PBR DAILY ROUNDUP

May 3

By Drake Skleba

Big Northern East

Burlington Central (19-6; 7-0) defeated Harvard 8-0 behind a three-hit shutout from Rocket junior Mike Scott (1-2). Scott fanned nine Hornet hitters and helped himself with a two-run single.

Red-hot Rocket junior Blake Alexander had three more hits and had three RBI.

The win was the sixth straight for the sizzling Rockets. BC has won 12 of its last 13. On Monday, “The Battle of the Rockets II” takes place in Richmond as BC takes on the Richmond-Burton Rockets. On April 17 on Rocket Hill in Burlington, BC defeated R-B 6-2.

Richmond-Burton (19-7; 6-1) crushed North Boone 14-0 in five innings on Thursday. Rocket junior Ryne Blanton threw four shutout innings to pick up the win on the mound for R-B. The Rockets were led by their junior C Matt Malecki, who went deep, doubled twice and had five RBI. Senior Donnie Stupienski chipped in with two doubles and three RBI.

Big 12

No. 7 Normal West (21-5; 6-1) avenged Wednesday night’s loss to Normal Community, 4-2, behind junior RHP Alex Jefferson (6-0). Jefferson fired a three-hitter at the Ironmen and NIU-bound 3B Wes Sery’s two-run double in the fifth was the eventual game-winner. Wildcat catcher Josh Appel hammered a shot over the 340 sign at Corn Crib Stadium in Normal.

No. 24 Bloomington (19-5; 6-1) defeated Champaign Central 4-0 behind a three-hit shutout from Purple Raider junior Kent Franz (5-2). With the shutout the red-hot Frantz extended his scoreless inning streak to 20. Raider senior Matt Mardis led the Bloomington attack with three hits and two RBI.

Catholic Blue

St. Rita (17-8; 8-4) defeated No. 2 St. Laurence 10-7 in the conclusion of Monday’s suspended game. Louisville-bound Mustang C Zack Soria tore up the Vikings with a three-hit, four RBI day. Mustang senior LHP Scott Thomas (2-1) picked up the win for the Mustangs.

St. Laurence (24-3-1; 10-2),Mount Carmel (24-2; 10-2) and Providence (19-6; 10-2) all share the mighty CCL-Blue lead with four games to play. No.1 Mt. Carmel travels to No. 4 Providence for an 11 a.m. showdown on Saturday morning. The two teams will meet again at Mount Carmel on Monday.

St. Laurence has a two-game set with last-place Loyola.

Catholic White

De La Salle (18-8; 11-4) bombed St. Joseph 9-2 behind Western Michigan-bound RHP Pat Haynes (6-4). Haynes struck out 12 Charger hitters in his solid six-inning stint on Thursday. Haynes hammered a pair of homers and drove in four Meteor runs. Junior 3B Ricardo Ramirez also went deep twice for DLS and one-upped Haynes with five RBI. 

Central Suburban North

Glenbrook North (20-7; 8-2) defeated Maine West 5-3 behind Eastern Illinois-bound Spartan Jason Scholl. The future Panther receiver hit the big blow of the contest when he went deep with two Spartans aboard.

Central Suburban South

No. 14 Maine South (20-3; 10-0) defeated New Trier 3-2, in a Mother Nature shortened five inning contest. (See Drake Skleba’s story).

Niles West (20-6; 6-4) defeated Glenbrook South 9-4. Wolves junior Seth Rosenberg had two hits and had three RBI to lead the West offense. Wolves junior Kyle Colletta RHP went the distance against the Titans to improve to 7-1. Glenbrook South falls to (17-8; 7-3).

Central State 8

Chatham Glenwood (19-6; 11-2) hammered Lincoln 12-4 as Titan senior Nate Prindle homered doubled and drove home five Titan runs. Senior RHP Alex Bee (6-1) picked up the win on the mound for Glenwood.

DuPage Valley

Naperville North (14-11; 8-4) won its ninth consecutive game on Thursday, defeating West Aurora 9-4 on Thursday.

Corn Belt QT. FINALS

Bloomington Central Catholic (16-9) slipped past Stanford Olympia 6-5 on Thursday.

East Suburban Catholic

No. 10 Nazareth (21-3; 7-2) got ambushed by Marian Catholic 5-3 on Thursday. The Spartans were led by Arizona State-bound Brett Lilek, who had a perfect 3-3 game with an RBI. Sophomore Pat Schmidt drove home two big MC runs.

Fox Valley Fox

Grayslake Central (20-5; 13-1) erupted for nine runs in the sixth inning to erase a 6-1 Crystal Lake South and defeat the Tigers 10-6. With the win, head coach Troy Whelan’s Rams clinched a tie for the FVC-Fox crown.

Fox Valley-Valley

Crystal Lake South (21-7; 12-2) rallied past Prairie Ridge (18-9; 10-2) on Thursday (See Sean Duncan’s story).

McHenry (16-11; 8-6) blanked Valley leader Cary-Grove 5-0 behind a four-hitter from senior Josh Arevalo (3-2). Warrior Devon Gehrke went deep and singled and plated three runs for MH. Cary-Grove (19-8; 11-2) falls into second place behind Crystal Lake South.

Interstate 8 Crossovers

Manteno (26-2; 10-2 South) crushed Plano 11-3 on Thursday. The Panthers senior 3B Joey Liss led the Panther attack with three hits and a pair of RBI. Fellow senior Joey Dileo had two hits and plated three runs for the I-8 South leaders.

On Monday, the Panthers will host Herscher (23-6; 9-3 South) in the first of a huge two-game I-8 South series at 4:30. The PBR’s Drake Skleba will be in Manteno with all of the action. The two clubs meet again at Herscher on Tuesday at 4:30.

Jackie Robinson North

JR-North leader Lane Tech (13-10; 10-0) took another step closer to winning the 2012 JR-North crown by crushing Taft 13-4. Indian Marcus Mason had two hits and three RBI to lead the LT attack. Taft falls to (22-3; 8-3).

Jackie Robinson South

Simeon (17-7; 8-2) slipped past Jones 2-1 on junior 2B Ro Coleman’s game-winner. Freshman Terrance Robertson went deep for the Wolverines. Sophomore Darius Day improved to 7-1 with a one-hit, 14 strikeout performance.

Morgan Park (20-7; 6-3) kept pace with Simeon with a 6-3 win over Curie. Mustang Reginald Rogers singled and went deep for MP and drove home two runs.

Metro Suburban

Glenbard South (16-8; 9-2) defeated Fenton 6-5 at Redmond Park in Bensenville on Thursday. Red-hot Raider Doren Blake drove home four runs, including the game-winner for GBS. Blake also went deep for the MSC leaders and picked up the win on the mound for the Raiders.

Mid-Illini

Washington (21-5; 9-2) slipped past No. 23 Bartonville Limestone 2-1 to reclaim the M-I lead. Panther junior Nick Scalf had a clutch two-out, two-run single in the first inning. Fellow Panther junior RHP Luke Ludolph, fired a six-hitter at the Rockets.

Limestone (17-4; 7-2), Morton (20-5; 7-2) and Metamora (21-5; 6-3) make up the Mid-Illini leaderboard with five games to go.

Mid-Suburban West

Fremd (16-8; 9-2) defeated Conant 3-2 in 12 innings on Thursday.

NIC-10

Machesney Park Harlem (20-7; 9-2) defeated Rockford Guilford 17-14 as Huskie junior Cody Dietz kicked a 51-yard field goal as time expired. Actually Dietz went deep for the fourth time this season as the Huskies outslugged the Vikings 17-14 on Thursday.  Dylan Elmer hit his second bomb of 2012 and Sam Parlapiano picked up the win on the mound for Harlem.

The 20^th win marks the ninth consecutive 20-win season for the Huskies

N.Illinois Big 12-East

Kaneland (16-9; 9-2) scored seven times in the top of the seventh to stun Sycamore 10-8 on Thursday. Knight senior Tim Fox doubled home a pair of runs for the NIB-12 East leaders.

N.Illinois Big 12-West

La Salle-Peru (18-5; 8-1) fired the opening shot in the huge three-game NIB-12-West series with Ottawa (19-6;8-2) on Thursday. The Cavaliers scored nine runs in the second inning and routed the Pirates 13-1 in five innings in Ottawa. L-P Junior Kyle Jenkins led the assault on the Pirates. Jenkins doubled twice and plated five runs for the Cavaliers. L-P senior Mike Lynch fired a five-hitter at the Pirates to pick up the win on the mound.

La Salle-Peru will meet Streator at 4:15 at Veterans Park in Peru. The Cavaliers and Pirates will then get together for Game Two at around 6:30. The PBR’s Drake Skleba will travel down to Peru for all the action beginning at 4:15. Weather permitting, of course.

Sangamo

Williamsville’s (23-3; 6-0) Skyler Armsberger (4-0) fired the Bullets second straight no-hitter as Williamsville blanked Auburn 7-0 on Thursday. Armsberger struck out four in his no-no. University of Iowa-bound Nick Roscetti (6-1), no-hit Pleasant Plains on Wednesday.

South Suburban Blue

Oak Forest (19-4; 12-2) blasted Argo 10-2 to keep its 1 ½ game lead over Lemont in the SSC-Blue.

Lemont (13-7; 9-2) routed Shepard 12-2 behind a complete-game performance from University of Illinois-bound LHP Tyler Jay (6-3). Jay used his bat too against the Astros, with three hits including a long bomb for the future Fighting Illini lefty. Indian junior Connor O’ Brien also went deep with a pair of Indians on base.

South Suburban Red

Defending SSC-Red champion Richards (15-10; 10-2) blasted Bremen 11-1 behind Bulldog senior Lou Castro. Castro went deep with two on and drove home five runs for the SSC-Red leaders.

Reavis (11-15; 7-5) beat Oak Lawn 4-3 behind Ram senior Anthony Doory, who fired a complete-game gem at Oak Lawn (15-10; 9-4).

Southland

Crete-Monee (16-9; 9-1) blasted Rich South 9-2. Warriors Cameron Bass and John McLaughlin led the CM attack

Southwest Prairie

No. 3 Plainfield North (23-2; 12-1) slipped past Plainfield Central 2-0 behind a two-hit, 11 strikeout performance from junior Brendan Miller (7-0). Tiger senior Caleb Kissel drove home the game-winner for the SWSP-leaders.

Minooka (19-8; 11-3) shut out Romeoville 3-0, behind a one-hit gem, from senior Kevin Ruff. Ruff struck out nine Spartans.

Southwest Suburban Blue

No. 15 Sandburg 17-4; 7-2) blasted Joliet Central 10-0 in six innings on Thursday. Eagle senior John Farrington (6-1) fired a two-hitter with seven strikeouts at the Steelmen. Eagle senior Dan Rizzie tripled doubled and plated three runs for the SWSC-Blue leaders.

Joliet West (15-11; 7-3) stayed in the SWSC-Blue race with a 8-3 win over Lincoln-Way Central (14-10; 4-5). Tiger junior Quinn Ahern struck out eight in his complete-game gem against the Knights. Red-hot Tiger Anthony Denaldo continued his torrid hitting with three hits and three RBI.

Lockport (15-9; 6-3) smashed Bolingbrook 13-4, behind a three-run bomb from Porter junior C Derek Bangert. Juniors Austin Mastela and Doug Matthews also went deep as Lockport kept pace with SWSC-Blue leader Sandburg. Senior RHP Nick Davito improves to 6-2 on the mound for the Porters, the best 15-9 team in the state.

Southwest Suburban Red

No. 13 Lincoln-Way North (22-5; 9-0) bombed Thornridge 16-5 in five innings. Phoenix senior Dom Hartman continued his assault on the baseball with two more hits and three RBI.

Andrew (18-6; 8-0) kept pace with L-W North in the SWSC-Red with a 5-2 win over Bradley-Bourbonnais. T-Bolt junior Zach Klockowski hammered a two-run bomb for the big blow against the Boilermakers. T-Bolt senior Justin Rzeszutko chipped in with a pair of a RBI. Senior Marcus Radz (3-2) picked up the T-Bolt win.  Andrew will travel to District-rival Stagg today at 4:30.

Southwestern

No. 16 O’ Fallon (20-6; 10-1) nipped Granite City 2-1. The Panthers scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to stun the Warriors at Blazier Field in O’Fallon.

Edwardsville (19-6; 8-3) blasted Belleville East 9-3. Senior Derek Page had two hits and two RBI to lead the Tiger attack. Junior Jordan Heckler and sophomore Jake Fisher also plated two runs for Edwardsville. Senior Javon Boyd (3-1) picked up the Tiger win on the mound.

Alton (17-7; 7-3) blanked Collinsville 2-0 behind a combined four-hitter from sophomore Chris Cress and junior Charlie Howard.

Suburban Christian Blue

Marmion (14-9; 11-3) beat up on Guerin 9-3 behind a perfect 4-for-4 day by Cadet senior Mike Pipp.

Suburban Christian Gold

Aurora Christian (20-5; 9-2) defeated Wheaton St. Francis 6-2 behind NIU-bound LHP Bobby Kuntzendorf (8-0). The future Huskie lefty fired a two-hitter at the Spartans over four innings, with seven punch-outs. Senior Kenny McCracken had a big two-run double for the Eagles.

The game marked the return of a very valuable addition for the Eagles stretch drive. University of Pennsylvania-bound RHP Mitch Holtz returned since being injured on the Class 4A State Championship Eagle football team this fall.

Holtz’ impact was immediate. The future Quaker drove home two big Eagle runs and picked up the save for his buddy Kuntzendorf with three innings of scoreless two-hit relief.

Upstate 8 River

St. Charles East (16-7; 11-3) lost to Neuqua Valley 6-1 in a nonconference game on Thursday.

‘St. Charles North (16-7; 10-3) beat Batavia 5-0 to keep pace with city-rival St. Charles East.

Elgin (12-15; 5-10) surprised Geneva 5-4. Geneva (16-5; 10-5) falls two games in the loss column, behind U8C-River leader St. Charles East

Upstate 8- Valley

South Elgin (15-4; 12-3) defeated Lake Park 6-1 behind Storm senior David Palmer. Palmer (6-2) fired a six-hitter at the Lancers with three strikeouts. Five of the six Storm runs were unearned. Lake Park falls to (14-10; 10-6).

Neuqua Valley (17-7; 11-3) will travel to South Elgin for a U8C-Valley twin-bill on Saturday morning at 10.

West Suburban Gold

No. 21 Hinsdale South (19-4; 10-2) swept its three-game set with Morton West, destroying the Mustangs 18-3 in five innings. Illinois State-bound Sean Beesely had a perfect 4-for-4 day with a bomb and four RBI. P.J. Schuester, senior Mitch Duckhorn and junior D.J. Deolitsis each plated three runs for the WSC-Gold co-leaders.
Addison Trail (18-8; 10-2) stunned No. 12 Oak Park 10-3 behind a seven-hitter from Blazer Brad Schonder (1-1) in a WSC crossover game on Thursday. Oak Park falls to (14-4-1).

The surprising Blazers, under the tutelage of head coach Steve Gilliam, will host Hinsdale South in the WSC-Gold game of the year tomorrow at two. The WSC-Gold co-leaders will play two and the PBR’s Drake Skleba will be in Addison for all of the action.

West Suburban Silver

York (16-9; 11-3) blanked Hinsdale Central 2-0 behind a five-hit shutout from Duke senior River Pitlock. Pitlock fanned seven Red Devil hitters in his masterpiece on Thursday. Duke Josh Locicero had a pair of hits and an RBI. Senior Jake Rzeszutko singled home the other Duke run for the WSC-Silver leaders. 

Nonconference

No. 9 Benton (26-5) lost to Flora 5-4 on Thursday.

No. 19 Harrisburg (21-7-1) beat Mount Vernon 5-1 behind University of Illinois-recruit Ryne Roper (5-3). Roper fired a two-hitter at the South Seven Champs from Mount Vernon (22-6).

No. 25 Lisle (26-5) bombed Luther North 14-4 in five innings.