PBR DAILY ROUNDUP

Tuesday, April 24

By Drake Skleba

Big 12

Danville (12-7; 4-1)blanked Champaign Central 8-0 behind a three-hit shutout from Viking junior Chase Thurston. Thurston fanned 11 Maroon hitters in his masterpiece.

Bloomington (15-5; 3-1) smashed Decatur MacArthur 10-0 behind a nine-strikeout, five inning shutout for Purple Raider junior Jayden Thompson (3-1). Junior Brandon Edwards had three hits and drove home a pair for Bloomington. Seniors Curtis Wiese, Kyle Johnson and Thompson all had two hits as Bloomington kept pace with Normal West and Danville.

Big Northern East

Burlington Central (15-6; 4-0) blasted North Boone 19-3 in five innings on Tuesday. Rocket senior C Tanner Scott went deep for the ninth time in 2012 and the 36^th time in his great career at BC. Scott finished with five RBI. Senior Ray Hunnicutt had three hits and scored five runs for the Rockets. 

Central Suburban North

Glenbrook North (15-7; 5-1) stopped Maine East 4-2 behind a five-hitter by junior RHP Brad Margolin. Spartan TJ Tedeschy had three hits and senior Chad Bruce chipped in with a pair of hits and an RBI, to lead the Spartans past the Demons.

Central Suburban South

No. 14 Maine South (16-3; 6-0)slipped past Evanston 2-1 in nine innings at Evanston on Tuesday. Senior Pat Aloisio (6-0) fired eight innings of one-run ball to pick up the win. Senior Hawk Rocky Saavedra nailed down the save for the CSL-South leaders.

No. 22 Glenbrook South (14-5; 4-2) blasted Waukegan 11-1 in five innings behind junior RHP Sam Kolons, who fanned eight Bulldog hitters.

New Trier (12-5; 4-2) beat No. 8 Niles West 3-0 behind Bucknell-bound RHP Austin Zimmerman. Zimmerman completely dominated the 8^th ranked Wolves, striking out 10. Niles West falls to (19-3; 5-1).

DuPage Valley

Wheaton North (14-7; 7-1) defeated Glenbard East 4-1 behind a six-hitter from Falcon senior Ed Norris.

Glenbard North (13-7; 6-2) pounded West Aurora 12-1 in five innings to keep pace with Wheaton North.

Fox Valley Fox

Grayslake Central (15-5; 8-1) crushed Woodstock behind Ram senior Kristen Meehan, who had a pair of doubles and drove home four runs for the FVC-Fox leaders. Ram senior Mark Ash fired a five-hitter at the Blue Streaks.

Fox Valley Valley

No. 20 Prairie Ridge (15-5; 8-1) hammered Dundee-Crown 12-4 to stay atop the FVC-Valley standings.

Under-the-radar Jacobs (12-6; 7-1) stunned McHenry 1-0 behind a two-hit shutout from Golden Eagle Chris Mixon (3-1). Junior Connor Conzelman doubled and scored the only run of the ballgame. McHenry falls to (15-7; 7-2).

Cary-Grove (14-7; 7-1) stopped Hampshire 5-1 to stay in the FVC Valley race.

Crystal Lake South (15-7; 7-2) stopped Huntley 2-1 behind a two-hit masterpiece from 6-foot-3 Gator senior Zack Geib (6-2). Geib struck out nine Red Raider hitters. Gator ace Jordan Van Dyck used his big bat this time, with a two-run bomb in the third inning to sink the Red Raiders.

Interstate 8 North

Lisle (23-4; 9-0) blanked Westmont 5-0 behind a one-hit shutout from junior RHP Ryan Van Volkenberg (6-0). Red-hot Lion sophomore Kevin Coppin continued to tear the cover off the ball with two more hits and four RBI.

Interstate 8 South

Manteno (23-2, 7-2) smashed Reed-Custer 13-3 in five innings. Red-hot senior CF JJ Witherow continued to scorch the baseball with a big two-hit, five RBI game for the Panthers. Panther junior C Ryan Sample went deep with two men on for his second dinger of 2012. Sample is hitting .447 with 30 RBI to keep the Panthers within a game of I-8 South leader Herscher (22-4; 8-1). Circle May 7 on your calendar. That’s when Herscher will invade Manteno. The two clubs will move to Herscher on May 8.

N. Illinois Big 12-East

Kaneland (14-7; 7-1) rallied past Yorkville 3-2 with two in the seventh to make a winner out of Knight junior RHP Trevor Storck (4-0). Yorkville (12-9; 6-2) will travel to Maple Park to meet the defending Class 3A Champs on Thursday. The PBR’s Drake Skleba will be in Maple Park for all of the action at 4:30.

South Suburban Blue

Oak Forest (15-4; 8-2) swept away Bremen 8-7 behind the red-hot senior Jason Hein, who had two more hits and three RBI. Bengal senior George Jester hammered a two-run bomb to keep the Bengals as co-leaders in the Red with Lemont.

Lemont (12-7; 8-2) blasted TF South 13-6 behind University of Illinois-bound LHP Tyler Jay (4-3). Jay picked up his fourth victory of the year on the mound and hammered a pair of doubles in his 3-for-3 afternoon with an RBI. Indian junior Connor O’Brien had four hits, including a pair of doubles and an RBI for the SSC-Blue co-leaders.

South Suburban Red

Richards (14-9, 9-1) outlasted Oak Lawn 6-5 on a walk-off single by junior 1B Ricky Palacios. With the win the Bulldogs reclaim the top-spot in the SSC Red. Richards jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead. After two outs Palacios singled home a run along with Bulldog senior 1B Vince Boetteger. Bulldog junior Eric Hall drove home a pair in the big Bulldog first.

Oak Lawn (14-7; 8-2) tied things up at 5-5 with a big three-run top of the seventh. Junior Bobby Kametas singled home a run to bring the Spartans the Spartans within 5-3 and then Spartan senior captain Kyle Smith tied things up with a clutch two-out two run single.

A little while later Palacios sent everyone home and put the ‘Dogs back on top in the SSC-Red

S. Illinois River-River-Ohio

No. 11 Benton (20-3; 9-0) won its 20^th game of the season and clinched its first outright SIRR-Ohio championship since 2000 with a thrilling 12-9 win over Murphysboro. For the second straight day the SIRR-Ohio champs had to do extra duty, dispatching the Red Devils in eight innings. On Monday Benton needed 12 innings to take care of Harrisburg (See PBR story).

Senior C Trey Garrett led the Ranger attack against Murphysboro with three hits and four RBI. Any college coach needs a solid defensive catcher, hitting .447 with four dingers and 39 RBI? Trey can pitch, too. 5-0 on the mound in 2012.

Bradley-bound Ty Leffler (6-2) picked up the win on the mound for the 11^th ranked Rangers. Leffler leads the Rangers with a .602 average with 14 homers and 42 RBI.

Southwest Prairie

Plainfield North (19-1; 9-1) blanked Plainfield East 5-0 behind a five-inning four hit performance by University of Notre Dame bound RHP Joey Cresta (5-0). Cresta fanned nine Bengal hitters in picking up his fifth victory of the year. Senior 3B Kyle Bledsoe drove in three to lead the Tiger attack.

Southwestern

No. 18 O’Fallon (15-6; 7-1) blasted Belleville East 10-0 in six-innings, behind a seven-hit shutout from senior Sam Hopkins (5-1). Panther senior Cory Beyersdorfer had three hits and three RBI to lead O’ Fallon. Senior Logan Reno had two hits and plated three runs for the SWC leaders.

Edwardsville (17-5; 6-2) spotted Belleville West a two-run lead and then rallied past the Maroons 4-2 to keep pace with O’Fallon. Senior Jake Hanks had a perfect 3-for-3 day for the Tigers with an RBI. Senior Matt Boivin (4-0) allowed one earned run in 4 1/3 innings to pick up the win on the mound. Senior Alex Reisch slammed the door on the Maroons with 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief to nail down his third save of the season.

Alton (15-6; 6-2) kept pace with O’Fallon and Edwardsville with a 8-2 romp over Granite City.

Suburban Christian Gold

Aurora Christian (16-7; 8-2) swept away city-rival Aurora Central Catholic 7-1 behind a two-hitter by Eagle sophomore JT Bashka (7-0). Bashka fanned eight Charger hitters in his complete-game gem. Eagle seniors Kenny McCracken and Josh Haugen continued to hammer the baseball with two hits and two RBI apiece.

Walther Lutheran (11-12; 6-5) defeated Immaculate Conception 8-5 on Tuesday behind Bronco senior Mike Trotti, who had three hits and two RBI. Bronco junior Joe Lominicki went the distance against the Knights to even up his record at 3-3 on the mound. Alcorn State-bound Chris Stevens wasn’t allowed to swing the bat. The Knights walked the future Brave four times intentionally.

Upstate 8 Valley

South Elgin (14-3; 11-2) romped past Waubonsie Valley 9-1 behind another fine performance on the mound by Storm junior David Palmer (4-2). Palmer scattered seven hits over 5 2/3 innings to pick up the win on the mound for South Elgin. Storm juniors David Binder and Nevan Jeske each had two hits and two RBI for the U8C Valley co-leaders

West Suburban Silver
Defending Class 4A State Champions Lyons Township (15-5-1; 8-1) swept away Glenbard West 3-2 on Tuesday. Lion senior RHP Matt Robare picked up the win for the WSC-leaders.

York (14-8; 9-3) won the rubber-match against No. 3 Oak Park 3-2 on Tuesday. Duke junior RHP River Pitlock fired a five-hitter at the Huskies and senior Jason Rzeszutko continued his torrid hitting with three more hits. Oak Park falls to (14-3; 6-3)

Nonconference

No. 16 Lincoln-Way North (17-5) outslugged Benet Academy 15-10 on Tuesday. Phoenix senior Jack Troike and junior C Ryan Pellack went deep for the SWC-Red Division co-leaders. Benet falls to 10-8.

No. 20 Harrisburg (17-6-1) took out its frustration from Monday’s heart-breaking loss at Benton, on Herrin. The Bulldogs won 16-1 in five innings behind a grand-slam from senior Ty McGowan. McGowan also fired a one-hitter at the the Tigers. Cam Cummins went deep for the ‘Dogs and Cooper Thompson plated four in the SIRR-Crossover victory on Tuesday.

Defending Class 1A State champion Carrollton (15-5) blanked Hardin Calhoun 1-0 behind senior RHP joey Coonrod (7-2). Coonrod struck out 19 Warrior hitters, allowing just one hit. Coonrod lowered his ERA to 0.36 and has 98 strikeouts in 58 innings.