By Sean Duncan

WESTERN SPRINGS ? Baseball is about making adjustments. Some adjustments are made over time, and others need to be made quickly or you?re done. At least for a day.

For me, I was forced to make a last-minute change and, well, I?m pleased to say that I put a fat barrel on Saturday?s baseball.

Originally scheduled to make the three-hour trip to see Moline take on No. 15 Galesburg, I learned minutes before I was set to leave that the doubleheader was cancelled.

Ahh, what to do now?

I checked our trusty statewide game schedule, courtesy of the Guru Drake Skleba, and mapped out an unusual doubleheader that would enable me to see two top 10 teams play, several highly ranked pitching prospects, and all within a few miles of each other.

My first stop was to No. 4 Nazareth Academy, which was hosting perennially strong Carmel in an East Suburban Catholic Conference doubleheader. I stayed for the first game and a little of the second before taking a comfortable five minute drive to see No. 8 Lyons Township hammer Hinsdale Central in the teams? second game of their West Suburban Silver twin-bill.

This is what I saw:

Let?s start at Lyons Township first. The Lions (14-1, 9-0) continued their torrid pace by sweeping Hinsdale Central, 1-0, and 12-2 in five innings. In Game 1, senior right-hander Connor Cuff (3-0) threw a complete-game two-hitter. The Penn recruit struck out 12 and walked one to out-duel Hinsdale Central starter Chris Bobo.

Locked in a scoreless tie, the Lions pushed across the game?s only run in the sixth inning with three singles. Tom Walsh and Cuff got it going before senior first baseman Brian Rodemoyer delivered the game-winning hit.

I missed all this, of course. I did, however, arrive right before the start of Game 2, which had two top-level pitching prospects on the mound: junior Steven Heilenbach for Lyons and Hinsdale Central sophomore right-hander Adam Dressler, who?s ranked No. 3 in the Class of 2013.

I came for the pitching, but walked away wondering why the heck no Division I school has signed Rodemoyer yet. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound first baseman has to be the best unsigned bat in the state right now. He showed why on Saturday.

After delivering the game-winning hit in the first game, all Rodemoyer did in the second game was go 3-for-3 with four RBI, a home run, double and two runs scored. In the first inning, he laced a run-scoring single to tie the game at 2-2. The Lions went quietly against Dressler in the second and third innings before Rodemoyer launched a taper-blast bomb to left-center field, cutting through the teeth of a strong wind, to lead off the fourth. Then Rodemoyer hammered a two-run double during the Lions? nine-run fifth inning, which contributed to the mercy-rule finish.

?I was seeing the ball better than I have all year,? said Rodemoyer. ?I felt like it was coming in real nice for me. After the first game, it gave me more confidence to keep driving the ball.?

The Lions sent 12 batters to the plate in the fifth inning. Brian Kelley led it off with a double, and later delivered a run-scoring triple. Heilenbach finished off the outburst with a misplayed two-run double ? a fitting end to Hinsdale Central (5-12, 2-4). The Red Devils committed three costly errors, two in the fifth that led to their abrupt demise.  Only two of Lyons? runs were earned.

Through it all, Dressler never lost his composure. His fastball sat at 84-85, touching 87 once (after Rodemoyer?s homer in the fourth). Heilenbach, who?s ranked No. 14 in the Class of 2012, was 83-86 in the early innings.

Weather permitting, Lyons is scheduled for a three-game series with Oak Park next week, in addition to the third game with Hinsdale Central.

Now back to Nazareth.

The No. 4-ranked Roadrunners (15-2, 1-1) split their doubleheader with Carmel (8-6, 2-2), winning the first one 5-2 before falling 2-1.

In the first game (which I was at), Nazareth scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth to break open a 2-2 tie. No. 9 hitter, second baseman Matt Radford (3-for-3), had an RBI single in the inning. A hit batter, three walks, including one with the bases loaded, and a throwing error contributed to the other runs.

Junior 6-foot-4 left-hander Dominic Purpura effectively used a 77-79 mph fastball during his six innings, allowing six hits, one earned run and struck out two to improve to 5-0.  Senior third baseman Anthony Baldassano came in to close in the seventh and struck out two; the final batter on an 88-mph fastball.

Nazareth?s defense was extremely impressive in the first game. Baldassano (bare-hand, on the run, across his body throw at third base), shortstop Michael Barajas (full dive to his right, popped up and gunned down a quick Brian Brennan to end the sixth and save a run), and second baseman Radford (full-out dive to his right to end the first inning and save a run) were all SportsCenter-worthy plays.

For Carmel, senior right-hander Daniel Mooney threw well in the loss. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound unsigned senior sat at 84-85 mph in the early innings, touching 86. He also showed good feel for a slider. Senior outfielder Timmy Hendricks had a run-scoring single in Carmel?s two-run third inning to tie the game at 2-2.

I had to leave after the first inning of the second game, but had the opportunity to see Nazareth right-hander Ryan Powers (Miami Ohio recruit) climb as high as 89 mph with his fastball. Powers, however, took the tough-luck loss, allowing six hits and one earned run while striking out six.

Unfortunately, I can?t tell you how Carmel got its runs because, well, I was a few miles away by then.