Libertyville's Bats Go Silent in 5-1 Loss to Stevenson

It's not exactly the most enviable task of all time. Jump into third baseman Davis Ogilvie's shoes for a moment.

The Libertyville senior had just watched five consecutive teammates return to the bench following strikeouts. There were now two outs in the seventh inning at Stevenson on Tuesday night. And Stevenson right-hander Issac Greenspon seemed ready to put the finishing touches on his no-hitter.

Now Ogilvie is forever etched in Greenspon's memory. He's the kid who broke up the no-hitter in Lincolnshire. Ogilvie punched a clean single into right field for some joy in Libertyville's 5-1 NSC Lake Division loss.

"He really battled up there,'' said Libertyville baseball coach Jim Schurr. "But we took too many fastballs today."

Ironically, the Wildcats took the first lead of the game. Pitcher Joey Eichmann reached third base following an error. The first run came home on an RBI groundout by Robbie Dittman. The inning wasn't quite over. Dar Townsend was hit by a pitch. Second baseman Anthony Mack positively smacked a ball to the deepest part of center field where it was hauled in.

Schurr watched his Cats strike out 11 times against Greenspon.

"[Greenspon] threw three pitches for strikes,'' Schurr said. "But we weren't ready to play today."

Certainly losing pitcher Eichmann deserved a better fate. He struck out seven in five innings of work.

"He pitched well,'' Schurr said. "They really didn't drive anyone in."

Actually, the bottom of Schurr's order seemed to be the most productive on this day. Seventh-place hitter Mack also reached base after being hit with a pitch. He struck out just once. Ogilvie also fanned just once and added an infield ground out in addition to his safety. Ninth-place hitter Trevor Freberg did not fan in three trips to the plate. His ground out to first ended this contest.

Greenspon only walked one but hit three batters.

Stevenson didn't knot this game up until the third inning. In the second inning, an apparent run was scratched off the board when a Stevenson runner crashed into the catcher. He was called out. Stevenson's two-run fourth inning was aided by just one single, an error and two walks.

Townsend was hit by a pitch twice in this loss. He is expected to be on the mound in Libertyville on Wednesday when the same two teams battle.