The Mundelein High School baseball program keeps climbing, even when it seems like it's already reached its peak.
The Class 4A runners-up in last year's state tournament got off to a sparkling 19-0 start this season and were No. 2 in PrepBaseballReport.com's Illinois Power 25 rankings as of April 17.
But high achievements are nothing new for the Mustangs, who have been to at least the sectional final in the last three state tournaments and reached the sectional semifinals in nine of the last 12 tourneys.
Head coach Todd Parola told the Lake County Gazette in an email that competing and focusing on the basics have been keys to the season.
“Our expectations are to get better every day and be playing our best baseball at the end of the year,” he said.
The Mustangs' pitching has been a continual force this season, starting with Brendan Murphy. In his last season at MHS before going on to play at Arizona State, the 2016 All-State selection has been dominant, posting a 6-0 record in his first seven pitching appearances to go with 44 strikeouts in 29 innings, a 0.97 earned-run average and 0.7 walks and hits allowed per nine innings (WHIP).
Other Mustangs having a great season on the hill include Wil Michalski, at 5-0 with 42 strikeouts in 28⅔ innings, a 0.73 ERA and a 0.8 WHIP; Steven Sanchez, posting a 4-0 mark with 21 strikeouts in 20 innings with a 0.35 ERA; and Zach Zentz, at 3-0 with 35 strikeouts in 24⅔ innings.
As a team, the Mustangs are notching a collective 1.35 ERA, a 0.9 WHIP and an average of 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings.
At the plate, Mundelein are batting .323 as a team and averaging nearly eight runs a game. Individually, Murphy has a .518 batting average with a .606 on-base percentage and .786 slugging percentage. Sanchez has a .353 batting average with a .500 OBP, and Ryan Magee has a .352 average.
But even with the pristine record, Parola said there are areas to improve by the end of the season.
“We need to be a lot more consistent offensively and defensively,” he said.
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