By Drake Skleba

 

In Catholic Blue action on Saturday…Providence (16-5; 8-0) junior LHP Matt Trowbridge fired a no-hitter at Brother Rice (13-6; 6-2), leading the Celtics to a 6-1 Catholic Blue Division victory. Trowbridge struck out 8. Senior CF Tim Hanrahan (2-for-3) led the Celtic attack with three RBIs…St. Rita (17-3; 6-1) kept pace with Providence with a 12-2 five-inning crossover win over Gordon Tech. Sophomore third baseman Stefano Belmonte crushed a grand slam homer to aid senior RHP John Starcevich (2-1), who fired four hitless innings for the Mustangs. For the super-soph Belmonte the blast was his eighth for 2010…

 

No.7 Chatham Glenwood (12-2) lost to Morton 7-1 and then won game two behind junior RHP Max Rhodes, who fired a no-hitter in his first varsity start for the Titans. Rhodes gave up three runs in the first inning when the Titan defense imploded and made four errors, leading to the three unearned Potter runs. Rhodes put up goose eggs the rest of the way and no-hit Morton. Titan senior Jared Turner had a two-run homer and junior Jake Lance had a clutch two-run double to lead the Titans to the game two victory.

 

In game one Morton’s Tyler Weber and Nate Egisti led the Potters to victory. Weber scattered seven hits and fired a complete game at the Titans while Egisti had a perfect 3-for-3 day with a pair of RBIs for the Potters.

 

No.17 Rock Island swept United Township 2-0 and 10-0 in a Western Big Six twin-bill Saturday. Senior 6-foot-4  RHP Michael Fischer fired a three-hit shutout at UT, striking out 10 in game one to improve to 2-1..Senior Brinn Bell doubled home both Rock Island runs in the game one victory. In game two, Bell went 3-for-3 with six RBIs as Rock Island (18-2; 5-1) crushed UT 10-0 in five innings. Senior RHP Josh Keim improved to 5-0 with a five-inning four hit shutout. Galesburg (12-7; 4-0), who sits atop the Western Big 6 standings, was rained out against Rock Island Alleman.

 

Normal West and Bloomington continued to roll in the Big 12 on Saturday. Normal West, who may be the hottest team in Illinois, swept away Mattoon 8-4 in eight innings in the Big 12 game one conference game and then 10-3 in the game two nonconference affair.

 

In the opener, Normal West’s 6-foor-2 senior catcher Jake Birlingmair had two hits and drove in three Wildcat runs. Junior Kyle Vaughn chipped in with a pair of hits and an RBI and senior Brandon Brittin had two hits and picked up the win in relief for NW.

 

In the nonconference game win, 6-foot-2 senior Tyler Emerson improved to 3-1 on the mound with a solid six-inning performance. Senior Brock Stewart had two hits including a homer and sophomore Wes Sery added three hits and an RBI.

 

Bloomington (12-7; 4-0) kept pace with West with a 10-0 five-inning victory over Urbana. Senior Derek Gliwa improved to 4-1 with a three-hit masterpiece for the Purple Raiders. Junior Tyler Dickin and senior Alex Ludwig each had a pair of hits and RBIs for Bloomington. Senior Ryne Dickin chipped in with a three-hit afternoon…Normal Community (9-9;1-3) swept Champaign Centennial (11-7;3-1) out of the Big 12 lead with an 8-3 conference win and a  15-6 nonconference drubbing in game two.

 

Lisle (15-5; 5-1) claimed the championship in the Lisle Invitational tournament, defeating Immaculate Conception 3-0 in the championship game. Clemson-bound Jon Surber’s two-run double aided sophomore Kazim Kahn (2-1), who fired a five-inning shutout at the 18-8 Knights. In an earlier game, Lisle’s freshman Steven Accetturo (2-1) pitched a five-inning no-hitter leading the Lions to a 1-0 win over Holy Trinity. Junior 3B Nick Thome walked with the bases loaded for the game-winner. Lisle opens up a big Interstate 8 North Division showdown series with Coal City (12-7; 4-2) on Monday in Coal City. On Tuesday the two clubs meet in Lisle.

 

In the East Suburban Catholic Conference, Carmel (12-4; 4-0) swept Nazareth Academy (13-4; 2-2) 9-2 and 7-5. In game one, senior RHP Paul Porier picked up the win with a complete game performance, striking out five. NIU-bound 1B Chris Divarco homered and had three hits to lead the Corsair attack. In game two senior CF Derek Jordan homered and senior RHP Daniel Mahoney fired three shutout innings in relief to pick up the win.

 

Lockport (12-7) junior second baseman Matt Skrzypiec highlighted a five-run Porter seventh inning with a mammoth grand slam homer to stun No.2 Naperville Central 7-5 on Saturday. Skrzypiec drove home five runs for the Porters. Naperville Central falls to 15-2.

 

In the Metro Suburban Riverside-Brookfield and Illiana Christian rolled into Monday’s showdown at R-B with Metro Suburban twin-bill sweeps. Riverside-Brookfield (10-8; 6-0) swept past Ridgewood 9-1 and 14-4. R-B was led in game one by sophomore Andy Suzuki, who had a pair of doubles and three hits and three RBIs for the ’Dogs. Sophomore Dylan Beketic had a pair of hits and three RBIs. On the mound, junior David Tortorici improved to 3-1 on the season.

 

In game two senior Matt Kenahan struck out nine and allowed three hits in the five-inning Bulldog win. Senior Cody Marquette drove in a pair of runs and junior Vito DeRango chipped in with three hits for R-B…Illiana Christian (12-2; 3-0) swept Fenton 8-1 and 5-3 on Saturday. The two clubs will clash at Sedgwick Park in La Grange at 4:30 tomorrow. The PBR’s Drake Skleba will be in La Grange for the Metro Suburban showdown.

 

In the West Suburban Silver…Lyons Township swept Hinsdale Central 15-5 and 12-6. Lion hurler Connor Cuff pitched a complete game and helped himself at the plate with three hits, including a homer and a double and driving home three Lion runs. Steven Heilenbach, Brian Rodomoyer and Mike Phillipp all went deep for the Lions.

 

In game two, Cuff hit a monster grand slam and drove in five, Phillipp hammered his second blast of the day and Mark Koziel added three hits. The red-hot junior SS Spencer Mahoney chipped in with a pair of hits, giving Mahoney a five-hit day against the Red Devils. Zach Remajas picked up the win on the mound for the Lions who improve to 15-5 and 9-2 in the West Suburban Silver.

 

In the West Suburban Gold, Willowbrook (12-8; 4-3) was led by SIU-bound Brain Monette. Monette evened his record at 2-2 on the mound with a complete game performance and helped himself with a 3-for-3 at the plate with a pair of RBIs.

 

Defending Class 4A champion New Trier (8-8) appears to be back on track as the Trevians defeated Barrington 4-2 and Jones 13-3 in five innings. 6-foot-4 junior LHP John Cook fired a complete game at Barrington, improving to 3-1 on the season. Fellow junior Charlie Tilson had two hits, including a triple.

 

In the win over Jones, senior Willy Moore had a day. Moore hit a grand slam and a three-run bomb to lead the Trevians to their third straight win. Senior Ryder Borre evened his record at 2-2 with the five-inning complete game.