ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis' baseball team extended its winning streak to five sweeping Parkside 24-2 and 8-6 on Tuesday afternoon at Brennan Field. The Flyers improve to 20-18 on the season while the Rangers fall to 6-24.
"We got off to a great start today in game one," Lewis head baseball coach
Tim McDonough said. "We haven't had an inning like that in a long time. They don't happen often so you have to take advantage of days like today and we did.
"Offensively we had a lot of production from many guys but I was really happy for
Alex Kiszkowski (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg),
Max Warren (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) and
Eric Lucchesi (Chicago, Ill./Lane Tech) for their great efforts today," McDonough said.
Game 1 – Lewis 24 Parkside 2
The Flyers scored their most runs in a game since defeating Indiana Northwest 24-1 back on March 19, 2008.
Lewis sent 15 batters to the plate in the first inning scoring nine runs on six hits.
Connor Rutherford (DePere, Wis./DePere) drove in the first run with a groundout to second and then
Ryan Schefske (Lombard, Ill./Glenbard East) hit a two-run homer to left field to make it 3-0. Later in the inning Kiszkowski drove in
Austin Tittle (Lemont, Ill./Lemont) with the fourth run and
Michael O'Brien (Joliet, Ill./Joliet Catholic) singled through the left side of the infield to make it 6-0.
Anthony Rios (Lemont, Ill./St. Laurence) drove in the first of his five runs with a two-run double to left center to make it 8-0. Tittle was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to drive in the ninth run.
Parkside got a run back in the second on a groundout to third to scored Ricky West.
The Flyers came right back scoring three runs on four hits in the second.
Brandon Post (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Elk Grove) drove in
Andrew Tenison (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) with a single to right and Rios followed with a two-run single to left center.
Lewis busted it open sending 11 batters to the plate in the fourth inning scoring six runs on four hits.
The Flyers capped their scoring sending nine batters to the dish in the fifth scoring six more runs on three hits and an error. Lucchesi capped the scoring by hitting a pinch hit grand slam to left center.
The Rangers got their final run on a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Lewis had 17 hits in game one with Rios leading the way with four while Post and O'Brien added three each.
Nick Stacey (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) picked up his first victory going the first four innings allowing one run on three hits with a pair of strikeouts.
Game 2 – Lewis 8 Parkside 6
The Flyers jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first as
Julian Everett (Frankfort, Ill/Lincoln Way East) scored on a 6-4-3- double play. Lewis had a chance for more but left the bases loaded.
Parkside tied the game with a run in the second and then took the lead scoring three times in the third.
The Flyers came back with three runs of their own to the score in their half of the third. Schefske, Tittle and Warren each had RBI in the frame.
Lewis took the lead in the fourth thanks a two-out, two-run single off the bat of
Dalton Crowder (Romeoville, Ill./Plainfield East) through the right side of the infield. The Flyers tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the sixth on RBI singles from Tittle and Warren to make it 8-4.
The Rangers cut the lead to 8-6 in the seventh on a two-run homer to center off the bat of Shawn Rigsby but
Matt Verdun (Homer Glen, Ill./St. Rita) was able to retire the next three hitters to secure the win and pick up his third save of the season.
Lewis finished with 10 hits in game two and was led by Rutherford, Schefske, Tittle and
Anthony Cavalieri (Western Springs, Ill./Fenwick) with two apiece.
Tyler Talbot (Channahon, Ill./Minooka) picked up his fourth win of the season pitching 2.2 innings allowing no runs on hit with a strikeout. Verdun went the final two innings allowing two runs on a hit.
"I thought we fought hard for the sweep in game two," McDonough said. "Parkside came out and punched us in the mouth pretty good but we didn't panic and got some clutch hits when we needed them. Tyler did a nice job out of the pen today and it is good to see him get back on track."
The Flyers begin a nine-game road trip on Friday (April 19) traveling to Liberty, Mo., to take on William Jewell in a GLVC doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.
