Saturday, April 10 Roundup

 

By Drake Skleba

 

No. 2 Harrisburg (17-0) blasted Lincoln 13-4 behind senior Kollin Dowdy (SIU) and freshman Ryne Roper. Dowdy homered and doubled for the Bulldogs, while Roper hammered a two-run bomb and pitched an inning in the romp of the Railsplitters.

 

No. 8 St. Rita (9-1) scored 10 runs in the top of the seventh and stunned Stagg 16-14 in a nonconference game at Stagg on Saturday. Junior catcher Brian Sicher hammered a grand slam for the Mustangs. Senior Austin Bilotto went deep as well for the Mustangs.

 

Oak Park’s (9-2; 2-2) sophomore left-handed hitting catcher Jack Picchiotti led the Huskies to a West Suburban Silver twin-bill sweep of Downers Grove North on Saturday.

 

The Huskies won 17-8 and 13-12. Picchiotti was 6-for-9 with four doubles and a three-run homer and drove in seven runs on the day for the victorious Huskies. Senior catcher John Frueh had a three-run bomb and drove in four in game one. Senior Andrew Godbold chipped in with homer. 

 

In game two, Huskies Neil Rothschild had three hits, including the game winner. Joe Gerace had a 4-for-4 day in the nightcap. Senior RHP Jack Rogalla (2-1) and junior RHP Will Polley (2-0) picked up the wins on the mound for Oak Park.

 

No. 12 St.Laurence’s (11-1) NIU-bound senior first baseman Tom Keating launched a two-run homer and drove in three as the Vikings rolled to a 9-6 nonconference win over Lockport (6-5). Vikings junior catcher Charlie Naso drove in a pair of Viking runs and had three hits.

 

Lincoln-Way West (5-4)  routed West Aurora 24-10 as Warrior Jack Keefe and junior Cody Vogler each drove in seven runs to lead the Warriors to the nonconference win Saturday. Keefe had a perfect 4-for-4 day, while Vogler was 3-for-5. Warrior Dan Fifer chipped in with three hits and a pair of ribbies for the Warriors.

 

Barrington’s (7-4-1) University of Illinois-bound senior left-handed pitcher Rob McDonnell (3-1) struck out 13 as Barrington swept a nonconference twin-bill from Whitney Young, 11-5 and 16-5. Junior shortstop Jack Scheffler homered and drove home six Bronco runs in the first game romp. In game two, senior Anthony Brignola (John A. Logan J.C) homered, doubled and had four hits and an RBI to lead the Broncos in game two. Senior Derek Foderaro also homered and had three hits.

 

Benet Academy (5-4), led by junior second baseman Andrew Jachna, rolled past the defending Class 4A champ New Trier 10-4 in a nonconference game at Benet on Saturday. Jachna hammered a pair of doubles and had three hits and an RBI for the Redwings. Sophomore Zac Lewinski added three hits and drove in one for victorious Benet Academy.

 

No. 9 Minooka’s (11-1) junior Dan Coopers’ homerun tied things up at 4 and then the Indians scored the winner on a groundout and defeated Sandburg 5-4 in a thrilling nonconference battle on Saturday. Senior catcher Niko Capodice drove in two for the Indians. Junior shortstop Blaise Grebic continued his hot hitting with another homer for the Indians. Senior John Pershey (4-0) picked up the win on the mound for the Indians.

 

Sandburgs’ Evansville-bound Ryan Billo (3-1) suffered his first loss of the season throwing a complete game for the 5-4 Eagles.

 

Hinsdale Central, York split a West Suburban Silver twin-bill in Hinsdale on Saturday.In game one, senior right-hander Will Pahos scattered seven hits and struck out five in a complete game performance, leading the Red Devils past York 5-2. Seniors Jack Hellwick and Mac Burridge each had two hits. Burridge drove in a run and made a sensational catch in centerfield helping out Pahos in the game one win for Hinsdale Central (3-5-1; 1-1). York (7-5; 3-1) won the nightcap 7-2. The rubber-game of the series will be in Elmhurst on Tuesday.

 

No.11 Warren (9-1; 2-0) routed Zion-Benton 14-1 on Saturday to complete the opening North Suburban Lake Division sweep for the Blue Devils. 6-foot-3 sophomore shortstop Pat Kenney continued his torrid hitting, blasting two homers for the Blue Devils. The blasts were the fifth and sixth of the season for the super-soph. Virgina Tech-bound senior catcher Scott Heelan hammered his fifth of the season as the Blue Devils rolled. Junior RHP Ryan Kennedy (5-0) fired four innings allowing one run and striking out six to pick up the win on the mound.

 

No. 16 Mt. Carmel (8-2) received a complete-game two-hitter from Illinois-recruit junior John Kravetz (3-1) as the Caravan crushed Andrew 11-1. Senior left-handed hitting Mike Krueger went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. OF Brad Myjak homered and went 2-for-2 in the romp.

 

Rock Island (12-1; 2-0) swept Quincy in the Rocks Western Big 6 opener on Saturday in Quincy. Senior Chris Surh singled home the lead run in the top of the eighth and the Rocks went on to win the opener 6-5. Rock Island senior Josh Keim fired a four-hit shutout as the Rocks won game two 2-0. Keim struck out three.

 

Lyons (6-3; 3-0)  swept a West Suburban Silver doubleheader from Proviso West 5-2 and 16-2 on Saturday. Lions Jimmy Hellenbach picked up the win and Mark Koziol recorded the save on the mound in game one for the Lions. Steve Hellenbach was 2-for-3 with a double to lead the Lion offense. In game two, Steve Hellenbach homered and drove home four Lion runs in the romp. Mike Philpp and Tom Walsh each had a pair of hits and RBIs and Spencer Mahoney picked up the win on the mound with help from Andrew Newman and Jeff Osborne.

 

Brother Rice (8-3) sophomore Charlie Finn (1-0) fired six innings and fanned 8 in leading the Crusaders past Lane Tech 9-0 in a nonconference game on Saturday. Seniors Brian Baldwin and Ryan Gyrion had two and each drove home a pair of runs for the Crusaders.LSU-bound shortstop Kevin Koziol chipped in with a pair of hits and an RBI.

 

Pontiac knocked Streator (10-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 17-8 win. Indian junior Adam Casson homered and drove in four runs to lead the Indians attack. Seniors Max Cox and Ryan Crowley chipped in with three-hit games to stun the Bulldogs. Casson hammered a grand slam and sophomore Caleb Leach struck out 14 in the Indians 14-1 slaughter-rule romp of Sandwich.

 

No. 15 Plainfield North (9-1; 1-0) swept its opening Southwest Prairie Conference series with Oswego East on Saturday routing the Wolves 11-4. Tiger senior Scott Vachon hammered a grand slam and drove in five to lead the Tigers to the victory. The blast was the sixth of the season for Vachon. Junior Evan Whaley had a perfect 3-for-3 day for the Tigers. Junior Brain Evak picked up the win on the mound and improves to 2-0.

 

No.10 St. Charles North (7-1) crushed Lake Zurich 14-3 in a nonconference game on Saturday. Senior right-hander Kevin Borst (2-0) picked up the win on the mound for the North Stars. Senior Jake Bergen went deep twice for the ‘Stars and drove in three. Nebraska-bound shortstop Ryan Richardson and senior Chase Williams plated three for the North Stars.

 

Granite City (11-2) swept a nonconference doubleheader from Troy-Triad 5-4 and 6-1. Senior left-handed pitcher Jeremy Portwood (1-0) and junior right-hander Cody Rivenburgh fired complete game performances for the Warriors. Portwood fanned nine in game one and Rivenburgh (1-0) fired a four-hitter at Triad in the nightcap.

 

Junior shortstop Tyler Lignoul had two hits and an RBI, as the Warriors rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh to squeeze past Triad 5-4. Lingouls’ safety squeeze bunt plated junior Cody Spanberger with the winning run.

 

In game two, Jake DePew, senior third baseman Cody Daily and senior first baseman Brett Pearman all had RBIs for the Warriors.

 

Urbana (7-3) was led by senior Trey Russell, as the Tigers stunned Mahomet-Seymour 13-12 in a nonconference game in Urbana on Saturday. Russell homered twice and doubled and drove in five Tiger runs in the huge win over Mahomet-Seymour (10-2).

 

Moline (10-1; 2-0) rolled past United Twp. 6-1 and 8-0 to open the Western Big 6 in style. Junior RHP Seth Fuller fired a four-hitter and improved to 3-0 in the opener. Junior second baseman Emilio Alonso, had a big two-run single for the Maroons and power-hitting third baseman Tim Wages added an RBI single in game one.

 

In game two, junior right-hander Ryan Archer fired a five-hit shutout fanning 11 and improved to 2-0 on the season. University of Illinois-bound shortstop Thomas Lindauer had a 4-for-7 day with two RBI for the Maroons.