Thursday, April 15 Roundup

 

By Drake Skleba

 

No. 15 Granite City struck early and defeated No.13 Belleville West 8-3 in a Southwestern Conference showdown on Thursday. Granite City (13-2; 5-1) scored seven times in the first two innings and never looked back as the Warriors remained atop the Southwestern Conference standings with O’Fallon (9-6; 5-1).

 

Senior left-hander Zac Pearman improved to 5-0 on the season for the Warriors. Pearman scattered six hits and allowed two runs in his six innings of work. Pearman struck out four. Warrior junior SS Tyler Lignoul (3-for-4,2B, RBI) and 1B Brett Pearman (2-for-3, 2B) and Louisville-bound C Jake DePew (1-for-2, 2B, RBI, 2SB) led the Warrior attack. DePew has a dozen stolen bases this season.

 

Belleville West (8-4, 4-2) junior Garret Schlecht had a pair of hits and two RBIs for the Maroons.

 

O’Fallon’s senior RHP Miles Quintal (3-1) fired a three-hit shutout and continued his his torrid hitting to lead the Panthers to a 10-0, 6-inning victory over Collinsville. Quintal struck out seven on the mound. Quintal, who is hitting .575, lauched his first home run of ’10 and had two hits and drove in three for the Panthers. Quintal now has 14 RBI for the season.

 

Junior catcher Austin Bossart chipped in with a pair of hits and two RBIs for the Panthers, who remained tied for first in the Southwestern Conference with Granite City, which they beat on April 1, 2-0. Quintal fired a five-hit gem at the Warriors.

 

Oswego East (5-8; 1-5) picked up its first Southwest Prairie Conference victory at the expense of No. 2 Minooka 10-2. The Wolves Brad Warnake struck out 12 and allowed a pair of runs and hits in his complete-game masterpiece. Bobby Smith hammered a pair of homers for the upstart Wolves. Minooka falls to 14-3, 5-1.

 

Rock Falls (11-5; 2-2) senior left-handed hitting Dylan DeVries hammered a pair of home runs and drove home six as the Rockets blasted Spring Valley Hall 27-9 in a NCIC-Lincoln matchup on Thursday. Junior RHP Brett Chappell (2-1) added three hits and three RBIs for the Rockets.

 

Streator (12-2; 4-0) defeated LaSalle-Peru 7-5 in a NCIC-Reagan battle at L-P. Streator’s senior LHP Drew Sabol recorded his first save of the season, striking out the final two L-P hitters to save the game for Tuesday’s hero Josh Eplin (4-0). Eplin hit a game-winning three-run homer to beat L-P on Tuesday in Streator.

 

Ottawa Marquette’s 6-foot-5 240 pound junior RHP Joey Ceja struck out 8 in five innings and picked up the win as the Crusaders blasted Orion 13-3 in five innings. The Louisville-bound Ceja allowed an unearned run and one hit. Fellow Louisville-recruit junior SS Mason Snyder hammered a two-run homer for the Crusaders. On Wednesday, Ceja hit for the cycle and delivered a walkoff homer to upend Pontiac 13-12.

 

Mahomet-Seymour (13-2; 3-0) defeated Bloomington Central Catholic 7-5 in a big Cornbelt Conference showdown on Thursday. M-S’s junior Jason Ziegler hammered a two-run homer and struck out 10 in five innings to pick up the win. Fellow junior Jayson Troyer struck out five of the six Saint hitters he faced in a two-inning save for Ziegler. Troyer also homered for the Bulldogs. Bloomington Central Catholic falls to 9-3, 2-1 in the Cornbelt.

 

No. 6 St. Rita rolled past No. 17 St. Ignatius 7-4 in a Catholic League crossover on Thursday. Louisville-recruit junior LHP Joe Filomeno pitched and hit the Mustangs (11-3; 2-1) to the win. Filomeno hammered his fifth and sixth home runs of the year and improved his record to 3-1 on the mound with a solid five-inning performance. NIU-bound Anthony Andres drove home a pair of runs for the Mustangs. St. Ignatius falls to 9-4, 0-2 in the Catholic League White.

 

For No.7 St. Laurence (14-1; 3-0), revenge was sweet, as the Vikings defeated defending Catholic League White Division champion Bishop McNamara 16-6 in five innings. Last season Bishop McNamara ended a three-year reign for the Vikings as Catholic White champs. NIU-bound first baseman Tom Keating led the assault on the Fighting Irish with a grand slam and a triple driving in five runs for the Vikings. Junior catcher Charlie Naso launched his third homer of the year, a two-run jack, and had three RBIs to assist in the rout of Bishop Mac.

 

Brother Rice (10-5; 2-1) senior Justin Biondo fired a no-hitter as the Crusaders defeated Hales Franciscan 14-0 in five innings. Juniors Connor Sullivan and John Mahay led the Crusaders to the Catholic League crossover win on Thursday. Sullivan had three hits and drove in six. Mahay had a pair of hits and drove in five.

 

Upstate 8 leader Lake Park (10-2; 4-1) smashed Larkin 10-4 behind a complete game performance from senior RHP Brian Konecke, who struck out 10. Junior Zach Tsiodoris had a pair of doubles and four RBIs to lead the Lancer onslaught.

 

No.9 Plainfield North (12-1; 6-0) took over the Southwest Prairie lead with a 23-9 win over Plainfield South in five innings, Thursday. Tiger seniors Jeff Paulson and Evan Whaley both homered twice as the Tigers rolled.

 

Plainfield Central’s (9-5; 4-2) senior Derek DeYoung had two hits and three RBIs as the Wildcats rolled Oswego 9-2.

 

Evanston (9-3; 2-0) romped past Deerfield 10-2 in a Central Suburban crossover battle on Thursday. Wildkit RHP Kevin Rosinsky allowed a pair of runs and four hits in his six-inning winning performance.

 

Glenbrook South (6-5; 2-0) defeated Niles North 10-1 in a Central Suburban crossover game as senior Pat Guinane hit a grand slam and Cully Stadler hit a three-run homer to lead the Titan attack

 

Maine South (8-4.2-0) kept pace with Evanston and Glenbrook South in the CSL South with an 8-4 CSL crossover win over Highland Park. Senior RHP Ronnie Muck improved to 4-1 on the mound for the Hawks.

 

Burlington Central (14-1; 2-0) junior Sam Klein fired a no-hitter in leading the red-hot Rockets to a 14-0 slaughter rule romp of Richmond-Burton. Klein fanned 8 in improving to 4-0 on the mound. Former Porsche Player of the Week senior catcher Austin Jarvis doubled tripled and homered for the Rockets.

 

Huntley (10-1; 4-0) continued to roll in the Fox Valley Conference with a 6-5 win over Johnsburg. The Red Raiders were led by a trio of seniors in the win over the Skyhawks. Senior LHP Jeremy Ahillen fired a complete game to improve to 3-0 on the mound for Huntley. Red Raider Chris Klein had three hits and an RBI and Phil Pupillo chipped in with a pair of hits and ribbies as the Red Raiders have flown under the radar in 2010.

 

Shepard (7-6; 5-1) crushed TF South 17-5 to stay atop the South Suburban Red. The Astros received a grand slam from senior Jeff Aducci and a three-run shot from Dave Loomis in the victory over the Rebels.

 

Reavis (10-4; 4-1) routed Tinley Park 14-4 in a South Suburban crossover. Ram senior RHP Dennis Beauregard improved to 4-1 on the mound with a complete game win. Junior first baseman Brandon Hines had two hits, including a three-run homer to pace the Rams attack.

 

Richards (10-5; 4-1) kept pace with Reavis in the South Suburban Red as the Bulldogs hammered Lemont 15-5 in a SCC crossover on Thursday. Bulldog Ben Dafgard had three doubles and drove in five.

 

Oak Forest (8-3; 5-1) was led by junior Tim Barry, who homered and had four RBIs as the Bengals crushed Eisenhower 12-4. Oak Forest sits alone at the top of the South Suburban Blue standings.

 

Wheaton North (11-2) was led by 6-foot-4 junior first baseman Nick Barry in a 10-7 nonconference win over Elk Grove on Thursday. Barry homered and had two doubles and five RBIs for the victorious Falcons. Senior lefty Nick Norder improved to 2-0 on the mound for Wheaton North.