Reed-Custer takes adantage of 4-run first, gem from Alex Bielfeldt for win at Manteno

MANTENO – At some point over the course of a 30-plus game season, nearly every prep baseball team will hit a bit of a dry spell. Monday’s Illinois Central Eight Conference game with Reed-Custer and host Manteno was a matchup between a Comets team that looks firmly out of their funk and a Panthers team looking to avoid one of their own.

Thanks to a four-run first inning and a beauty of a start from ace Alex Bielfeldt, the Comets picked up their first win of the ICE season, 6-1 at Manteno. It’s the second win in a row for the Comets (8-6, 1-4) to follow up a five-game losing streak. After an 8-0 start, Monday was the fourth loss in as many games for the Panthers (8-4, 2-3).

“I could tell our guys had energy,” Bielfeldt said. “When our bats were slow these last couple games, our defense was slow; we had a bad mindset. Our mindset was clear today, and I could tell from the instant we hit the field.”

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Reed-Custer's Matt Kuban, left, fields a ground ball as Manteno's Brady Hespen heads to third during a game at Manteno Monday, April 14, 2025. (Mason Schweizer)

The Comets scored three runs before recording an out Monday, taking advantage of four Manteno errors before the first out of the game. A Collin Monroe sacrifice fly to right made it a 4-0 lead early.

“Four errors in the first inning doesn’t do you any good,” Panthers coach Matt Beckner said. “We talk about fundamentals, doing the right thing and making the right play, nothing extraordinary. Just fundamental stuff, and we haven’t figured out how to do that. If we continue to not play fundamental baseball, this is gonna continue to be the result.”

That four runs was more than enough support for Bielfeldt, a 6-foot-4 Kankakee Community College commit. He shut the Panthers out through six innings, surrendering a lone run on Andrew Norred’s solo home run to open the bottom of the seventh inning. He finished with a final line of one earned run on six hits, two walks and nine strikeouts in 6 ⅓ innings.

The Comets played error-free baseball, and combined with Bielfeldt’s effectiveness and aggressiveness in attacking a talented Manteno lineup, Reed-Custer head coach Jake Evans got exactly what he was looking for in their big road matchup.

“[Bielfeldt] was in the zone all day, and we have to give our hats off to our defense as well,” Evans said. “We really played a clean game defensively, so that makes a world of difference for him up there, knowing he doesn’t have to be perfect, he can pitch to contact. But he attacked hitters all day, and that’s what we expect out of our senior No. 1 guy that’s going to KCC.”

While Beckner said the Panthers struggled with their approach at the plate for most of the day, Evans was thrilled with the aggressive mentality the Comets took at the dish. That resulted in seven different players recording a hit, led by catcher Alex Fierro, who was 3 for 4, and left fielder Landen Robinson, who went 2 for 4 with a double, two RBIs and a run.

“One of the things we kind of struggled with during our skid, I thought we were taking too many hittable pitches, especially early in the count,” Evans said. “It was awesome to see us be aggressive today, and you know as they say, hitting is contagious. The bottom-of-the-order guys saw the top of the order getting it going early, so they wanted to keep that going as well.”

The two teams wrapped up their two-game series Tuesday at Reed-Custer.