PBR DAILY ROUNDUP

May 12

By Drake Skleba

Big 12

No. 14 Bloomington (27-5; 10-1) swept away Mattoon on Saturday afternoon in Bloomington.  The Purple Raiders won the conference opener 8-4 behind junior Kent Frantz (6-2), who went the distance and had a clutch two-run single that turned out to be the game-winner. Fellow junior Brandon Edwards hammered a bomb and senior Matthew Mardis continued his torrid hitting with two more hits and two RBI.

The Purple Raiders won for the 14th consecutive time 4-3 in the nonconference nightcap. Matthew Mardis (1-0) went the distance on the mound and had two more hits. Edwards chipped in with two hits as Bloomington tied the 2007-2008 Purple Raiders, for the BHS school record for most wins in a season.

Bloomington-Normal West. Normal West-Bloomington. However you say it, it means a strong Illinois high school baseball rivalry. The Purple Raiders will travel to the West Side of Normal on Tuesday at 4:30 with a chance to win the outright BIG 12 Conference championship. Either way, the two rivals will meet in Bloomington on Thursday at 4:30. The PBR’s Drake Skleba will be in Normal on Tuesday with a special report on this special game.

No. 16 Normal West (26-6; 9-2) swept Champaign Central 3-0 and 4-3 to keep pace with Bloomington.  

Catholic Blue

No.2 Providence (24-6; 14-2) left in morning on a long bus trip to Glenview and came home with a Chicago Catholic League-Blue Division Championship on Saturday. The Celtics hammered the hosts from Loyola 8-2 behind Ball State University-bound C Sam Tidaback and sophomore Dylan Rosa.

Tidaback, who has been tattooing the baseball as of late, drove home three Celtics runs. Sophomore Rosa plated a pair to lead the Celtics to the big road win.

Coupled with No. 1 St. Laurence’s (27-4-1; 13-3) stunning 3-1 loss at Brother Rice, Providence drove back to New Lenox CCL-Blue champs. Providence and St. Laurence shared the title in 2011.

The Celtics were the PBR’s Preseason No. 1 choice in February. On Sunday night, expect the Celtics to return to that spot when the Super 25 rankings are released.

No. 1 St. Laurence (27-4-1; 13-3) were shut down by Brother Rice senior RHP Sean McGrath (4-5).

Brother Rice (18-13; 9-7) took the lead on a two-run bomb from Crusader junior Wendall Ferguson. Senior Brian McQuillan drove in a huge insurance run for head coach John McCarthy’s feisty Crusaders.

St. Laurence will play Oak Park (19-6-1) in a Steven M. Bajenski Memorial Tournament quarterfinal at 5 on Thursday night at Silver Cross Field in Joliet. You can watch this game, as well as all of the Bajenski Tournament games at www.prepbaseballreport.highschoolcube.com. The PBR’s Drake Skleba will have the exciting play-by-play of this classic matchup.

Central Suburban Crossovers

No. 6 Maine South (24-4; 13-1 South) wrapped up the CSL-South crown with a thrilling 1-0 win over CSL-North leader Glenbrook North (20-10; 9-5 North).

Senior Hawk Rocky Saavedra singled home the game-winner in the fifth, making a winner of senior LHP Mike Virgilio (6-0). Saavedra nailed down his fourth save of 2012 for the CSL-South champions.

Glenbrook North has a one-game lead over Highland Park  (15-16; 8-6) in the CCL-North.

Glenbrook South (20-8; 10-4 South) blanked Maine East 4-0 behind a three-hitter from Titan junior LHP Kyle Pauly (6-1). Pauly struck out 11 Blue Demon hitters.

New Trier (17-9; 9-5 South) blanked Niles North 1-0 behind an eight-hit shutout by Trevian sophomore Grant Stern.

Fox Valley Valley

Jacobs surprised Valley leader No. 25 Crystal Lake South 4-3 on Saturday.

Crystal Lake South (24-9; 15-3) will take on FVC-Fox champions Grayslake Central (23-7), in a battle of division leaders on Monday at 4:30 in Crystal Lake. The PBR’s Drake Skleba will be on the South Side of Crystal Lake with all of the action.

Interstate 8 South

Herscher (28-7; 12-4) blasted Manteno 10-3 in Manteno to wrap up the Tigers third consecutive I-8 South crown and the fourth in five years under the tutelage of Herscher head coach Eric Regez. Manteno (26-7; 10-6) dropped its fifth consecutive game. 

South Suburban Red

Richards (19-11; 14-3) slipped past Shepard 4-3 on Saturday to clinch a tie for the SSC-Red title. Bulldog junior Jim Wujcik scored the game-winner on a wild pitch bringing great joy to the Bulldog contingent at 106th and Central in Oak Lawn.

Upstate 8 River

Geneva (22-7; 14-7 River) swept away River leader St. Charles East (19-9; 17-5) on Saturday in Geneva. The Vikings won a 4-3 thriller in the opener and then outslugged the Fighting Saints 9-7 in the nightcap.

St. Charles North (22-10; 16-6) split a pair with Elgin (12-19; 5-16) on Saturday, losing the first game 3-1 and then winning the nightcap 2-1 behind North Star freshman Kurt Wright (1-0), who fired a three-hitter at the Maroons. Eastern Illinois recruit Jake Johansmeier won it for the North Stars with an RBI single in the sixth.

St. Charles North opens up a crucial three-game series on Tuesday at St. Charles East. The two teams will meet at North on Wednesday. The PBR’s Drake Skleba will be on the North Side of St. Charles for all the River Division action. On Thursday night the rivals meet at Elfstrom Stadium in Geneva at 7 for the series finale.

Upstate 8 Valley

Neuqua Valley (25-7; 20-3) swept away rival Waubonsie Valley 3-2 and 2-1 to wrap up another U8C-Valley Division crown for Wildcat head coach Robin Renner. University of Illinois-bound Nick Blackburn won the opener for the ‘Cats with a game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh making a winner of junior David Gerber (7-0) on the mound. Gerber fired a six-hitter at the Warriors. In game two, Wildcat starting pitcher Mike Vik (3-1) fired a three-hitter at WV leading the ‘Cats to their 10th straight win. 

West Suburban Silver

York (20-10; 13-4) split a doubleheader with Lyons Township (18-9-1; 12-4), losing the opener 5-1 before the Dukes came back to win the nightcap 2-1.

The two clubs will meet again in Western Springs at 4:30 on Tuesday. LT will host Hinsdale Central (9-17; 4-11) on Monday at 4:30. A Lions win over the Red Devils will set up a winner-take-all battle for the WSC-Silver championship on Tuesday. PBR Executive Director Sean Duncan will be in Western Springs for all of the action.

Nonconference

No. 7 Mundelein (26-4) routed Fremd 10-2 on Saturday.

Southwest Prairie-Champions No. 11 Plainfield North (27-3) blanked Lemont 2-0 on Saturday. Lemont falls to 20-8.

S. Illinois River-River-Ohio Champs No. 13 Benton (28-6) blasted Trico 12-1 in five innings on Saturday.

No. 15 Troy-Triad (25-6) slipped past No. 9 O’Fallon 5-4 on Saturday. O’Fallon falls to 25-7.

No. 17 Edwardsville (24-8) blanked Bethalto Civic Memorial 5-0 on Saturday.

Big Northern East co-Champion Burlington Central (22-8) blasted Libertyville 10-4 on Saturday. Senior Mike Scott (3-2) picked up the win on the mound and had two hits and two RBI for the Rockets. Kevin Szasada went deep for the Rockets and Ray Hunnicutt chipped in with a pair of RBI and two runs scored. Senior Zach Ranney had a three-hit afternoon for the BN-East co-champions.

Suburban Christian Blue champ Marmion (18-9) slipped past Metro Suburban co-leader Glenbard South 2-1, on Saturday behind a solid five-inning performance from senior RHP Steve Cano (3-1) and senior 2B Mitch Sterne, who had two hits and drove home the game-winner for the Cadets. The SCC-Blue Division title was the fourth consecutive for Marmion.

Mount Vernon (25-7) blanked Marshall County (KY) 4-0. Senior Brock Fulkerson improved to 4-2 on the season with a solid five-inning performance against the Kentuckians. Ram junior Hayden Poninski drove home a pair for the South Seven champs.

Coal City (23-11) won twice at the Windsor Triangular at Windsor (IL) High School. The Coalers beat the hosts from Windsor 10-6 behind a 3-for-4 day with three RBI from the red-hot Dominic Durando.

Durando went deep with two Coalers aboard to lead CC to a 10-3 win over Strasburg. Durand was 6-for-8 in the triangular with a bomb and eight RBI.

Lockport (20-11) won its 20th victory for head coach Andy Satunas on Saturday as the Porters routed Stevenson 13-7. Porter junior Austin Mastela led the Porters with three hits and seven RBI. Five of the RBI came in a nine-run Porter seventh inning. Mastela started the seventh-inning outburst with a two-run double and finished the scoring with a three-run triple.

Stagg (14-16) stung Oak Lawn 6-3 behind senior RHP Belluomini (5-3) who went the distance for4 the Chargers and helped himself with a two-run bomb. Senior Matt Kilmasz chipped in with a pair of RBI for Stagg.

Oak Lawn falls to 18-10. The Spartans will take on St. Rita (19-10) in a quarterfinal in the Steven M. Bajenski Memorial Tournament on Thursday night at 7:30 at Silver Cross Field in Joliet. You can watch this game, as well as all Bajenski Tournament games, at www.prepbaseballreport.highschoolcube.com

The PBR’s Drake Skleba will have all the play-by-play from Silver Cross on Thursday night.  

Hersey (23-7) hammered Clemente 7-1 and 7-0 behind complete-game victories from Huskie hurlers Pat Nix and Brad Moore.

North Suburban Prairie champion Vernon Hills (23-6) blasted Wheeling 15-0 in five innings as PJ Crowley (8-1) and senior Steve Nelson combined for a five-inning white-wash of the Wildcats.