By Drew Locascio
Illinois Scouting Director

CRESTWOOD, IL - Preseason No. 1 Brother Rice avenged yesterday’s one-run loss to Lyons Township with their own one run victory, defeating No. 13 Lincoln-Way East 1-0 at Standard Bank Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.

Brother Rice (1-1) was led by senior RHP Jack Guzek. Guzek set the tone early, striking out the side in the top of the first inning and sitting 88-89 mph, touching 90 with his fastball in the frame. Guzek, who got the win, went 4.1 innings, allowed two hits, no runs, struck out 10 and walked two. The Indiana State commit, pounded the strike zone throughout and kept Lincoln-Way East hitters off balance with his fastball/curveball combination.

Brother Rice scored the one and only run of the game in the bottom of the third inning. Outfielder Danny Doligale led off the frame with a walk and senior Ryan King, a Michigan State, followed with what seemed to be an uneventful sacrifice bunt. After King was thrown out at first, the first baseman attempted to catch Doligale sleeping rounding second base but the throw was wide and ended up in the left-center gap. The errant throw allowed Doligale to score what turned out to be the game winning run, all the way from second.

The Lincoln-Way East (0-1) best chance to score came in the top of the sixth inning. With runners on first and second and one out, senior James Nebelski singled to right. Right fielder Tim Mahay got to the ball quickly and fired a strike to home plate to gun down the potential tying run. The throw turned out to be the play of the game as the following hitter struck out to end the threat.

Junior left-handed pitcher Ryan Palmblad relieved Guzek on the mound for the Crusaders and went 2.2 innings of shutout ball with four strike outs.

Left-handed pitcher Danny Zimmerman got his first start of the season for Lincoln-Way East and was the tough-luck loser. The highly-touted junior, committed to Louisville, sat 87-88 mph, touching 89 a few times in the first inning. He eventually settled in at 85-87 mph and consistently mixed in a slider that ranged between 76-79 mph. Zimmerman’s final line was 3 innings, one hit, one unearned run, three strikeouts and three walks.

SS Ryan King and 3B Sam Jones, an Indiana commit, each had doubles for Brother Rice.

RHP Joe Prestamer came out of the bullpen for Lincoln-Way East and went three innings, allowed two hits, no runs, struck out four and walked one.

For more in-depth notes from the game - and all other games that we cover - visit the Illinois Scout Blog later.

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