Prep Baseball Report

Daily Roundup: April 4 Games



By Drake Skleba
Senior Writer

For Games of March 4

Nonconference

No. 1 Lincoln-Way North 8, Joliet West 3
Top-ranked Lincoln-Way North (6-0) shattered the hopes of the upstart Tigers, defeating them 8-3 in Joliet on Thursday. All of the runs in this contest were scored in the first two innings. Each team scored two in the first and then the Phoenix put the game away with a six-run outburst in the second. The Tigers answered with one run and that was it for the scoring. St. Joseph College-bound SS Josh Handzik singled doubled and drove home two Phoenix runs. Creighton-bound Kevin Smith added two singles and two RBI while Oakton Community College-bound CF Corey Krupske had a double and two RBI.

Joliet West (5-2) had two-hit days from senior Larry Holman and red-hot junior Zach Thomas.

No. 6 Sandburg 21, Bradley-Bourbonnais 4
Sandburg (5-0) destroyed Bradley-Bourbonnais in a Southwest Suburban Conference crossover in Orland Park. Adam Zehme led the Eagle onslaught with two hits, including a double and four RBI. Alec Nelson homered and singled and plated three Eagle runs while Brian Dewolf had two hits and three RBI. Julian Gutierrez hammered a two-run bomb for the Eagles.  

No. 7 Mount Carmel 10, Ashville (KY) 0
Mount Carmel (9-1) completed its sweep in Louisville, Kentucky, with a 10-0 whitewash in six innings. Junior LHP Dave Dobrinich (1-0) fired a five-hit shutout with two strikeouts. Red-hot senior Jason Gasser was 3-for-3 including a double and scored three runs for the Caravan. Malik Carpenter continued to assault the baseball. Carpenter had two hits, including a double and drove home two runs.

No. 15 Ottawa 17, Seneca 1
Ottawa (5-2) hammered out 17 runs and 18 hits as the Pirates smoked the Fighting Irish in five innings. Cahill Horner homered and singled and had two RBI to lead the Pirates.

No. 17 Lincoln-Way West 11, Homewood-Flossmoor 5
Lincoln-Way West (5-1) outslugged H-F 11-5 on Thursday. Zach Speaker had three hits, including a double and drove home two for the Warriors. Leadoffman Jake Robbins doubled twice and had two RBI while Nick Andrade singled and had two RBI. Senior SS Luke Morgan chipped in with three hits.

No. 18 Teutopolis 4, Highland 3
Teutopolis (10-1) won a nine-inning thriller in T-Town on Thursday. SIU-bound RHP Kyle Pruemer struck out 11 in his five innings of work. Jared Waldhoff, Chase Wendling, Reed Hardiek and Darren Probst drove in runs for the Wooden Shoes. LHP John Ungrund pitched the last four innings and was the winning pitcher.  

No. 19 Downers Grove South 8, Oak Park 3
In a WSC-crossover affair in Oak Park, Downers Grove South (6-2) erupted for seven runs in the top of the seventh to stun the defending Class 4A Champions 8-3. Mustang junior Joe Becht had two singles and drove home three for DGS. University of Pacific bound-Dan Mayer had a double and two RBI. Senior Kevin Raher singled and tripled and drove in a run for DGS. Mustang senior Nick Alfini faced one man on the mound; he struck him out, to pick up the win.

No.24 Lockport 18, Stagg 1
Lockport (6-2) smashed Stagg 18-1 in five innings on Thursday. Austin Kolmodin hit the only round-tripper in this one. Kolmodin had two RBI. Purdue-bound Ted Snidanko, Derek Bangert, Jeff Pattison, Avery Lochow all had two RBI for the Porters.. Senior RHP Eric Duzan picked up the win.

Troy-Triad 11, Chatham Glenwood 0
Troy-Triad (6-2) was led by SIU-Edwardsville -bound 1B Keaton Wright. Wright had three hits and four RBI for the Knights in this five inning game.

Fox Valley Crossovers

No. 16 Huntley 16, Crystal Lake Central 2
Huntley (6-0; 1-0 Valley) romped past  Crystal Lake Central 16-2 in five innings in a Fox Valley Conference crossover on Thursday. Nebraska-bound Bryce Only and senior Kameron Sallee went deep for the Red Raiders. Sallee had two hits with three RBI, while the future Cornhusker, had two hits and two RBI. University of Illinois-recruit junior Mark Skonieczny had three singles, scored twice and had two RBI for Huntley. Only (1-0) allowed two runs in four hits in four innings to pick up the win.

No. 13 Prairie Ridge 13, Woodstock 3
Prairie Ridge (4-1; 1-0) slammed Woodstock 13-3 in five innings on Thursday. Wolves senior Bryan Klendworth had quite a day for the Wolves. Klendworth homered, had two singles, scored two runs and plated five to lead the Wolves past the Blue Streaks. Junior Danny Pecoraro had perfect 2-for-2 day at the plate, scoring three times and had an RBI. Junior Colin Rempert doubled and walked and drove home three for PR. Senior LHP Mike Reitcheck was the winning oitcher for Prairie Ridge.

Crystal Lake South 7, Hampshire 6
Crystal Lake South (3-0; 1-0) won a wild Fox Valley Conference crossover affair in Hampshire on Thursday. The game was tied 3-3 going to the top of the seventh. Crystal Lake South scored four times in the top of the seventh, while the Whip-Purrs answered with three runs before succumbing 7-6. Crystal Lake South’s senior 1B Max Meitzler had two hits and four RBI to lead the Gators to victory. Gator senior Jake Bigos had a 4-for-4 day at the plate with a run scored and a stolen base. Senior Will Fogel chipped in with a pair of hits and two RBI. Gator ace RHP Tyler Hall went the distance for the Gators to improve to 2-0 on the season.

Cary-Grove 9, Grayslake Central 3
Cary-Grove (5-2; 1-0 Valley) crushed Grayslake Central in a Fox Valley Conference crossover on Thursday. Matt Sutherland led the Trojan attack with two hits, including a double and three RBI. Andy Brierton was 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Trojan cleanup hitter Brandon McCumber chipped in with two hits and two RBI. McCumber also picked up the win in the mound for the Trojans. The RHP allowed two runs and six hits in his solid six innings of work.

McHenry 13, Woodstock North 1
McHenry (5-3; 1-0) smashed Woodstock North 13-1 in five innings on Thursday. Warrior Nick Svoboda went deep with the bases loaded for McHenry. Cole Hoeppel-Tranter had a pair of singles and two RBI and Andy Reisinger chipped in with two hits and an RBI. RHP Reisinger 1-1) went the distance for the Warriors allowing an unearned run and three hits while striking out nine.

Upstate 8 Crossovers

Neuqua Valley 4, Streamwood 0
Neuqua Valley (5-2; 2-0) rolled past Streamwood behind a two-hit masterpiece from Creighton-bound RHP David Gerber (2-0). The future Blue Jay hurler struck out seven. Drew Sterioti and Mike Riesner both doubled and drove in a Wildcat run.

Catholic League Crossovers

St. Joseph 18, Hales Franciscan 2
St. Joseph (3-1; 1-0 White) opened up CCL play with an 18-2, five-inning pounding of Hales Franciscan. The Chargers scored 10 runs in the top of the seventh. Ryan Moritz led the Charger attack with three hits and five RBI.

Interstate 8 Crossovers

Manteno 5, Sandwich 4
Manteno (5-0, 1-0) scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth to erase a 4-0 Sandwich lead and then scored the game-winner in the bottom of the seventh. Junior Cory Bottoms’ sac-fly plated the game-winner and sent the Panther contingent home very happy. Junior LHP Jack Liss picked up the win to improve to 2-0 on the season.

Metro Suburban

Glenbard South 14, Fenton 4
The defending Metro Suburban Conference champs form Glenbard South (4-1; 3-0), finished off its sweep of Fenton on Thursday in six innings. Tony Tenuta had two hits and three RBI to lead the Raider attack. Justin Joseph had two hits, scored three runs and drove home two for GBS. Will Cornwell chipped in with two hits and two RBI.

Mid-Illini (From April 3)

Washington 6, East Peoria 1
Washington (6-1; 2-0) rolled past East Peoria behind Panther junior Tanner Scott. Scott allowed two hits and struck out nine, in his quality six innings of work to pick up the win.

Morton 5, Dunlap 0
Morton (5-2, 2-0) rolled past Dunlap behind a six-hit shutout with five strikeouts from senior RHP Jack Compton. Potter Jake Morsch gave Compton all the support he would need, driving in three for Morton.

Limestone 10, Pekin 0
Limestone (5-2; 2-0) blanked Pekin in five innings, behind a combined four-hit shutout by RHP Hank Matthews and lefty Dylan Weaver. Matthews allowed two hits in four innings with five strikeouts to get the win. Weaver gave up a couple of hits in the fifth before closing out the Dragons. Cody Rupp singled, doubled twice, scored two runs and drove in four to take care of the Rocket offense.  

S. Illinois River-River-Mississippi

DuQuoin 5, Carterville 0
DuQuoin’s (7-2; 2-1) Cam Mercier, fired a two-hit shutout at Carterville on Thursday. Mercier struck out four. Travis Chapman drove home two to lead the Indians attack.  

S. Illinois River-River Ohio

No. 22 Harrisburg 5, Herrin 0
Harrisburg (8-2; 2-1) gave Herrin (8-4; 2-1) its first SIRR-Ohio loss on Thursday, behind a five-hit shutout by senior RHP Cody Hall. University of Illinois-bound Ryne Roper continued to make his bid for Porsche Player of the Week. The future Fighting Illini hammered a grand slam and doubled to lead his 'Dogs past the Tigers.

Benton 12, West Frankfort 0
Benton (8-5; 2-1) crushed West Frankfort in six innings on Thursday. Ranger senior RHP Zach Mocaby (4-0; 0.68 ERA) fired a four-hit shutout with five strikeouts. Junior 3B Nate Higgins hammered his first round-tripper of the season and drove in three. Senior Cameron Rock had two singles and a booming triple and plated three Ranger runs.

South Suburban Blue

Tinley Park 2, Argo 1
Tinley Park (6-1; 3-0) won a thriller in Summit on Thursday, slipping by the host Argonauts 2-1 in eight thrilling innings. The Titans won it in the top of the eighth. Bob Neylon singled home James Kelly for the eventual game-winner. RHP Josh Simon struck out 10 in his solid 6 2/3 innings of work.

Southwest Prairie

No. 10 Plainfield North 7, Romeoville 5
Plainfield North (4-2; 3-0) slipped past Romeoville to complete the Tigers three-game sweep of the Spartans. Tiger senior C Zach Trusk had three hits and four RBI to lead PN. Romeoville (5-4; 0-3) was led by Josh Kreuger who had three hits, including two doubles.

Minooka 15, Plainfield Central 4
Minooka (5-2; 3-0) swept away Plainfield Central in five innings, behind the red-hot bat of Indian senior Max Brozovich. Brozovich went deep twice for the Indians, singled and had five big RBI. Senior Joe Carnagio hammered a two-run shot, his second homer of the season, and Brennan Polcyn joined the homer barrage with a solo shot. Mark Fox and Chris Costa chipped in with three-hit days for Minooka. Senior Steve Szymanski (2-1) went the distance for the win.

Plainfield South 12, Plainfield East 3
Plainfield South (4-2; 3-0) swept away cross-town rival East on Thursday. Cougar senior C John McNulty doubled with the sacks full and drove in four Cougar runs. John Smith had three singles and drove home a pair and Ricky Salazar also had three hits for South. RHP Ryan McQueen fired three scoreless innings allowing one hit and struck out three to pick up the win

Southwestern

Belleville West 12, No. 11 Alton 9
Belleville West (9-3; 3-0) outslugged the 11th-ranked Redbirds in Alton on Thursday. Maroon senior nick VanOsdale went deep twice, doubled and plated five to lead the BW past Alton. Alton (8-2; 0-2) got a three-run homer from junior LF Nick Paulda.

Edwardsville 5, O’Fallon 2
Edwardsville (4-3; 1-2) won a must game to keep its SWC title hopes alive on Thursday. The Tigers were led by freshman Jake Garella, who had a clutch two-run single for the Tigers. Senior Cole Hagen allowed one earned run in his six innings of work to pick up the win. O’ Fallon (7-5; 2-1) was led by Ty Herbert who drove home the lone Panther run

Suburban Christian Crossovers

Montini 25, Walther Lutheran 4
Montini (5-0; 3-0 Blue) exploded for 25 runs and 18 hits, of which 13 didn’t leave the ballpark. Hard-hitting Austin Kline went deep for the second time in three games. Bronco starting pitcher Chris Bartosz picked up the win on the mound and helped himself with a three-run dinger. Ben Dobosenski, Manny Georgitis and Tyler Trumpane all went deep for Montini.

Aurora Central Catholic 4, Wheaton Academy 1
Aurora Central Catholic (5-1; 3-0) defeated Wheaton Academy behind Heartland Community College-bound RHP Matt Miller (1-0). Miller went the distance and struck out 11 to pick up his first victory of the season. Miller helped himself at the plate with a double and a triple. Sean Sorris chipped in with a perfect 3-for-3 day at the plate.

Nonconference

Wheaton North 2, St. Viator 1
Wheaton North (6-1) won this thriller behind LHP’s Sam Nafzinger and Doug Hayes. Nafzinger allowed an unearned run and gave up three hits in four innings to pick up the win. Hayes mowed down the Lions over the last three innings, allowing one hit and striking out four to nail down the save. Tom Colletti and Lake Bachar drove home the two Falcon runs.

Jacobs 9, Prospect 4
Jacobs (5-1) rolled past Prospect 9-4 behind the big bat of Ben Murray. Murray had two singles and a double with two RBI to lead the Golden Eagles past the Knights. Connor hit his second homer of the season and had two RBI while Matt Hickey chipped in with a single and two RBI. Senior RHP Nick Ledinsky (1-0) picked up the win.

Lincoln-Way East 11, Thornton 1
Lincoln-Way East (4-1) rolled past Thornton 11-1 in five innings on Thursday. Brandon Nathan had a double and drove home three Griffin runs. Jack Dwyer had a perfect 3-for-3 day for L-WE with two RBI and Kevin Duffin was 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI. Red-hot Evan Sandman had two more hits and an RBI. Jeremy Gucfa allowed an unearned run and one hit in four innings to pick up the win. Gucfa fanned six Wildcats.  

Herscher 16, Tri-Point 3
Herscher (7-0-1) routed Tri-Point in five innings on Thursday. Dan Johnson fell a long one short of hitting for the cycle for the Tigers. Johnson had four RBI. Bobby Frey was 2-for-2 with an RBI for Herscher. On Friday the Tigers will travel to Lisle for an Interstate 8 crossover battle with the Lions. The PBR’s Drake Skleba will be in Lisle for all the action.

Grant 18, Westosha (WI) 1
Grant (4-1) crushed its Badger State guests in Fox Lake, in five innings. Jake Trumpis improved to 2-0 on the mound for the ‘Dogs with a three-hitter with six strikeouts. University of Missouri-bound Jake Ring fell a long one short of hitting for the cycle. Ring also stole two bases and drove home three Bulldog runs. Ryan Noda was a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI and Jordan Villarreal doubled tripled and plated a pair of runs for Grant.

Mahomet-Seymour 3, Mattoon 2
Mahomet-Seymour (7-1) slipped past the Green Wave in eight exciting innings on Thursday. Bulldog junior reliever Kevin Mumm fired four shutout innings of relief to pick up the win for M-S. Clay Dilks drove in the eventual game-winner in the eighth, when he crushed a clutch two-out double to left-center. In the bottom of the eighth, Bulldog RF Brandon Sjoken ended this one with a spectacular diving catch.

West Aurora 13, Yorkville 2
It’s not often you see a 6-foot-5, 185-pound left-handed pitcher, let alone one who is only a sophomore.  But that is exactly what the Yorkville Foxes have in Kyle Shimp.  West Aurora, however, was undaunted by Shimp, as the Blackhawks cruised to a 13-2 five-inning victory in West Aurora.

D.J Varney was the winning pitcher for the Blackhawks and went pitch for pitch with Shimp.  The 5-foot-11, 155-pound junior dealt all game.  Varney went the distance giving up 2 hits, 2 earned runs, walking 1 and striking out 7. Varney had a no-hitter heading into the top of the fifth but was broken up by Blake Szurkowski.

Shimp went to work in the bottom of the first and from the first batter he faced to the last, he received no defensive help.  Shimp only went 2.2 innings but his team had four errors.

The game was blown open in the bottom of the second inning with a towering shot to deep center off the bat of junior Quintez Jones.  Jones is a 6-foot-4, 225 pound first basemen who is also the starting quarterback for the Blackhawks. West Aurora continued to tack on runs and hit the ball hard accumulating 13 runs and ending the game in five innings.  - Reported by Matt Yarber

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