By Drake Skleba

 

BURBANK - For St. Laurence junior right fielder Kyle Wood, hammering baseballs out of parks has become a daily habit the Purdue recruit doesn’t appear to be breaking any time soon.

 

On Saturday against Mount Carmel’s ace, junior right hander John Kravetz, Wood took the future Illini deep not once but twice to lead No. 4 St. Laurence to a thrilling 7-6 Catholic League crossover victory over Mt.Carmel. The pair of two-run bombs was the eighth and the ninth of the season for the hard-hitting Viking outfielder. Wood now is hitting a robust .580 with 35 RBIs.

 

“I am slowing everything down at the plate,” said Wood. “I take each at-bat a pitch at a time. I am seeing the ball very well. My approach is to hit the 353 foot sign in left-center every time. So far, my approach is working out very well.”

 

No.12 Mt. Carmel (15-5; 6-2 Blue) jumped out in front in the first inning against St. Laurence starting and winning RHP Mike Chimera (4-1). University of Kentucky recruit junior first baseman Jeff Boehm (4-for-4, HR, 2 2B, 3RBI) put the Caravan on the board with a two-run blast over the left field fence, scoring junior RF Brad Myjak, who had singled.

 

St. Laurence (19-1; 8-0 White) didn’t waste any time in launching a first-inning assault on the Caravan ace. After one out, senior second baseman Joe Sadowski walked and trotted home on Wood’s first two-run homer, on a 3-2 pitch to left. NIU-bound senior Viking 1B Tom Keating (2-for-2, SF, RBI) and junior C Charlie Naso singled and were driven in on a two-run double by junior 3B Bryan Villanova.

 

“I battled and hit the ball to right and got it over the right fielder’s head to bring in the runs,” said Villanova. “This was great to beat another Blue Division team.”

 

In the second, Wood struck again. With senior CF Jim Topps on first, Wood hit a 2-2 pitch out for a 6-2 Viking lead.

 

“On the first home run I hit a hanging curve ball,” said Wood. “On the second homer, I hit a fastball well and it went out.”

 

In the third, Boehm doubled and scored on an RBI single from CF Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick stole second and third base and then scored on a passed ball and the Caravan were within 6-4.

 

In the fourth Keating just missed a homer and settled for a sacrifice fly, scoring Wood, who had walked and the Vikings led 7-4.

 

“I had a good day at the plate,” said Keating “Kyle keeps stealing all my RBIs with all of his homers. I always come up with nobody on base. On my last trip up I just wanted to hit the ball to right and get that insurance run in.”

 

Mount Carmel added an unearned run in the fifth. St. Laurence senior closer John Rafferty entered in the Caravan sixth and sent them down in order. Viking freshman shortstop Kevin Smith made two fine plays on the first two Caravan hitters and then Rafferty dispatched the last man on strikes. Smith added a pair of hits for the Vikings, including a double.

 

“I just go out everyday and give it my best,” said Smith. “This was a great win for us over Mount Carmel. I love the intensity of these Catholic League games; it’s awesome.”

 

The never-say-die Caravan rallied against Rafferty in the seventh. Sujka led off with a single but was erased on a beautiful 4-6-3 double play. Junior 3B Mike Krueger kept the Caravan alive with a single and would score on Boehm’s fourth hit of the day off the glove of centerfielder Topps for a double. Rafferty retired Jerry Houston on a fly to the St. Laurence right fielder…who else but…Kyle Wood, to end this thriller. Rafferty picked up his fifth save of the season.

 

“We had great at-bats against a quality pitcher (Kravetz),” said St. Laurence head coach Pete Lotus.  “What can you say about Kyle Wood? He has been great for us ever since he came up as a freshman He is a special player and he’s only a junior.”

 

Lotus added: “My freshman shortstop Kevin Smith has always been great for us defensively. Kevin had a great day at the plate and is beginning to mature as a hitter. Bryan Villanova had a great at bat in the first inning. Mike Chimera and John Rafferty pitched well for us.

 

Mount Carmel senior 2B Chris Sujka chipped in with three hits and Caravan freshman SS Jerry Houston had a single and drove in a run in four at-bats. Kravetz battled and threw a complete game, allowing seven runs, six earned on eight hits. Kravetz fanned four and falls to 3-2 on the season.

 

“This was a battle between two great teams today,” said Mount Carmel head coach Brian Hurry. “St. Laurence is a very good team and won this one-run game with their outstanding defense. I am proud of my team for the way we battled and John Kravetz battled to keep us in the game. Jeff Boehm has great athletic ability but above that he possesses a burning desire to win. The best way to deal with Kyle Wood is probably not to pitch to him; we should have walked him.”