Mount Carmel sophomore Cameron Hupe heard a little chatter from St. Laurence heading into his first Catholic League Blue start on Wednesday.
“It was tough because I have some friends on the other team, so facing them, they’re going to be talking a little bit,” Hupe said.
After his performance from the mound, Hupe undoubtedly deserves the last word. The right-hander went six innings, striking out seven and allowing just four hits as Mount Carmel overwhelmed visiting St. Laurence 10-1.
“I’m really proud of Cameron and the job he did,” Caravan coach Brian Hurry said. “We’ve got that much confidence in him — I mean, that’s why we put him out there — and he really did a fantastic job throwing all his pitches for strikes and working ahead of the count.”
Hupe was at his best in the fourth and fifth inning, picking up four strikeouts during that span.
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“I had to keep my confidence up and my composure up, too,” Hupe said.
It was easy for the sophomore to stay optimistic. He took calls from Valparaiso-bound Scott Kapers, who highlighted a stellar defensive effort for the Caravan (21-1, 9-0).
“This is probably one of the best defenses I’ve ever played with,” Hupe said. “I know they have my back.”
Kapers made a few superb plays in the field and showed a cannon for an arm. The catcher threw out Kevin Aderman in the second inning on what looked like a surefire single via bunt down the third base line. He later picked off a St. Laurence (14-6, 5-4) runner at second base with another pinpoint throw.
“The play that he made on the bunt was just a tremendous play,” Hurry said. “It was one of the better high school plays I’ve seen in a long time.”
Kapers also did work with his bat. He went 2-for-4 with RBIs in the fifth and sixth inning. Josh Stowers and Nick Wheeler also had two RBIs for the Caravan, helping spark a four-run fifth inning and three-run sixth.
St. Laurence coach Pete Lotus lauded the play of starting pitcher Zach Erdman (four innings, four earned runs), but the Vikings made a few too many mistakes in trying to keep up with Mount Carmel’s high-caliber lineup. The Vikings recorded three errors.
“We’re doing some things that make it tough to win,” Lotus said. “Zach pitched really well. He kept them off balance, got a lot of ground balls, which is exactly what we asked him to do. We gotta make some plays and be a little smarter in certain situations.”
St. Laurence erased the shutout in the sixth inning when Frank Greco knocked in Tom Farrell, who opened the inning with a leadoff double. It was too little, too late.
Ako Thomas (Michigan) went 2-for-4 and scored twice for Mount Carmel. Malik Carpenter (3-for-4) also scored twice the Caravan, who saw all nine batters safely reach base.
“There’s really no rest when you get down to the bottom of our order,” Hurry said. “Our seven, eight, nine hitters are really strong. It’s a weapon that most teams don’t have.”
Malloy is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.