Senior pitcher J.B. Weis pitched four scoreless innings in a bounceback victory, leading the Mustangs to their first victory of the season over Wheaton North 5-4.
“J.B. came out and gave us a great performance. We needed a good first inning and he gave us that, throwing four scoreless innings and giving up no hits,” head coach Darren Orel said.
Junior reliever Casey Wierda pitched two scoreless innings, striking out five and giving up one hit on the day. Junior Ryan Yednock closed out the game earning a save and giving up zero hits.
“Casey came in and pitched well. Yednock with the save, so our pitching was solid yesterday,” Orel said.
But for the home opener on Monday, it was a much different story for the baseball team.
The Mustangs (2-1) fell 18-9 in a rout against Lyons Township (1-1) where they gave up 12 runs in the first inning.
The Mustangs opened up the game by giving away six runs on no hits. Wild pitches and errors was the main theme for DGS as the Mustangs threw four wild pitches and had three errors in the first inning alone. The next six runs Lyons scored came in similar fashion as multiple walks and mistakes saw the lead increase to 12 at the top of the first.
“When you give up twelve in the first inning you just gotta keep battling and find ways to work on things,” Orel said.
The game wasn’t lost for the Mustangs after the top of the first though. DGS loaded the bases in the bottom of the first, walking in five runs off of Lyons starter Dominic Piscotti which saw the Mustangs cut the deficit to seven.
“It’s good that we continued to compete and get to see some new guys get into the game,” Orel said.
With the game so far out ahead of them, the Mustangs pulled three starters in the first and gave the underclassmen a chance to showcase their skill. Freshman Luke Potter, Nathan Thurston, and James Sobkowiak were put in and all had a good day for the Mustangs.
Potter was walked three times while braving through two pitches that hit him during the game, earning himself one RBI at the end of the day. Thurston was also walked twice with one RBI to his name. Sobkowiak saw gameplay from both the mound and home plate as he pitched a shutout with one strikeout during his only inning on the mound as well as recording a double for his first career varsity hit.
“They competed well. They had some good at bats and battled back on counts. I know James got his first hit of the season, so that’s a plus so it’s always nice to get that first one,” Orel said.
Sophomore shortstop Vincent Junkas also had a warmer day, going 2-3 while raking in two singles. Senior outfielder Wyatt Wawro finished 2-2 with a single and double to round out the hitting for the Mustangs.
The Mustangs pitching situation in the first two innings would be the thorn in their side for the whole game as their hitting would not be enough to catch up to Lyons 18 runs.
The Mustangs started senior Dylan McGinley who gave up seven runs and struck out one across the span of half of the 1st inning. McGinley was pulled for senior Will Ruyle who had similar luck, giving up five runs including a grand slam while also striking out one batter on the day. Junior Evan Voss pitched the entire second inning where he threw two strikeouts, but gave up six runs on four hits, giving Lyons Township 18 runs by the end of the second.
“We got to throw strikes. We can’t leave our fielders asleep when it’s that cold. You just have to deal with it and play,” pitching coach John Parpet said
The Mustangs will head off to California for a five string of games over spring break where they look to gain traction before conference play begins to pick up.
