Benet sweeps No. 17 Carmel in big ESCC matchup
May 11, 2013
By Sean Duncan
Executive Director
LISLE – Benet Academy made things a lot more interesting in the tough East Suburban Catholic Conference when it swept No. 17 Carmel, 9-7 and 15-3, in a doubleheader on Saturday.
Carmel (20-6, 10-4) entered the doubleheader in first place – a split would’ve likely earned the Corsairs a share of the ESCC crown. Benet (18-7, 10-4), meanwhile, needed to sweep in order to stay in the hunt. With Marian Catholic splitting its doubleheader with St. Viator, Benet, Carmel and Marian Catholic are all tied for first place heading into the final two games of conference play. Benet and Marian will play next week, while Carmel takes on St. Patrick.
The turn of events was especially surprising given Carmel had built a 7-2 advantage after the top of the fourth and seemed well on its way of locking up a conference championship. But Benet chipped away for two runs in the bottom half of the fourth to make it 7-4.
Then the bottom fell out for Carmel.
The Corsairs made four errors in the fifth and sixth innings, including two critical ones in the bottom of the sixth that enabled Benet to turn a 7-5 deficit into a 9-7 victory.
Carmel’s porous defense picked up right where it left off in Game 2, as the Corsairs committed seven errors in the first four innings. Benet won the second game in five innings.
Benet senior Patrick McInerney enjoyed himself a stellar afternoon. In Game 2, the 6-foot-4 Illinois recruit went 2-for-2 with a three-run homer, scored four runs and was walked twice. In the first game, the right-hander improved to 5-1 by gutting out a complete-game victory. McInerney yielded five hits – none in the final three innings – walked seven and struck out three. He started the game pitching 79-82 with his fastball, and finished the seventh working 84-86, topping at 88. He also had two RBI, including a run-scoring double and a bases-loaded walk.
Carmel looked as though it was going to make quick work of McInerney after the game’s first two batters reached base and unsigned senior left-handed hitting outfielder Tyler Murphy belted a three-run homer. McInerney settled down after that, but lost control in the fourth, walking three batters and yielding a double to junior catcher Ian Kristan and a two-run single to Brett Milazzo as the Corsairs mounted a 7-2 lead.
Benet scored four runs in the sixth, the biggest blow coming from junior DH Jason Blohm’s two-run double. Blohm finished the game with a pair of doubles in four at-bats, three runs and two RBI. Senior left fielder Tim Veselik tallied four hits on the afternoon, including two RBI and a walk.
Benet achieved the sweep without the services of its standout junior SS/RHP, Chris Whelan, a Bradley recruit who was out with an injury.
Junior right-hander Pat Peterson earned the victory in Game 2, yielding four hits, one earned run with three strikeouts and one walk in five innings.
Kristas, a physical left-handed hitting junior catcher, had two doubles for Carmel in the doubleheader.
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