April 8 Roundup

 

By Drake Skleba

 

On Thursday, in an early season showdown for the top spot in the Southwestern Conference, No. 14 Belleville West smashed O’Fallon 13-3 in a five-inning slaughter-rule affair in Belleville.

 

The Maroons were led by their 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior catcher Alex Quirin. Quirin went 4-for-4 with a double and drove in five runs. Quirin’s onslaught helped his battery mate, senior left-hander Sean Hulse improve to 3-1 on the mound. Hulse allowed three runs in his five-inning performance. Hulse also doubled and had three RBI.

 

For O’Fallon, senior right-handed pitcher Miles Quintal (2-1) suffered his first loss of the season. Quintal had opened up 2010 by not allowing an earned run in his first 19 2/3 innings of work. Quintal led the Panthers with a pair of hits and two RBI.

 

Belleville West (8-2; 4-0) sits all alone atop the Southwestern Conference with the win. O’Fallon (7-5; 3-1) slips into a tie for second with Granite City (9-2; 3-1).

 

In other Southwestern Conference action, Granite City earned a wild 10-9 win over defending-champ Edwardsville in Granite City. Warrior senior third baseman Cody Daily’s sac-fly in the bottom of the seventh won it for Granite City. Daily also added a two-run homer, his second of the season, for the Warriors. Daily has a team-leading 16 RBIs for the Warriors.

 

Junior Cody Spanberger launched a fifth inning grand slam homer and Louisville-bound catcher Jake DePew hit a two-run blast, his first of 2010. DePew (1-0) picked up the win in relief for the Warriors.

 

For Edwardsville (5-4; 1-3), senior third baseman Michael Failoni hit his third homer, a two-run shot, and had three RBIs for the Tigers.

 

No. 8 St. Rita (8-1) rolled past Whitney Young 11-5 in a nonconference game at St. Rita. Junior first baseman Joey Filomeno and sophomore third baseman Stefano Belmonte each hammered their fourth home runs of the season, and NIU-bound lefty Anthony Andres improved to 4-0 on the mound with a five-inning performance.

 

Filomeno launched a three-run bomb in the first inning and, along with Arizona State-bound center fielder Mark Paytons’ RBI double, the Mustangs had a quick 4-0 lead. Young tied things up against Andres at 4 until Belmonte went deep in the third to put Rita up 5-4 and the Mustangs never looked back.

 

Senior second baseman Kyle Stearns had two hits and drove in three runs for the Mustangs. Sophomore Zach Soria doubled twice and plated a pair of runs.

 

Rock Island (10-1) rallied to beat ISU-bound Harlem ace John Lieske 3-2 in a nonconference game at Rock Island on Thursday. Rocks senior shortstop Josh Kiem had two hits and drove home two runs, including the game-winner, as Rock Island scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to stun Lieske and the Huskies. Senior right-handed pitcher Brin Bell (3-0) picked up the win for Rock Island.

 

No. 3 Chatham Glenwood (6-0, 2-0) rolled past Springfield 6-2 in a Central State 8 game on Thursday. Junior right-hander Phil Maton scattered eight hits and struck out nine in a complete-game performance, improving to 3-0 on the season. Senior third baseman Jake Ingold had two hits, including a double and an RBI for the Titans.

 

Princeton (8-2; 2-0) stunned No. 13 Rock Falls 8-7, in 8 innings, in an NCIC Lincoln battle. Princeton sophomore Jake Fisher’s bloop single drove home the game-winner off of Rock Falls losing pitcher Jake Junis (2-1). Fisher added a double to his solid performance on Thursday. The Tigers received additional offensive support from Dylan Olson, who was 3-for-4 with a homer, double and three RBIs. Rock Falls was led by senior first baseman Dylan Devries, who hit a two-run homer for the Rockets.

 

St. Charles East (7-1, 1-0) scored twice in the sixth inning to break up a 1-1 tie and defeat Waubonsie Valley 3-1 in an Upstate 8 Conference opener for both clubs. St. Charles East ace junior left-hander Wes Benjamin (3-0) fired a complete game, allowing one unearned run and striking out nine. The lone Waubonsie run was the first scored against Benjamin in 18 innings of work.

 

St. Charles East’s’ Tony Rallo doubled home the lead run in the sixth and Robert Wendt added an insurance run when he tripled in Rallo for  a 3-1 lead. Waubonsie Valley (2-3; 0-1) senior left-hander Kris Singh (0-2) suffered the defeat on the mound for the Warriors.

 

No. 12 St. Laurence blasted Lake View 14-9 to improve to 10-1 on the season. Junior Bryan Villanova led the Viking attack with a 4 hits, incuding two doubles and drove in five runs on the day. Senior Pat Cassidy launched a three-run blast and drove in four Viking runs.

 

No. 18 St. Ignatius defeated Wheaton-Warrenville South 13-8 to improve to 7-2. Wake Forest-bound Jack Fischer was 3-for-4 with four RBIs for the Wolfpack. Bucknell-bound senior catcher Justin Meier hammered a two-run homer for the amp;lsquo;Pack.

 

Nazareth Academy (7-0-1) continued to roll as the Roadrunners ran past Fenwick 13-2 in five innings, in a nonconference game in La Grange Park. Junior right-hander Patrick Kelly (2-0) picked up the win allowing two runs and two hits and striking out seven in his complete game performance. Roadrunner junior catcher Justin Gonzales and junior first baseman Ryan Powers each launched three-run homers to lead the Roadrunner offense. Leadoffman Bryan McCray added three hits and senior Mike Urgo chipped in with a pair of hits.

 

Geneva (6-2; 2-0) junior Chris Hipchen loves Kaneland pitching. After tying a school record with three home runs in Tuesday’s 23-8 win over the Knights, Hipchen added a pair of homers and drove home five to lead the Vikings to a 12-11 thriller over Kaneland on Thursday. Vikings Alex Sroka added a home run and four RBIs.

 

Lisle improved to 7-3 as the Lions whipped Walther Lutheran 8-2 behind senior Jon Kolosky. Kolosky improves to 3-1 after his complete-game performance against the Broncos. Kolosky scatterd eight hits and struck out 4 for the Lions. The Lions will meet undefeated Wilmington (8-0) this afternoon in Lisle in the Lions Interstate 8 Conference opener. The game is the Prep Baseball Report Game of the Day.

 

Grayslake Central (7-1; 2-0) blanked McHenry 10-0 in six innings behind a four-hit shutout by senior right-hander Kevin DeRue. DeRue struck out nine in his six-inning masterpiece. Senior Joe Schaiper was a double short of the cycle for the Rams. Schaiper homered, tripled and singled to lead the Grayslake Central attack.

 

Vernon Hills (4-6; 2-0) completed their North Suburban Conference Prairie Division sweep of Antioch, 13-4, in the conclusion of Wednesday’s suspended game. Chris Marras led the way for the Cougars with three hits including a double and a triple. Ryan Lane (1-0) picked up the win in relief allowing no runs and just two hits in 3 2/3 solid innings of work.

 

Crystal Lake South (3-4; 1-0) 6-foot-2 190-pound senior Easton Kowalski fired a no-hitter and struck out 12, in leading the Gators to a 6-0 Fox Valley crossover win over Grayslake North on Thursday.