Web Extra! Slideshow
The Riverside-Brookfield baseball team needs a complete game effort and not the kind provided seven times already by pitching ace Alex Brown this season.
With the playoffs starting next week, the Bulldogs want more consistency all-around the diamond.
“We have had good days and bad days this season,” RB coach Mike Ziroli said. “After our [4-2] loss to Elmwood Park [on Saturday], we talked about what kind of team do we want to be. Do we want to be the kind of team that plays all aspects of the game like pitching, defense and hitting well simultaneously, or are we going to just execute one or two of these during games.”
The Bulldogs (16-11-2) split a doubleheader against Elmwood Park at Ehlert Park on Saturday. Riverside-Brookfield won the opener 2-0 as senior Matt Kenahan threw his first shutout of the season. The right-hander allowed three hits and struck out six, while hitting machine/catcher Matt Scott (.506, 31 RBIs) and Tyler Radek both drove in a run.
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In Game 2, the Tigers earned a 4-2 victory over RB. David Tortorici threw 4 1/3 innings, allowing three earned runs and eight hits for the Bulldogs. Chris James pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Offensively, Scott went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Vito DeRango, David Skowronski and Alex Cebular scratched out hits for the Bulldogs’ sluggish offense.
The loss essentially ended the Bulldogs’ slim chance of repeating as Metro Suburban Conference champions. Illiana Christian, which held the conference tiebreaker by winning two of three meetings against RB, claimed the league title by finishing 13-2 while RB posted a 12-3 record.
“We knew winning conference was kind of a long shot,” Ziroli said. “Illiana Christian is a good team; give them credit. It wasn’t a good week for us offensively, but our pitching and defense were very good.”
On May 11, Riverside- Brookfield won the series opener 2-0. Kenahan, Sean Brennan and Charlie Morrissey all went 2-for-3 to pace the Bulldogs’ offense. Brown (5-3, 1.92 ERA), in the midst of a stellar senior campaign, tossed a two-hitter and struck out 16. The hard-throwing lefty has tossed three shutouts this spring. Brown also has pulled within 11 strikeouts of breaking Danny Shereck’s single season RB record for Ks (116) set in 1989.
The Bulldogs close out the regular season with tough games against Stagg, Montini, Fenwick and Glenbard South.
“This is a significant week because we want to win as many games as we can,” Ziroli said. “These games will be like ‘simulated’ tournament games because we will face good teams and their top pitchers.”
Scott, Brown, Kenahan, Cebular and DeRango recently earned all-conference recognition. Ziroli said senior slugger Hugh Berglind (broken foot) possibly may return if RB advances to a sectional.