The Saint Patrick Shamrocks swept three non-conference baseball games, defeating Foreman, Fenwick and Elgin, to boost their record to 4-1 on the year. This week the Shamrocks play seven games in six days, taking on Driscoll, Ridgewood, Elmwood Park, St. Ignatius, and Glenbrook South.

The Shamrocks opened the week with an 18-1 thrashing of the Foreman Hornets. Jack McKenna pitched four innings, striking out seven while allowing only one hit, to pick up his first win of the season. Tim Moskal keyed the offense with three hits and four runs batted in, and McKenna added three hits, knocking in a pair of runs.

The next day the Shamrocks headed to Oak Park to take on the Friars of Fenwick. The Shamrocks jumped all over the Friars with a five-run first inning onslaught, and then held on for an 8-4 victory. Mike Bolger battled through three innings, yielding five hits and two earned runs, to pick up his first win of the year. Offensively, McKenna tallied three hits and two RBI, and sophomore Kolt Imboden drove in three runs.

On Saturday the Shamrocks went to Elgin, where they faced the Maroons of Elgin. Mike Mockler and Chris Meza hit solo home runs, and three pitchers combined to shut Elgin down in a 4-2 victory. Bolger pitched four innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs, while striking out five for the victory. Brian Konopka struck out five in two and a third innings of relief, and Mike Daker got the final two outs for his second save of the season. Head Coach Dan Eberle called this game, “our best effort of the season: strong pitching, solid defense, and timely hitting.”

Eberle thinks this week will tell a lot about how the rest of the Shamrocks’ season will go. “This team is capable of an outstanding season. This week we have seven games in six days. We will see if we can rise to the challenge,” said Eberle.