April 1 Roundup

 

By Drake Skleba

 

North Stars Shine in Southern Illinois: No. 19 St. Charles North concluded their spring trip to southern Illinois by hammering No. 12 New Trier 9-2 on Thursday.  The Upstate 8 Conference favorites won all five of their contests in the Deep South at the Miners Spring Classic in Marion. The North Stars outscored their five opponents 47-13.

 

In the win over New Trier (3-2), senior RHP Kevin Borst picked up the win on the mound. Borst struck out seven in his six inning stint allowing a pair of runs and three hits. Sophomore John Brodner had a 2-for-2 day with a clutch 2-RBI triple to ignite the STC North offense. The talented sophomore hit .600 on the trip. Future Nebraska Cornhusker SS Ryan Richardson continued his torrid hitting with a 2-for-4 day. Richardson hit .556 on the trip. Last but not least, senior Chase Williams had a pair of hits and drove in three and junior John Munyon added an RBI in the romp of New Trier.

 

No. 32 O’Fallon (5-4, 2-0), behind a five hit-shutout from senior RHP Miles Quintal, gave No.28 Granite City (7-1, 1-1) its first defeat of the year. O’Fallon defeated Granite City 2-0 and sits atop the ultra-tough Southwestern Conference with No. 14 Belleville West (4-1, 2-0) and Collinsville (6-2, 2-0).Quintal struck out seven and improves to 2-0 on the campaign. Quintal has yet to give up an earned run in 19 2/3 innings of work. O’Fallon scored on a Granite City miscue and an RBI single by sophomore OF Cory Beyersdorfer in the fourth inning.

 

No. 5 Downers Grove South (5-1) senior PH Pat Korienek hammered a monster three-run pinch-hit home run with two outs in the bottom of the sixth to lead the Mustangs to a 5-0 win over No. 15 Mt. Carmel (6-2). Junior John Dillon added insurance with a two-run double to give the ‘Stangs the victory over Mt. Carmel ace John Kravetz. Parkland College-bound RHP Jake Rone (3-0) picked up the win in relief of starting pitcher junior Matt Wivinis, who fired five shutout innings for the ‘Stangs. Kravetz was extremely tough through five innings, as the hard-throwing Illinois recruit struck out eight. Freshman SS Jerry Houston had two hits for Mount Carmel.

 

No. 4 Chatham Glenwood (4-0) blanked Highland Park, 1-0, behind a three-hit shutout from junior right-hander Phil Maton (2-0). The 4-0 Titans scored on an errant throw by the Giants for the only run of the game in the fourth inning. Senior Dallas Henderson, who was 2-for-2 in the game, scored after reaching by being hit by a pitch. Tyler Goldstein had 10 strikeouts for Highland Park.

 

Hinsdale Central (1-2-1) stunned No. 16 Brother Rice 8-4.The victorious Red Devils were led by senior second baseman Matt Sliter and senior Jack Hellwig.  Sliter had a pair of hits and 3 RBIs. Hellwig chipped in with a 3-for-4, including a double and a pair of RBIs. Brother Rice falls to 5-2.

 

Burlington Central improved to 7-1, led by the torrid bat of Porsche Player of the Week Austin Jarvis. The red-hot Rocket hit a grand slam homer, his fifth home run of the season, and had a 3-for-4 afternoon in a 16-10 win over Hinsdale South.

 

No. 23 St. Ignatius (4-1) was led by their senior catcher Justin Meier in a 6-4 win over St. Patrick. Meier hammered a pair of HRs and drove in three for the Wolves. Senior RHP Matt Lynch, behind an 85-87 mph fastball, struck out 8 and allowed three earned runs to earn the win. St. Patrick junior left-hander Devin Pickell pitched well in the loss, throwing a complete game with six hits, five strikeouts and two walks.

 

Lake Park junior Anthony Valldeperas continued his hot hitting on Thursday. In a 16-0 blowout over Schaumburg, Valldeperas homered twice, doubled and drove home seven Lancer runs. Lake Park improves to 3-0 on the season.

 

Top-ranked Naperville Central stayed unbeaten after it rallied to upend visiting Lyons Township, 6-5.

 

No. 5 Stevenson (5-0) won their fifth straight, barely, squeezing by Crystal Lake South

7-6. Senior OF Alex Dar went 4-for-4 and had the game winner for the Patriots. Junior Mike Martin also was 4-for-4 for Stevenson.

 

No. 27 Lemont (3-2) senior third baseman Mark Kornaker went 4-for-4 and drove home three runs to lead the Indians to a 16-10 win over the Indiana Class 3A defending champion Andrean Catholic of Merriville. Senior catcher Pat Driscoll homered and had 3 RBIs in the win over the 59ers.

 

Lisle’s (6-3) Clemson-bound RHP John Surber returned to the mound and fired four shutout innings to lead the Lions to a 16-1 victory over Hinckley-Big Rock. Surber allowed two hits and fanned seven. Junior Nick Thome and freshman Steve Accetturo homered for the victorious Lions.

 

Neuqua Valley (2-1) routed West Aurora 16-8 behind the booming bat of senior OF Joe Ippolito. Ippolito hammered a homer, three doubles and drove in three. Mike Gerber homered and drove in four for Neuqua Valley, which travels to No.1 Naperville Central on Saturday.

 

No. 35 Normal West was led by senior 1B Jason Cullen, who homered twice and drove in six runs in a 19-8 pounding of Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin. Normal West improves to 3-4; SHG falls to 2-3.

 

Mahomet-Seymour improved to 8-0 behind a 19-1 romp over Decatur St.Theresa. SeniorBrannon Kwiatkowski hit three, including a grand slam, of the eight Bulldog homers on the day. Senior Josh Raymond added a pair of home runs for the undefeated ‘Dogs.

 

No. 48 Mt.Vernon’s Southern Indiana-bound RHP James Mulvaney improved to 3-0 as the Rams defeated Belleville Althoff 9-2 in South 7 action. Mulvaney drove home three for the Rams. Senior OF James Stuckey had two hits and three RBIs, as Mt. Vernon improves to 5-3 and 1-0 in the South 7.

 

Rochester’s Corey Fanning and Jarod Pellman each homered and drove in six runs as the Rockets defeated Riverton 18-1. The Rockets improve to 5-1 on the season.

 

Pat Guinane hit a three-run homer to lead Glenbrook South to a 9-0 victory over Leyden. The Titans improved to 2-4.