Weekly Diamond Notes

St. Laurence’s star catcher, Matt McCormick (West Virginia commit), drove in 19 runs on the Vikings’ trip to Arizona last week and it steered him to PBR Illinois Player of the Week honors as well.

Each week, we’ll acknowledge some of the best performers who fell just short of being named the Player of the Week. Let’s take a look at 2018’s second edition of Diamond Notes in the section below. Last week’s weather helped teams around the state get plenty of games in, which produced a ton of stand-out performances. Here’s a look at some of the most notable.

Week 3 Performances

Jason Hodges, OF, Marist, 2019
The Redhawks outfielder hit .625 this last week and recorded a pair of doubles, a triple, and homered. He also drove in three runs, scored five times, and stole two bags.

Anthony Calarco, OF, New Trier, 2018
The Northwestern commit helped New Trier go 3-0 during their trip to Nashville last week. Calarco was next to impossible to get out; he was 4-for-6 -- three of those four hits were home runs -- and he walked five times and drove in six runs.

Ryan Culley, LHP, Belleville East, 2018
Culley, a Parkland JC commit, was dominant in his start against rivals Collinsville last Wednesday. He did not allow a hit in six innings of work and scattered six walks and struck out seven.

Coby Moe, RHP, Grayslake Central, 2019
The Rams were in Florida last week, playing at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, and Moe came within one batter of a perfect game against Montour High School (PA). He settled for a one-hit, six-inning shutout and retired the first 17 batters of the game, striking out eight of them. The infield single he allowed in the 6th was the only baserunner Montour had all game.

Garrett Snow, OF, Triopia, 2019
The west central Illinois outfielder recorded five consecutive triples in a doubleheader against Griggsville-Perry last Wednesday. A double in their next game on Friday gave Snow six extra-base hits in two games.

Luke Gomes, OF, Kaneland, 2018
The Knights played five games over their spring break last week and no Kaneland hitter was hotter than Gomes. He went 8-for-19, tallying three triples and a homer, and he drove in five runs.

Ryan Cermak, RHP/SS, Riverside-Brookfield, 2019
Cermak, an Illinois State commit, was dominant on both sides of the ball for the Bulldogs, lifting them to wins in all three of their games last week. He threw a complete game shutout at Illiana Christian, allowing just two hits, two walks, and he struck out 10. At the plate, he was 6-for-12 with two extra-base hits, he scored three runs and drove in two.

Isaac Kaufmann, LHP/1B, Marian Central Catholic, 2018
Kaufmann (McHenry County JC) made two appearances on the mound last week and did not allow a run. He combined to pitch five innings and gave up just one hit, one walk, and struck out 13 batters. He struck out eight of the nine batters he faced against Jacobs High School to earn a save, and five of the six against Rockford East and notched the win. In the batter’s box, Kaufmann was 7-for-13, including three doubles, and drove in five runs in three games.

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