) and Gold (Leyden).

Lyons swept with 3-1 and 12-11 victories in Western Springs. Leyden doubled its loss total in one day after suffering a heart-breaking defeat in the second game. The No. 8 Eagles (24-4) scored nine runs in the top of the seventh to take an 11-10 lead, but couldn’t hold it as Angel Sanchez threw a pair of wild pitches to allow the tying and winning runs to score for No. 2 Lyons (27-3).

The two teams play again at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 17, at Leyden’s Northlake campus.

“It’s nice to know that there is no quit in us,” Leyden coach Gary Wolf said. “We know we were playing the No. 2 team in the area. We know it was going to be a struggle. We talked about our need to compete. The first game was a great game.”

The opener featured a duel between Leyden ace Eric Palmer and Lyons’ Zach Remijas, who has emerged as a No. 2 pitcher behind Connor Cuff due to recent arm troubles to Steve Heilenbach. Both pitchers threw complete games. Remijas (7-0) had one of his best outings of the season, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out eight.

Lyons handed Palmer (4-1) his first loss of the season when Brian Rodemoyer broke a 1-1 tie with an RBI double in the fifth and then Valparaiso-bound Spencer Mahoney added an insurance run with an RBI single in the sixth.

“This was one of my better ones,” said Remijas, a 5-foot-11, 150-pound senior right-hander. “I challenged hitters, I threw strikes and the defense helped. I bounced back after I did not have one of my better outings [against Downers North].”

Palmer allowed nine hits in his six innings pitched. He walked two and struck out two.

He bounced back from a hand injury suffered May 10 in Leyden’s 5-4 loss in 10 innings to Hinsdale South. Palmer injured the hand while sliding into third base.

“It was kind of a tough injury to my pitching hand in the game,” said Palmer, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior right-hander. “My hand was starting to bother me late in the game. I was out there trying to get a win for the team.”

Leyden looked like it had earned a split in the doubleheader after the Eagles pulled off an amazing comeback. Leyden pulled to within 10-9 on Javier Perez’s two-run double to right field off Matt Robare. Mahoney came in as a reliever, but couldn’t get the save.

Eli Perez walked and Carlos Olivarria reached on a fielders’ choice to load the bases. Justin Stawychny gave the Eagles their first lead with a two-run, go-ahead double to center field, which scored Javier Perez and Eli Perez. Stawychny had the game-winning single May 7 in a 6-5 win over Hinsdale South in 12 innings exactly one week earlier.

Lyons’ comeback in the bottom of the seventh started when the first three batters reached base. Rodemoyer was at the plate when Dan Zehe scored on a wild pitch. After Tom Walsh lined out, Mahoney came across on another wild pitch with Connor Cuff at the plate with a 0-1 count to end the game.

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