Libertyville coach Jim Panther and All-State catcher Lukas McKnight offered strikingly similar descriptions Saturday of pitcher Matt Hansen.
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“Matt hangs in and battles,” Panther said. “He fights and fights and never gives in.”
“He has a great curve and uses it to set up his fastball,” McKnight said. “Mostly, though, he’s a great competitor. He’s a pleasure to catch.”
Hansen needed all his tenacity to earn the first-game victory Saturday and improve his record to 9-0 as No. 5 Libertyville (26-3) swept a double-header over No. 11 Antioch 6-5 and 13-4. Antioch dropped to 21-6.
Before McKnight ended the opener with a two-run single in the bottom of the seventh, Hansen threw 135 pitches, struck out 11, stranded 10 baserunners and struck out the side after loading the bases with nobody out in the fourth.
“I was a little scared when they had the bases loaded with nobody out,” Hansen said. “I tried to keep the ball low, hoping for a groundball. But I was having success against the bottom of their order and got strikeouts instead.”
In the second game, Hansen switched to third base and had five RBIs, three on a bases-loaded double.
Bill Jauss.
Oak Park 5-9, Hinsdale South 0-4: Blake Whealy led off each game with a home run as second-ranked Oak Park swept No. 9 Hinsdale South (20-8). In Game 1, Andy Hoffman (7-0) struck out 11 to earn the victory, and in Game 2, Chris Perrino (5-1) was the winning pitcher and also hit a two-run homer for the Huskies (27-4).
Providence 20, Brother Rice 1: Seventh-ranked Providence rolled in the Catholic League South as Ed Golom had two homers, including a grand slam, and Joe McBride and Adam O’Reel each collected three RBIs for the Celtics (21-3, 16-2).
Mt. Carmel 20, St. Laurence 4: Pat Ross had four hits and three RBIs and Tony Driscoll added three hits and four RBIs as the eighth-ranked Caravan (21-5, 14-2) cruised in the Catholic League Central.
Benet 11-16, Holy Cross 1-10: In Game 1, Paul Swiatek tossed a two-hitter and Benet (14-8, 9-7 East Suburban Catholic) hit three doubles in a seven-run third inning. In the nightcap, Swiatek (8-1) earned his second victory of the day with three scoreless innings of relief.
Deerfield 10, Maine East 0: Brian Andalman (3-4) tossed a one-hitter, striking out 10, and Mac Mansavage and Andrew Kaplan had three hits apiece for Deerfield (9-16, 5-9) in the Central Suburban crossover.
De La Salle 9, Leo 2: Eliberto Rodriguez went 3 for 3 and Ray Boyd 2 for 2 as the Meteors (18-12, 10-8) prevailed in the Catholic League Central.
Glenbard South 13-15, Ridgewood 10-8: In Game 1, Dusty Slawinski went 3 for 5, with four RBIs for Glenbard South (16-12, 15-6 Suburban Prairie White). In Game 2, Chris Schultz had four hits and six RBIs for the Raiders.
Glenbard West 12-9, Morton 0-8: In the West Suburban crossover, pitcher Matt Blanton (5-1) earned both victories and Dave Snipes went 4 for 6 on the day with three RBIs for Glenbard West (20-11, 11-7).
Glenbrook South 9, Glenbrook North 4: Glenbrook South (20-5, 13-1) clinched the Central Suburban South title as Mike Field went 2 for 4 with a homer, double and three RBIs.
Hinsdale Central 11-11, Leyden 5-1: In the West Suburban crossover, Bill Bryce led the Red Devils (23-7, 12-5) sweep by going 5 for 7 on the day with a double and two RBIs.
Hubbard 17, St. Rita 13: Paul Sanchez and Darius Hammonds each hit a two-run homer and collected four RBIs as the Greyhounds (19-8) prevailed in eight innings.
Loyola 10, St. Ignatius 9: In the Catholic League North, Loyola (12-14, 7-10) rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh, capped off by a two-run game-winning single by Dan Dammrich.
Maine West 17, Evanston 16: In the Central Suburban crossover, Joe Eckerz collected his third RBI with a game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh for Maine West (18-8, 8-6).
Marian Catholic 9-13, St. Patrick 6-8: In Game 1, Matt Helge had three hits, including a two-run homer, and three RBIs for the Spartans (11-8, 9-3) in the East Suburban Catholic. Dave Heaster went 3 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs in the nightcap.
Mather 6, Young 5: Oscar Lopez hit a game-winning triple in the 10th for Mather (20-7, 11-1) in the Public League North.
Nazareth 4-2, Riverside-Brookfield 0-6: In Game 1, Sean Egan fired a two-hitter and struck out nine for Nazareth (21-4). In Game 2, Eric Bava pitched the final two innings to earn his third save and also stole home in a three-run sixth for R-B (23-3).
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New Trier 16, Maine South 0: Justin Nyweide (8-0) tossed a five-inning three-hitter and Matt Lottich had three hits and four RBIs for the Trevians.
Notre Dame 5-8, Marist 3-3: Notre Dame (18-11, 11-3) took over first place in the East Suburban Catholic with the sweep. In the opener, Tom O’Neill (6-2) was the winning pitcher and also added a triple and three RBIs against Marist (17-5, 10-4). In Game 2, O’Neill added two more RBIs and Bill Besenhofer earned his second save on the day and his fourth of the season for the Dons.
Proviso West 13-3, Proviso East 3-15: In the West Suburban crossover, Cedrick Daniel and Jamar Clanton had three hits each for West’s Panthers (5-21, 4-13) in the opener.
Reavis 11-11, Crete-Monee 4-0: In Game 1, Nate McDonald went 3 for 4 with two RBIs for Reavis (24-5). The Rams completed the sweep as pitcher Mike Henderson (2-0) tossed a five-inning shutout and added two doubles and two RBIs.
Waukegan 5, Niles North 1: Pitcher Dan Sroka (6-2) earned the victory and chipped in on his own behalf with two doubles and two RBIs for Waukegan (11-19, 5-9 Central Suburban South).
West Aurora 9-7, Glenbard North 2-5: In Game 1, Preston Larrison (9-1) went the distance, striking out 12 for West Aurora (17-7, 10-7). In the nightcap, John Rauen and Jarrod Gutesha each hit a two-run homer for the Blackhawks.
Westmont 10-17, Elmwood Park 0-7: In the opener, Rick Struck (2-2) tossed a three-hitter, and in Game 2, Brandon Hardy hit two homers and totaled four RBIs as the Sentinels (18-9-1, 13-6 Suburban Prairie White) completed the sweep.