James Sheehan may not receive the attention of other members of Homewood-Flossmoor’s pitching staff, such as Kentucky recruit Jeremy Orbik and hard-throwing Malcolm Grady.
But there’s a reason Sheehan is referred to as “Big Game” and it’s not exclusive to his heroics as receiver on the Vikings football team.
Sheehan exhibited the qualities of a staff ace on Wednesday, firing a six hitter to lead H-F to a 6-0 win over host Sandburg in a SouthWest Suburban Blue opener.
“He’s a gamer,” H-F coach Todd Sippel said. “He pitched like a No. 1 (Wednesday). He just gets the ball and throws it and keeps our defense alive.”
Sheehan (2-0), who is committed to Eastern Illinois on a football scholarship, didn’t allow a walk and struck out four. The 6-4 right-hander consistently pounded the strike zone with his fastball and offered just enough offspeed pitches to keep the Eagles guessing.
Playing second fiddle to fellow staff members doesn’t bother Sheehan one bit.
“Pitching behind those two guys (Orbik, Grady), not a lot of people know about me,” Sheehan said. “I’m fine flying under the radar. My defense had my back today.”
H-F wasted no time staking Sheehan out to a lead, erupting for four runs in the first inning and sending Sandburg starter Eric Nelson (2-1) to an early exit.
Five of the first six hitters reached base via two walks and three hits. Parker Coleman and Jesse Forestell coaxed free passes that were followed by an RBI double from Bryce Gray and run-scoring singles from Zach Taylor and Sheehan. Jordan Fox supplied a sacrifice fly for a 4-0 spread.
“Getting ahead 4-0 gave us some momentum,” Forestell said. “It was good to jump on them early.”
H-F (8-2, 1-0) tacked on solo runs in the fifth and seventh innings. Coleman scored while Gray was rolling into a 6-4-3 double play and Forestell plated Jonathan Brandt, who had singled, with a base hit to right field.
“I like our approach at the plate today,” Sippel said. “The first eight hitters in the first inning had quality at-bats. That’s good to see.”
The margin of defeat could have been even greater if Sandburg hadn’t turned a rare 8-4-3 triple play in the fourth inning. With runners on first and second base and no outs, Sippel called for a hit-and-run. Korry Howell hit a liner that Sandburg center fielder Andy Gaytan made a fabulous diving catch on to ignite the rare achievement. The Eagles then easily doubled up both baserunners to complete the triple play.
“That triple play saved our butts,” Sandburg coach Jim Morsovillo said. “The score could have been a lot worse. But whether you give up 15 runs or one run, it doesn’t matter if you don’t score.”
The Eagles (9-3, 0-1), who haven’t scored in 14 innings, stranded runners on second and third base in the fifth inning, and runners at first and second base in the sixth.
Jack Wolfe had three hits for Sandburg and Jake Tablerion was superb in relief of Nelson, allowing two runs on five hits over 6 2/3 innings.
“We’re just not putting runs on the board right now,” Morsovillo said. “We hit some balls hard, but they made the plays.”
Twitter: @disabato
