The College of DuPage baseball team took on the Hawks in a doubleheader at home on March 30, looking to finish their week with a positive record. COD exhausted Harper College’s bullpen, staring down five pitchers in game one alone. Freshman Mark Mennecke ended the game after hitting a walk-off grand slam, recording his second home run of the season. The Chaparrals beat the Hawks 12-2 in six innings to claim the first win of the day.
The Chaps radiated confidence after earning their third consecutive win, and the Hawks made them pay for it. Harper’s starting pitcher in game two threw six strikeouts throughout the game, single-handedly shutting down COD’s offensive momentum. The Chaps couldn’t catch up despite a three-run effort in the seventh inning, losing 5-4 to split the doubleheader and end their day with a 6-7 record.
“Any time you’ve got to play two [games] against the same team, you’ve got to understand that you need to earn it,” assistant coach Matt Gould said. “It doesn’t matter who you’re playing; they’re not going to give anything to you. I don’t think we carried over the same offensive approaches into game two. A walk-off grand slam in a game that we ended up slaughter-ruling the team; we got too excited over that. We had to move on, and I don’t think we really did until the fifth or sixth inning of game two.”
Mennecke, who served as the designated hitter in both games, batted six times in total. He made two hits, scored one run and collected five RBIs in the first game, and walked once in the second. He attributes the 14 mph wind speeds to his game-winning play.
“I wasn’t trying to hit a home run, but I put a good swing on it,” Mennecke said. “It got caught up in the wind and carried over the fence. I think that was my first grand slam, so it was a pretty cool experience.”
Freshman pitcher AJ Burnett earned his second win in his second start of the season, pitching through five innings in the first game. He threw four strikeouts and one walk, and allowed four hits and two runs. After giving up Harper’s only runs in the fourth inning, Burnett settled down and relied on his outfield.
“I feel like a lot of different pitchers take a lot of different approaches,” Burnett said. “I’m more of a calm pitcher. I like to go out there, and just lay back and have fun. I throw the pearl around with the fellas and have a good time. I was really comfortable today, and that really showed. Maybe I got a little too comfortable and let up a few that I shouldn’t have, but that’s alright. I know my boys had me.”
Keeping offensive pressure on the Hawks, freshman infielder Jack Wade went four-for-four at the plate in game one, recording four hits, three runs and one RBI. Wade also hit one double in four at-bats in the second game, struck out once and picked up another RBI. He explained how he remains consistent to help the Chaps offensively.
“I don’t get too high, I don’t get too low,” Wade said. “I try to put my best swing on every single pitch. My job is to go out there, do that and I do it most of the time. I’m looking for fastballs. Once I get my fastball, I groove it, and do what I can with it.”
In game one, sophomore catcher Filip Milatovic recorded two hits in three at-bats, struck out once and walked one. He also scored three runs and picked up one RBI. He hit one double in two at-bats and scored one run in game two. Though upset by the loss in the second game, Milatovic gave props to the Hawks for their return.
“They were a little more hungry than us in the first couple of innings,” Milatovic said. “We came out kind of flat after we slaughtered them in the first game. We thought they were just going to roll over, so kudos to them. They came out firing. They wanted it. They had one of their top guys on the mound, they were playing team baseball, and they were just a little bit more ready to go than us.”
The Chaps look to even out their record against the Rock Valley College Eagles in a doubleheader, with the first game starting at 12 p.m. on April 6 in Rockford, Ill.
