Monday May 17

 

By Drake Skleba

 

No. 1 Harrisburg (34-0) was off on Monday and open up Harrisburg Class 2A Regional play at home vs. Massac County on Wednesday.

 

No.2 Naperville Central (27-4; 18-1 Du Page Valley) clinched the Du Page Valley Conference, defeating Glenbard North 1-0 behind junior LHP Dan Ludwig and senior CF Matt Cmiel. Ludwig improved to 5-0 on the mound with a four-hit shutout and Cmiel singled home the game-winner in the sixth. Ludwig fanned six in leading the Redhawks to their first DVC crown since 2006. The Redhawks went on to win the Class AA State championship that season.

 

No. 3 Downers Grove South (28-5; 16-1 West Suburban Gold) blasted Proviso West 12-0 in a West Suburban Conference crossover on Monday. Junior RHP Matt Wivinis improved to 5-1 on the season with the five-inning, one-hit shutout.

 

No.4. Stevenson (26-3, 9-2 NSC Lake) defeated No.9 Warren behind Northwestern-bound RHP Kyle Ruchim, 4-0. Ruchim fired a two-hit shutout and hit his eighth homer of the year for the Patriots. The two squads will play for the NSC Lake crown in Lincolnshire today. The PBR’s Drake Skleba will be on hand for all the action.

 

No 5. St. Charles North (27-5; 19-3) was off on Monday. The North Stars conclude Upstate 8 play with a three-game set with South Elgin (18-10;13-9) beginning today…Waubonsie Valley (21-8;17-4) blanked East Aurora 12-0 on Monday to stay in the U8C hunt.

 

No.6 Providence (24-9; 16-2 Catholic Blue): Celtic head coach Mark Smiths’ Catholic Blue champs were off celebratng their Catholic Blue crown on Monday.

 

No. 7 Normal West (25-6; 11-0 Big 12): The Big 12 champs will wrap up conference play this week with Decatur MacArthur, Tuesday and Thursday. Wildcat head coach Chris Hawkins and his Big 12 champions will be in Western Springs to meet the West Suburban Silver champion Lyons Township (22-10;12-6) on Saturday.

 

No.8 Chatham Glenwood (21-4): The Central State Eight champs wrap up CS8 play with a two-game set with Springfield Lanphier today and Thursday…30 straight conference wins and counting…The Titans will look to make 31 consecutive CS8 victories today.

 

No.9 Warren (25-6; 8-2 NSC Lake) lost its third straight, falling to No. 4 Stevenson 4-0  in a North Suburban Lake showdown. On Tuesday, The Blue Devils will travel to Lincolnshire where a victory will give them a share of the NSC-Lake championship.

 

No.10 Granite City (24-5; 10-2 Southwestern): The Warriors travel to O’Fallon (16-12; 9-2) in a crucial Southwestern Conference battle today. On Thursday the Warriors will host Belleville East (21-5; 10-3) in a  SWC championship affair.

 

No.11 Plainfield North (25-5; 15-3 Southwest Prairie): Tigers close out Southwest Prairie Conference action on Tuesday with the opener of a three-game set with Oswego (19-10; 11-7). On Wednesday, the PBR’s Drake Skleba will be in Plainfield for all the crucial Southwest Prairie action.

 

No. 12 Naperville North (25-6; 15-4 Du Page Valley) defeated West Chicago 8-6 in DVC action. Junior RHP Matt LaCosse improved top 6-0 on the season with the win. University of Maryland-bound Charlie White led the Huskies attack with three hits and three RBI.

 

No 13. St. Laurence (28-5; 14-4 Catholic White) defeated Bolingbrook 13-4 in nonconference action on Monday. Viking Purdue University-recruit Kyle Wood went deep for the 13^th and 14^th time this season. Junior Mike Chimera chipped in with 4 RBIs on the day.

 

St. Ignatius (18-11; 10-8 Catholic White) defeated De La Salle 10-0 in six innings behind a shutout from University of Maryland-bound RHP Matt Lynch. With the win, St. Laurence wins the outright Catholic League White Division crown. De La Salle (18-8; 13-5) finishes in second place in the White.

 

No.14 Minooka (25-7; 14-4) closes out Southwest Prairie action today with the opener of a three-game series with Plainfield East.

 

No.15 Illinois Valley Central (28-5): The Grey Ghosts await today’s Minonk (Fieldcrest)-Peoria Christian winner in Minonk (Fieldcrest) Class 2A regional action on Wednesday.

 

No.16. Burlington Central (29-1) The Big Northern-East champs were off Monday.

 

No.17. Rock Island (28-4) The Western Big Six champs were off on Monday.

 

No.18. Lincoln-Way Central (20-7; 8-2 Southwest Suburban Blue): The Knights must sweep tough Homewood-Flossmoor (19-6; 5-5) to claim outright Southwest Suburban championship. Games are today and Thursday and Viking ace LHP Aaron Hauge (6-1) should be on the mound today for H-F.

 

No.19 Stanford Olympia (27-8): The Spartans begin their quest for an unprecedented third Class 2A crown with the toughest regional opener in the state. The Spartans will meet Okaw Valley Conference champion Decatur St. Theresa (27-5) on Thursday in the Class 2A Stanford Olympia Regional.

 

No. 20 Rockford Boylan (23-5; 15-1 NIC-10): The Titans defeated Belvidere on Monday and will travel to Rockton Hononegah (21-6; 14-1) for NIC-10 crown on Wednesday.

Rockford Guilford (24-7; 13-3) rolled past Harlem 9-3 behind Valparaiso-bound RHP Cyrus Wimberly (7-3).

 

Conference championships were won on Monday all over the area: Carmel (23-8; 14-3) clinched the East Suburban Catholic Conference championship with a 12-0 five-inning win over St. Joseph. Junior LHP Dan Mooney fired the five-inning shutout and sophomore Connor Fitzgerald hit a grand slam to lead the Corsairs to the ESCC title.

 

Fremd (17-11; 12-3) wrapped up their second consecutive Mid-Suburban West crown behind senior LHP Clint Terry. Terry (7-4) fired a five-hit shutout to lead the Vikings to a 3-0 victory over Hoffman Estates. Terry fanned eight as the Vikings will host the MSL Championship game on Saturday. Viking senior second baseman Kevin Ciardiello singled home the only run Terry would need. Senior RF Evan Wright provided some insurance with his first home run of the year.

 

Grayslake Central (24-7; 17-5) rallied to defeat Prairie Ridge (19-10; 14-5) in the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division, 11-9, and takes over the top spot in the Fox.

 

Two-time defending champ Cary-Grove (19-11; 14-6) routed McHenry 12-2 and pulled into a three-way log-jam atop the Fox Valley-Valley with McHenry (19-9; 14-6) and Huntley (22-8; 14-6). The Trojans were once again led by another junior pitcher, this time LHP Matt Panek. Panek, fired 4 2/3 innings, striking out 9, to improve to 4-2 on the season. Panek helped himself with a two-run double and a two-run homer in the romp over McHenry.

 

Huntley defeated Crystal Lake South 10-9 behind John A. Logan C.C-recruit Phil Pupillo.The senior catcher hit a grand slam and also picked up the win on the mound as the Red Raiders joined the party atop the FVC-Valley standings.