Manteno senior first baseman Jake Stevens is not fond of the cold weather.
After an April 7 win over Peotone, in which the temperatures dipped into the 30s, Stevens pointed out how he felt about the cold conditions.
“That last at-bat, I couldn’t even feel my fingers,” he said. “I can’t really play in the cold that well.”
Even without feelings in his hands, he still mashed a double in what turned out to be a 13-3, five-inning home win over the Blue Devils.
In three Illinois Central Eight games last week, the Panthers (7-1, 4-0) outscored their opponents 50-6 and Stevens was 6-for-10 with six runs, two doubles, a home run and five RBIs.
Amazingly, hitting .600 in those three games brought his batting average down to .667. He was batting .700 heading into the week.
So, he isn’t playing all that badly in the cold.
Neither are the Panthers, whose lone loss was 2-1 in eight innings on April 10 at Rich.
Aside from Stevens’ big hitting stats, Connor Harrod had a .577 mark through the first seven games and Logan Bufford was hitting .556.
Brendan Jedlicka was 3-0 with 17 strikeouts in 12 innings, while Harrod was 2-0 with a 2.10 ERA and Braden Campbell was 2-0 with a 1.62 ERA.
Stevens enjoys playing with these teammates.
“This team is great,” Stevens said. “We’re always laughing and joking around all of the time. We’re always being loud. It’s just electric all the time.
“On the field, we still have some work to do, but we’re getting there. We’re looking for more consistency.”
Meanwhile, Stevens is also a strong football player for the Panthers. He said his college situation is up in the air but he is leaning toward baseball.
Coach Matt Beckner is glad to have Stevens drilling the ball around.
“He’s a big hitter for us with a lot of power,” Beckner said. “His sophomore year, he had a big year and his junior year he started out slow but picked it up again.
“This year, he is coming out of the gates on fire. That’s something that we need.”
Manteno’s hot baseball start is coming without three-year starter Maddox Toepper in the lineup.
Dragons on fire
Grant Park’s softball team enters the week 8-0 and the Dragons have outscored opponents 74-10.
Wagner-bound senior Cheyenne Hayes was 6-0 in the circle with an 0.58 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 26 innings.
As a sophomore, Hayes racked up 180 strikeouts in 89 1/3 innings and followed it up with another dominant season with 223 in 118 1/3 innings last year.
Hayes also had a .609 batting average in the first eight games. Freshmen Mackenna Wells (.636) and Delaney Heldt (.524) have also provided big offensive numbers.Panthers start fast
Manteno scored four goals in the first half and made that stand up in a 4-0 girls soccer win against Bremen on April 11.
Lyndi Fenimore scored twice for the Panthers (4-4), while Emily Horath and Miranda Lingo added a goal each. Avery Kebert stopped one shot to earn the shutout.
Kebert also had eight saves each in a 3-2 loss to Peotone on April 9 and aa 4-0 defeat against Oak Forest on April 8.