In winning his first five decisions this spring, Mount Carmel pitcher Connor Elenteny has relied on a quality fastball, an effective changeup and a solid slider.
The junior righthander, who is committed to Notre Dame, also possesses another impressive attribute: The ability to escape trouble without incurring damage.
In the first inning of the Caravan’s 4-2 nonconference victory over visiting Homewood-Flossmoor on April 26, Elenteny faced a bases-loaded, none-out jam.
He got out of the inning without allowing a run, retiring the next two hitters on a popup and a strikeout. The last out was followed by a fist pump and exclamation of “Let’s go!” from Elenteny.
“I thought that Connor getting out of the first inning without giving up a run was important,” Caravan coach Brian Hurry said. “Their pitcher was very good, but us throwing up a zero in the first inning was the key to the game.”
Elenteny worked five innings, allowing two hits and no runs. He struck out seven, walked three and hit two batters.
“Over the season, I’ve tried to not let the game speed up on me,” Elenteny said. “I want to slow down and work at my pace. Today, I wanted to pitch how I pitch and let our defense make the plays behind me. I did that and that was good.
“I wanted to focus on throwing up zeroes and not worrying about velocity and spin. Nothing else matters. I want to throw up zeroes. That’s what matters.”
Mount Carmel (13-6) wasted little time in providing Elenteny with run support. In the bottom of the first, with Wake Forest recruit TJ McQuillan on third and Logan Fernandez aboard, Christian Clark hit a dribbler that was fielded by Vikings pitcher Henry Humes.
Humes, a Navy commit, dropped the ball for one error and then committed another error as he threw the ball past first baseman Arthur Stamps. Both McQuillan and Fernandez scored, giving Mount Carmel a 2-0 advantage.
“This was my first game batting leadoff,” McQuillan said. “I was struggling the last couple of games. We wanted to mix it up and Coach wanted me to get on base and start things off for us.
“I think we had a decent outcome. I like it. I just want to swing the bat wherever we need me to.”
The Caravan widened its lead to 4-0 in the third as Fernandez’s double to right scored McQuillan and Clark’s flyout to right brought home Joey Ireland.
In the fifth, the Vikings had runners on second and third with two outs, but were kept off the scoreboard by Elenteny as the last batter he faced flied out to left.
“Connor said he felt pretty good and I agree,” Mount Carmel catcher Mario Medina said. “His slider was working really good. He also was able to place it well. He made some good pitches and got swings and misses.”