Like most pitchers, Sandburg senior Justin Sewers goes into his outing hoping to throw five strong innings.
Unlike most pitchers, however, Sewers plans to pitch the final five.
The Eagles have taken the lead of some major league teams who have used “openers” to start games. A teammate will throw the first two innings, and Sewers will enter in the third looking to finish.
“I started more at the beginning, and then we switched to this two-inning thing where I come out in the third inning and I try to pitch the rest of the game,” he said. “Most of the time, I’ve made it through to the end of the game.
“I like the role. I like coming in and trying to shut a team down the rest of the game.”
Sewers did just that Thursday night, holding Mount Carmel to one run over the final five innings to lift Sandburg to a 3-2 win in a Do It Stevie’s Way Tournament quarterfinal at Duly Health and Care Field in Joliet.
Illinois recruit Jayden Comia had the go-ahead sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh for the Eagles (13-14), who were scheduled to play Homewood-Flossmoor in a semifinal on Friday. Teammate Victor Zaragoza drove in a run on a squeeze bunt, and Jake Liskiewicz went 2-for-4 with two runs.
Creighton recruit Shane Curtin held up his end of the pitching duel for Mount Carmel (21-11-1), allowing just one unearned run in six innings.
Sewers, a lefty, used to hit and play in the field for Sandburg, but he switched to exclusively pitching as a sophomore.
“I think it helps me get ready for the games I’m going to pitch in,” he said. “I’ve been playing baseball since I could walk. It runs in my family. My dad and brother played, and I started from there. I realized when I got older that pitching was my top thing, so I made the switch to a ‘PO’ (pitcher only).”
Sewers had to get out of a tight spot in the bottom of the seventh to finish the win.
Down 3-1, Mount Carmel used a hit and three walks to cut the lead to one. Marcus Milianti singled and scored on Colin Horneman’s fielder’s choice.
The Caravan had the bases loaded with two outs, but Sewers got Julien Hachem to fly out on a full-count pitch to end it.
“If I would have thrown one more ball, it would have been a tie baseball game,” Sewers said. “I was feeling the pressure, sure, and I was tired, but you just have to persevere and push through.”
Zaragoza, Sandburg’s catcher, was not surprised to see Sewers come through.
“Justin was electric,” Zaragoza said. “He’s a dog. He always competes, no matter the situation.”
Zaragoza, who also is the Eagles’ cleanup hitter, came through big in the top of the seventh. After Comia’s sacrifice fly broke a 1-1 tie, Zaragoza shocked Mount Carmel by dropping down a one-out squeeze bunt to drive in an insurance run.
“The look on his face was a little surprising when I told him that,” Sandburg coach Jim Morsovillo said. “We don’t call on our four hitter to bunt very often, but they know they have to be prepared for it. I told him, ‘Just execute.'”
Hachem went 2-for-4 and Blainey Dowling had an RBI single for Mount Carmel.
“In tight, low-scoring games, the little things are magnified,” Mount Carmel coach Brian Hurry said. “We have to do those things better. We have to get bunts down. We have to be better on the bases. Shane pitched his tail off for us, gave us a chance to win, and we just fell a little short.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.