Mundelein’s Steven Sanchez originally thought about bunting. But then the senior first baseman decided the better option was to swing away.
It was the right call.
Sanchez drove in the go-ahead run with a single to center field in the fifth inning of Tuesday’s game against Warren. The hit started a four-run rally as the Mustangs defeated the Blue Devils 10-1 in a North Suburban game.
Sanchez, Mundelein’s No. 3 hitter, lined a single just over the outstretched glove of Warren shortstop Daniel Ahn. Drew Breitenreiter scored from second on the hit to give the Mustangs a 2-1 lead.
“I was looking for a fastball and got it, so I took a nice hack,” Sanchez said. “I was a little late on it, but I still got the job done.”
Mundelein (13-4, 9-2) added three more runs in the inning. Jeff Morton, Ben Holly and Austin Greco also had RBIs in the inning.
Sanchez added an RBI single in the sixth and another RBI with a single in the seventh. He finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs, two runs and one walk.
“That was a way to respond,” Sanchez said, referring to Monday’s 4-1 loss to the Blue Devils. “I pitched, and it didn’t go as I wanted to. I had a way to bounce back (Tuesday).”
Morton contributed two hits and two RBIs, Holly added two RBIs, and Greco totaled three singles and the RBI.
That was plenty of offense for Mundelein pitcher Jonathon Hanscom. The sophomore right-hander allowed one run in five innings. He struck out six and walked three.
He struck out two in the first, second and fourth innings.
“He came out throwing strikes,” Mundelein coach Randy Lerner said of Hanscom.
Warren (11-6, 5-5) scored its run on a successful squeeze bunt by Casey Cobe in the second inning. That RBI tied the game at 1.
It remained that way until Mundelein’s big fifth. The Mustangs added three more runs in the sixth, with Sanchez, Holly and Mason Schaller. Mundelein sent nine batters to the plate in both the fifth and sixth innings to put the game out of reach.
“It just got away from us,” Warren coach Clint Smothers said. “Against good teams, you can’t give away outs. We didn’t play very well defensively and we weren’t efficient pitching.
“When you do those two things against good teams, you lose.”
Twitter @lamondpope
