Monday May 10

 

By Drake Skleba

 

In the Catholic League Blue: Brother Rice (22-8; 12-4) kept its title hopes alive with an 11-5 victory over No. 5 Providence (23-8; 14-2). Crusader sophomore Ryan Koziol had three hits and three RBI, and Kevin Koziol added two hits and three RBI, to lead Brother Rice past the Blue Division leading Celtics.

 

In the Catholic League White: No.15 St. Laurence (25-5; 12-4) rolled past St. Ignatius 11-4 behind junior catcher Charlie Naso and freshman shortstop Kevin Smith. Naso drove in three and Smith homered and plated a pair of runs as the Vikings ended their three-game skid and kept their slim ½ game lead over De La Salle (17-7; 11-4), which defeated Bishop McNamara 5-2 on Monday.

 

In the Jackie Robinson South: Simeon (21-6); 12-2) clinched the JRS-South crown with a 7-4 win over Morgan Park. Wolverine super-sophomore LHP Shane Brown led the young Wolverines to the title. Brown fired a two-hit gem, striking out 8 and took care of business at the plate, as well. Brown had a perfect 3-for-3 day, driving in four runs as they now look to win the Chicago Public League Championship.

 

In the Du Page Valley: No. 3 Naperville Central (24-4; 15-1) was led by the booming bat of University of Illinois-Springfield-bound 3B Marc Mantucca.The future Prairie Star homered, doubled and drove in four runs as the Redhawks routed West Chicago 12-2 on Monday. Sophomore RHP Ian Lewandowski fired a complete game at the Wildcats and improved to 3-1 on the season.

 

No. 10 Naperville North (23-5; 13-3) kept pace with Central as the Huskies slipped past Wheaton North 4-3. Senior Jack Krejci doubled home the tying run and then scored the winning run on senior catcher Jon Ryan’s sac-fly as the Huskies rallied for two sixth-inning runs to overcome a 3-2 Wheaton North (20-8; 10-6) lead. Oakton Community College-bound RHP Kyle Klosak improved to 5-2 on the season with the win in relief.

 

In the East Suburban Catholic: Notre Dame (18-8.9-4) stunned No. 16 Carmel 6-3 behind a complete game four-hitter from sophomore Charlie Jerger (4-1), who struck out five Corsair hitters. Sam Bungrum went 4-for-4 with a homer and a pair of RBIs to lead the Dons to the victory. Senior Phil Kerber chipped in with a 3-for-3 day with a pair of RBI. Carmel falls to 20-7 and 11-2 in the ESCC.

 

In the Interstate 8 South: Herscher (23-7; 13-1) wrapped up the title with a 5-0 win over Manteno.  Sophomore RHP Jordan Ruckman fired a five-hit shutout and struck out 13 in leading the Tigers to the I-8 South championship.

 

In the Interstate 8 North: Sandwich (16-12; 10-4) kept their one-game lead over Lisle (19-9; 9-5) and Coal City 18-11; 9-5). Sandwich blasted Seneca 11-1 behind senior RHP Josh Fishbach, who fired a complete game for the Indians and drove in three as the Indians stay one game ahead of Lisle and Coal City with two games to go.

 

Lisle kept pace with a 9-2 win over Plano behind a complete game performance from senior RHP Jon Koloski. Koloski improves to 7-2 on the season and received offensive support from freshman Brian Van Volkenberg, who had a pair of hits and drove in there for the Lions.

 

Coal City road the arm of senior RHP Colt Smith (6-3) as the Coalers defeated Westmont 14-2 in five innings. Smith fanned 10 in his four inning stint. Senior LF Tom Taylor and junior DH Billy McMillan each had three hits and three RBI for the Coalers.

 

In the South Suburban Blue: Oak Forest (18-7; 13-2) blanked Hillcrest 10-0 behind the 15^th home run of Porsche Player of the Week Tim Barry. The Bengals clinched a tie for the Blue Division title when Tinley Park stunned Lemont 6-4 on Monday. Lemont falls to 16-8 overall, and 10-3 in the SCC-Blue. An Oak Forest win today at Hillcrest will give the Bengals the outright SCC-Blue title. Oak Forest and Lemont shared the title in 2009.

 

In the South Suburban Red: Richards (21-9; 13-2) returned to the Bulldogs normal position atop the SSC-Red with an 11-0 whitewash of second-place Shepard (14-11; 10-4) to clinch the Red Division championship on Monday. After a pair of sub-.500 seasons, head coach Brian Wujcik’s Bulldogs are conference champs once again.

 

In the Southwest Suburban Blue: Defending champion Sandburg (20-8; 8-2) vaulted past No. 18 Lincoln-Way Central (17-6; 6-2) and Lockport (18-9; 6-2) into first place with an 11-0 romp over Lincoln-Way East. The win was the 11^th consecutive for the soaring Eagles. Junior 3B Brant Valach had three hits including a grand slam and drove in five for the Eagles. Red-hot junior Nick Bates chipped in with a pair of hits and plated an Eagle run.

 

Homewood-Flossmoor (18-5; 4-4) routed Bolingbrook 11-3 behind a pair of home runs by junior Ryan Rasmas and a two-run shot from Heartlan Community College-bound senior Aaron Hauge. H-F begins a big two game series with Sandburg at Sandburg on Wednesday…Lincoln-Way Central will travel to rival Lincoln-Way East (13-13;4-4) and Lockport will host Joliet on Wednesday.

 

In the wild and crazy Southwest Suburban Red: Stagg (17-10; 8-2) blasted Thornridge 10-0 in six innings behind senior RHP Luke Boehne. Boehne fired a two-hit shutout at the Falcons, striking out nine and improving to 5-1 on the mound for the first-place Chargers.

 

Andrew (17-9; 7-3) defeated Lincoln-Way North 11-0 behind a two-hit shutout from Lewis University-bound Tom Durkin (4-3). Durkin fanned 11 as the T-Bolts kept pace with Stagg. NIU Bound first baseman Jeff Zimerman went deep for the eighth time this season as the T-Bolts dropped Lincoln-Way North (16-9;6-4) two games behind division leading Stagg. ..

 

Bradley-Bourbonnais (15-8; 7-3) stayed in a second place tie with Andrew after routing Thornwood on Monday, and Lincoln-Way West (17-11; 6-4) defeated Thornton to stay in the hunt.

 

In the Fox Valley-Valley: McHenry (17-6; 12-3) took over first place with a 3-0 win over Dundee Crown. Warrior RHP Pat Murphy fired a complete game shutout at the Chargers and improves to 7-2 for the first place Warriors.

 

Defending champion Cary-Grove (16-9; 11-4) rolled past Huntley 7-5 to pull into a second place tie with the Red Raiders (18-6; 11-4). Huntley’s defense imploded on Monday, committing seven errors which led to the gift-wrapped victory for C-G junior RHP Kevin Weber. Weber improved to 6-0 on the season striking out 12 for the Trojans.

 

Jacobs (13-11; 7-8) defeated Crystal lake South 3-0 as Golden Eagle senior left fielder Ben Albano hammered a three-run blast to make a winner out of junior LHP

Joe Ross, who fired a two-hit shutout at the Gators. Ross improved to 5-0 on the season for the Golden Eagles. For the slugging Albano, the home run was the 13^th of the season and Albano now has driven in 54 runs and boasts a gaudy .556 batting average for 2010.

 

In the Fox Valley Fox: Grayslake Central (19-6; 13-4) moved into a virtual tie with Prairie Ridge (18-8;12-3) as the Rams pounded Woodstock 10-0 in five innings. Senior RHP Matt Murphy improved to 7-0 on the mound for the Rams.

 

A pair of no-hitters was tossed on Monday…Crystal Lake Central’s 6-foot-4 University of Oklahoma-bound RHP Connor Sadzek struck out 14 and no-hit

Grayslake North 1-0. The win improves the Tigers to 15-10; 7-8 in the Fox Valley

Fox Division.

 

Wheaton St. Francis (16-13; 7-9 SCC-Blue) received a no-hitter from their junior lefty Eric Stout (4-2). Stout fanned 13 as the Spartans blanked Aurora Central Catholic 7-0 in a Suburban Christian Conference crossover game on Monday.

 

In the wild MSL East: Buffalo Grove (15-10; 8-4)  defeated Hersey 17-16 in a crucial MSL East showdown on Monday. B-G junior catcher Tommy Riccaridi homered twice and Bison senior OF Jeremy Salzman had a perfect 4-for-4 day with three RBIs. With the win the Bison pull into a three-way tie atop the MSL East with Hersey (20-8; 8-4) and Prospect (15-9; 8-4). Prospect blanked Elk Grove 10-0 in five innings to join the three-team logjam atop the MSL East. Buffalo Grove hosts Prospect on Wednesday.

 

In the MSL West, defending West champion Fremd (15-10; 10-2) defeated Barrington 4-3 in nine innings. Viking senior left-handed hitting CF Zenon Kolakowski drove home three Vikings runs as Fremd can wrap up another MSL West crown at cross-town rival Palatine (14-12;7-5) on Wednesday.