Horace Mann baseball off to hot start

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Don’t call it a rebuilding year for the inexperienced Horace Mann Lions. 

After scoring just six runs in their first three games, the Lions’ bats came alive as they notched 28 runs in less than six hours as part of a doubleheader last Saturday. The Lions dominated Loyola, 15-5, in the opener before clubbing Collegiate, 13-3, in the nightcap.

The two wins moved the Lions to 4-1 on the season as they have won four straight after losing to Poly Prep in their season opener. 

“We’re a very young team, and we have a lot to accomplish,” Horace Mann head coach Neil Berniker said. “But they want to play ball. They’re hungry, and they want to be the best they can be and they’ll work hard.” 

The Lions showed some early signs of youth in the top of the first inning against Loyola. With a Loyola runner on third, a ground ball was smacked to shortstop Michael Farinelli, who made the throw to an outstretched Robert Hefter at first base. Hefter could not hold onto the ball, however, and the Knights took a quick 1-0 lead. 

But that would be Loyola’s first and last lead, as Horace Mann responded with four runs of its own in the bottom of the first. With two runners on, Farinelli lined a double up the middle to bring home both men for a 2-1 Lions lead. Two batters later, Hefter singled to plate another pair of runs and Horace Mann had itself a 4-1 cushion.

 It was a similar story in the second inning. A wild throw from catcher Alex Litman to second baseman Andrew Chi allowed Loyola to score a run as the Knights would eventually tie the game at four in the inning.

But Farinelli and the Horace Mann bats would prove to be too much to handle. With a runner in scoring position, Farinelli slapped a single to right field to give the Lions the lead for good. Alex Baumann then scored on a wild pitch, Litman delivered an RBI single and Alex Silverman stole home to help fuel a five-run inning to give the Lions a 9-4 lead.

“I just finally got my timing right,” said Farinelli, who finished with three RBIs and two runs scored. “I just tried to focus on getting the fat part of the bat on the ball.”

Horace Mann, baseball, Neil Berniker, Chris Cirillo
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