By Drake Skleba
Senior Writer

Friday March 20

NONCONFERENCE

No. 4 St. Rita 13, Oak Lawn 3
St. Rita (1-0) scored eight times in the first inning and added five more runs in the second enroute to the 4.5 inning season-opening win at 7740 South Western Avenue. Estaban Martinez singled, scored two runs and drove home three, to lead the Mustang attack. Junior Mateo Zunica had two singles and two RBI, while University of Tennessee-bound Ty Halas, doubled and had two RBI. Junior Danny Gleaves chipped in with a single, scored two runs and drove one home. Matt Ryan (1-0) went the distance for the Mustangs firing a five-hitter at Oak Lawn (0-1)

No. 20 Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 6, No. 44 Pleasant Plains 0
In a battle between defending Class 3A state runner-up SHG (1-1) and defending Class 2A state champion Pleasant Plains, SHG prevailed behind senior RHP Matt Richey (1-0) and LHP Ben McElwee. Richey allowed one hit with seven strikeouts in his four innings of work to pick up the win. Mc Elwee fired three no-hit innings with four strikeouts to complete the combined one-hit shutout. Junior Sam Sergent had two singles and two RBI to lead the Cyclone attack.

No. 28 Carmel 14, Johnsburg 4
Carmel (1-0) scored seven runs in the second and four more in the third to put this one away early, as the Corsairs coasted past the Skyhawks at Lenz Field in Jacksonville. Junior Joe Santoro led the Corsair attack with a single, two triples and five RBI. Ryan Jones went deep for Carmel and drove in three runs while Dyllan Van Erden was 3-for-3, with three runs scored and an RBI.

No. 43 St. Joseph-Ogden 12, Armstrong Potomac 2
SJ-O (2-0) crushed AP behind Ty Brown who had three singles, three runs scored and three RBI, to lead the Spartan attack. Ty Haake (1-0) allowed one earned run and four hits in his 4.2 innings of work to pick up the win on the mound.

No. 48 Rockford Boylan 6, Crystal Lake South 5
Rockford Boylan (2-0) rallied past the Gators in Crystal Lake on Friday. Crystal Lake South (0-1) scored five times in the bottom of the fifth to erase a 4-0 Titan lead. With one out in the of the sixth, Nick Nalewanski ripped a double to left scoring junior Alex Ciaccio, who had walked, with the tying run. With the scored tied at 5-5, senior Ryan Stanicek hammered a  shot over the right field fence, giving the Titans a 6-5 lead, The never-say-die Gators loaded the bases, with one out against Titan winning pitcher junior Dalton Robison (1-0). Robison left the bases juiced by retiring the last two CLS batters on a short fly to left and ending the game with a flourish, by striking out the last Gator hope.

No. 50 Mahomet-Seymour 12, Fithian-Oakwood 9
Mahomet-Seymour (1-0) outslugged F-O in the season-opener for both clubs in Mahomet on Friday. Trailing 8-4 in the bottom of the fifth, the Bulldogs exploded for seven runs to grab an 11-8 lead they would not relinquish. Freshman Brooks Coetzee had one hit but drove in five Bulldog runs, four coming on his monster grand slam. Junior Tom Kenney added a single, two doubles and three RBI, while Jack Rettig chipped in with three hits and an RBI.  

Bartonville Limestone 19, Farmington 1
Bartonville Limestone (1-0) romped past Farmington in Farmington on Friday. James Welton singled, homered and drove in three runs, to lead the Rocket onslaught. Blake Marsh and Tanner Rhoades each went 3-for-3 with Marsh plating two Rocket runs and Rhoades one. Rhoades (1-0) allowed one unearned run and one hit with seven strikeouts to pick up the win on the mound for Limestone.  

Bremen 10, Curie 0
Bremen (3-0) rolled past the Condors behind a five-inning, no-hit, 10 strikeout performance, from James Christ (1-0). Mike Fuentes singled, scored two runs and drove one home to lead the Braves attack.

Glenbard East 9, Addison Trail 3
Glenbard East (1-0) rolled past AT (0-1) in Addison behind Matt Kinney and Tim Pignato. Kinney went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and one driven in while Pignato singled,doubled and plated a pair for the Rams. Mike Sebby (1-0) allowed one earned run and five hits in his four innings on the mound to pick up the win.

Granite City 9, Alton Marquette 3
After spotting Marquette (0-2) a 3-0 lead, the Warriors scored the last nine runs of the game and rolled to the victory. DJ Miller, Collin Barrett, Bruce Drennan and Alec Peterson all had two RBI for Granite City (2-0)

Libertyville 14, Deerfield 6
Libertyville (1-0) opened up a 14-0 lead and cruised past the Warriors in Deerfield. Jake Vogt led the Wildcat attack with two doubles, two runs scored and three RBI. Chase Patterson chipped in with a single, three runs scores and two RBI.

Maine East 17, Northridge Prep 7
Maine East (2-0) pounded out 17 runs and 13 hits, winning a slugfest with NP. Bradley Augustyn singled, doubled and drove home four runs to lead the Blue Demon attack. Ryan Sands had three hits, scored three runs and drove one home for East.  

Morton West 11, Reavis 9
Morton West (1-1) outslugged and rallied past the Rams in Berwyn. Reavis (2-1), led 9-1 when the Mustangs exploded for eight huge runs in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game and then won it with two in the bottom of the fifth. David Fregoso doubled and had four RBI while Alex Paez tripled and plated three Mustang runs. Ivan Moreno (1-0) fired two scoreless innings in relief to pick up the win. 

Niles West 9, Wheeling 2
Niles West (2-0) romped past the Wildcats (0-2) in Wheeling on Friday. Andy Simovic led the Wolves attack with two singles and four RBI. Simovic (1-0) also fired three hitless innings with six strikeouts to pick up the win on the mound.

Oak Forest 6, Romeoville 2
Oak Forest (1-0) rolled past the Spartans in the season and home-opener for the Bengals. Romeoville (1-1) was led by Josh Krueger and Matt Bottcher. Krueger went deep for the first time in 2015 and Bottcher had a single and a double for the Spartans.

Pontiac 7, Dwight 1
Pontiac (1-1) scored four times in the top of the sixth to break open a close game and roll to the Indians first win of the season. Jake Curry (1-0) allowed one unearned run and four hits in his four innings of work to pick up the win on the mound. Curry fanned five. Jared Lynn and Cam Brown went deep for the Indians

Rantoul 7, Fisher 1
Rantoul (1-0) won its season-opener against the Bunnies in Rantoul on Friday. Thomas Wolken (1-0) allowed two hits and one unearned run with six strikeouts to pick up the win for the Eagles. Jared Jordahl singled, doubled, scored two runs and drove one in while Garet Kinnet chipped in with two singles and an RBI for Rantoul.

Rockford Lutheran 10, Nashville  7
Rockford Lutheran (2-0) outslugged the Hornets at Lenz Field in Jacksonville on Friday night. The Crusaders were led by Justin Woolbright and Dan Volkert. Woolbright had a pair of singles and three RBI while singled and also had three RBI for the Crusaders. Brady West chipped in with a pair of doubles and an RBI.

St. Viator 9, Elk Grove 3
St. Viator (1-0) scored five times in the top of the fifth and rolled past the Grenadiers in the Lions season-opener. Dan Sullivan doubled, homered and had four RBI to lead the St. Viator attack. Matt Darling chipped in with a double, two runs scored and an RBI. Sean Falbo (1-0) allowed two unearned runs in his four innings on the mound to pick up the win.

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