No. 2 Mount Carmel Cruises Past No. 15 St. Laurence

May 2, 2015

By Sean Duncan
Executive Director

BURBANK, IL – With Division 1 prospects all over the diamond, No. 2 Mount Carmel’s offense is well-documented. But the Caravan also has plenty of high-level underclassmen coming up the ranks, as they showed during their 13-3 road victory over No. 15 St. Laurence in a Chicago Catholic Blue matchup Saturday afternoon.

Freshman Alek Thomas, an athletic left-handed hitting outfielder, got the Caravan (22-2, 10-0) going early when he ripped a line-drive home run to right field in the top of the first inning, the second batter of the game. Thomas, who finished 2-for-5 with two runs, also singled and scored in the sixth inning.

And with junior A.J. Lewis (Missouri recruit) out with an ankle injury he sustained on Thursday, sophomore Zion Pettigrew stepped in at third base and delivered two hits, which included a double during the Caravan’s four-run second inning, an RBI and two runs scored. Sophomore DH Bobby Seymour, who’s already committed to Wake Forest, also added two singles and walked with the bases loaded.

While Mount Carmel’s youngsters certainly did their part to keep the team unbeaten in the Catholic Blue, the biggest blow was delivered by senior first baseman Malik Carpenter. With the Caravan narrowly leading 5-3 in the sixth inning, the Chicago State recruit hammered a grand slam to left field that opened the floodgates to a seven-run inning.

Senior second baseman Ako Thomas, a Michigan recruit, added a two-run double in the inning. Thomas had led off the sixth inning with a single and finished with two hits. Thomas, Carpenter, Louisville-bound Josh Stowers (1-for-5) and Valparaiso-bound catcher Scott Kapers (2-for-3, double, walk, hit by pitch) were all starters as sophomores on the Caravan’s state-championship team in 2013.

In all, six Mount Carmel starters had two hits, including Grambling State-bound right fielder Nick Wheeler, who notched a run-scoring double in the second inning and scored a pair of runs.

Meanwhile, senior right-hander Nelson Munoz handled St. Laurence (14-7, 5-5) for most of the game. The Grambling State recruit yielded four hits (two of the infield variety), no earned runs, struck out eight, walked two and hit two batters in six innings of work.

St. Laurence, which dropped its fourth straight game, scored three unearned runs in the fourth inning. Munoz walked Dan Cummings with the bases loaded for the first run, then pinch-hitter Kevin Aderman delivered a two-run single to close the gap to 5-3 at the time. Junior catcher Anthony Rios paced St. Laurence with two hits and was hit by a pitch.

No. 2 Mount Carmel Cruises Past No. 15 St. Laurence

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