By Drake Skleba

Saturday June 5

 

Class 4A Sectional Championships

(In Bracket Order)

 

Plainfield South

No. 2 Naperville Central’s “Mr. Clutch” senior catcher Ryan Walsh delivered again for the Redhawks against Plainfield North (30-7) see story.

 

TBA Sectional @ East Peoria

No.7 Minooka (31-7) and No. 12 O’Fallon (24-13) met in East Peoria last night and the game was suspended in the top of the third with Minooka up 4-1.The game will be continued at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, the location of the Class 4A Illinois Wesleyan University Super-Sectional. Upon the completion of the Minooka-O’Fallon game, the winner will take on No.2 Naperville Central (35-4) in the Super-Sectional.

 

Barrington

No. 3 Stevenson (33-3) routed Warren, again to win the sectional championship. (See Story)

 

Niles West

Central Suburban South champion Maine South (26-10) rolled past CSL South rival Glenbrook South 8-3 behind the Hawk’s University of Illinois RHP Ronnie Muck. Muck fired a five-hitter, striking out seven to improve to 12-4 on the season.

 

St. Laurence

Andrew (28-10) continued its late-season run as the T-Bolts rallied past No.18 Brother Rice 7-6 in eight innings. Andrew has won 18 of its last 21 games. T-Bolt Steve Litko singled home the game winner and NIU-bound Jeff Zimmerman fired 2 2/3 shutout innings of relief to pick up the win on the mound for the rampaging ‘Bolts.

 

St. Rita

No.17 St. Rita (30-9) once again is in the Elite 8. On Saturday, the Mustangs exploded for five runs in the sixth ining, erasing a 3-2 Oak Park lead and went on to defeat the Huskies 7-3. Mustang senior CF/LHP Mark Payton struck out six as he slammed the door on the Huskies over the three innings.

 

Mustang senior Austin Bilotto homered to tie things up at 3-3. Junior 1B Joe Filomeno untied it at 4-3 with a clutch RBI single. The Mustangs picked up a run on a sac-fly and then NIU-bound senior Anthony Andres cemented the win with a two-run bomb and the Mustangs were heading back to Standard Bank Stadium in Crestwood to take on red-hot Andrew.

 

Elgin Larkin

Huntley (28-9) defeated Cary-Grove 5-4 in the unofficial Fox Valley Conference Valley Division championship game on Saturday. For Huntley, the game was a lot larger than that, as the Red Raiders claim their first sectional championship in the history of the school and move on to the Rockford (Riverhawks) Super-Sectional on Monday at 7. Huntley and Cary-Grove shared the 2010 Valley Division crown.

 

The Red Raiders scored the game winner in the bottom of the sixth on a Trojan error to grab the 5-4 lead. The Red Raiders were led by seniors Jeremy Ahillen and St. Xavier University-bound Chris Klein.

 

Ahillen fired an eight-hitter to improve to 8-1 on the season. Klein had a game-tying homer and had three hits and drove in a pair of Red Raider runs.

 

St. Charles East

Wheaton North (29-9) head coach Dan Schoessling and his Falcons must feel like the Rodney Dangerfield of Illinois high school baseball. Given no respect all season, all the Falcons have done is win. On Saturday, Wheaton North blanked the sectional hosts from St. Charles East 2-0, behind junior RHP Eric Sandora (8-3). Sandora fired a five-hit masterpiece against the hard-hitting Fighting Saints.

 

Wheaton North scored its first run on a wild pitch and plated an insurance run on a sac-fly by senior catcher Ben Murrow. Saturday was a great day for the Du Page Valley Conference as Wheaton North joined No.2 Naperville Central in the Elite 8 of Class 4A.

 

Class 3A Sectional Championships

(In Bracket Order)

 

Brooks

Harlan and Kenwood were washed away and will play on Monday at 5

 

Joliet Catholic Academy

Guess who’s back at Standard Bank Stadium on Monday night for the Class 3A Crestwood Super-Sectional? None other than head coach Jared Voss and the defending Class 3A State champions from Joliet Catholic Academy (22-14). Left for dead by most (except yours truly), the Hilltoppers rolled past Oak Forest 5-1 to win the Joliet Catholic Academy Sectional crown.

 

Hilltopper sophomore LHP Kevin Duchene (5-1) and 5-foot-11 RHP Eddie Walsh shut down the South Suburban Conference Blue Division kings from Oak Forest. Duchene allowed five hits and an unearned run in his 5 1/3 innings of work. Walsh picked up the save with 1 2/3 of shutout relief.

 

In the sixth, Walsh came in and fanned Bengal junior phenom Tim Barry and the hard-hitting Erik Foster with the Hilltoppers clinging to a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth. Hilltopper senior catcher Nate Ruzich hit a three-run shot in the top of the seventh to ice the defending champs’ sectional championship.

 

Belleville Althoff

Cinderella Troy-Triad (23-16) stunned South Seven Conference champion Mt.Vernon  7-2 behind senior Zach Hall (7-6). Hall picked up the win on the mound with a solid 6 2/3 innings of work and had a perfect 4-for-4 day at the plate for the surprising Knights. Knight senior Donnie Furhop had three hits and drove in a pair and junior SS Jake Lewis had a big two-run double for the Cinderella Knights.

 

Mt. Zion

No. 5 Chatham Glenwood (29-4) marches on. The defending Class 3A state runner-ups slipped past Danville 3-1 behind an outstanding performance from senior RHP Bryce Sablotny. Sablotny fired a four-hit masterpiece at the Vikings, striking out 10, to improve to 9-1 on the season. Sablotny, along with junior RHP Phil Maton (10-0), give head coach Pat Moomey a tough 1-2 pitching combination.

 

Eastern Illinois-bound senior catcher Jacob Reese had three hits to lead the Titan attack. Jake Lance had an RBI single for Glenwood, which will meet Troy-Triad in the Class 3A Sauget (GCS Park) Super-Sectional at 5 on Monday.

 

Johnsburg

Marian Central Catholic (26-9) defeated Grayslake Central 5-4 behind Hurricane 6-foot-3 RHP Dave Parr and senior SS/RHP Eli McGuire. Parr (11-2) fired 6 1/3 innings of four-hit baseball at the Rams, allowing two earned runs and McGuire came in the seventh and picked up the save. Parr and McGuire drove in first-inning runs for the ‘Canes as MCC jumped out to a 3-0 lead.

 

MCC will face Nazareth Academy in the Class 4A North Central College Super-Sectional Monday at 4:30. Hurricane ace Dave Luczak (8-1) will be on the mound Monday in Naperville.

 

Nazareth Academy

Nazareth (28-9) scored five runs in the fifth inning and went on to defeat Riverside-Brookfield 6-1 to advance to the Class 4A North Central College Super-Sectional on Monday in Naperville. Senior CF Bryan McCray had the game-winner with a two-run single to ignite the Roadrunners five-run outburst in the sixth. Junior Patrick Kelly improved to 8-1 on the mound with a seven-hitter. Roadrunner senior Adam Marske homered for Nazareth.

 

DeKalb

The host Barbs defeated Marmion 6-5 to advance to the Augustana College Super-Sectional at 5 on Monday in Rock Island.De Kalb (25-10) will meet Galesburg. Barb senior Jake Lemay fired 4 2/3 innings and gave up a run and two hits to pick up the win. DeKalb scored the game-winner on a Geneva error.

 

East Peoria

Galesburg (26-13) defeated Streator 10-8 to win the sectional championship. Hard-throwing Nick Milligan picked up the win on the mound for Galesburg.

 

In Missouri Class 3A State Championship action: St. Louis CBC defeated Webb City 14-4 to win the Class 3A State Championship. CBC (26-7) defeated Collinsville 12-0 in the PBR’s Border War Tournament at GCS Park in Sauget, Illinois on March 27.