By Drake Skleba
Senior Writer

Monday March 16th Games

METRO SUBURBAN CROSSOVER

Immaculate Conception 5, Timothy Christian 0
I-C (1-0) won the “Battle of Elmhurst” at home on the beautiful all-turf field at Plunkett Park in Elmhurst. The Knights scored a pair of runs in the second inning and tacked on three more in the fourth, to put the MSC Crossover to bed, for the MSC-West hosts.

S. ILLINOIS RIVER-RIVER CROSSOVER

Benton 13, DuQuoin 5
Benton (1-0) rolled in the SIRR crossover, crushing the Indians in DuQuoin. Rend Lake College-bound Dakota Head, allowed one unearned run  in his 4 ⅓ innings of work on the mound to pick up the win.Head struck out five. Head (1-0), helped himself with a single, double and a pair of RBI. Dillan Chamness chipped in with a double and plated a pair of Ranger runs.Derek Oxford also doubled, singled and had an RBI.   

NONCONFERENCE

Auburn 10, Springfield Lanphier 3
The Trojans scored six times in the second inning and went on to crush the Lions at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield. Auburn (1-0) was led by Brady Dowsen, who had a pair of doubles and plated four big Trojan runs. Tristan Weaver (1-0) struck out seven Lion batters in his four scoreless innings of work, to pick up the win on the mound. Weaver allowed two hits.

Belvidere 8, North Boone 0
It was the Tyler Lass Show in Belvidere, in the Bucs’ season-opener on Monday. Lass (1-0) fired six no-hit innings and had 15 punchouts. Austin Revolinsky completed the no-no with a hitless seventh. Ryan Anderson had 4 RBI to lead the Buc attack and Jeff Anderson chipped in with a pair of RBI.

Eureka 7, Heyworth 1
Eureka (1-0) scored five times in the third, to break-up a scoreless tie and the Hornets cruised to their season-opening win at home on Monday. Seth Burger tripled and drove home two runs while Aaron Schmidgall chipped in with a single and also plated a pair for the Hornets. Wade Gregorie (1-0) fired three hitless innings with six strikeouts, to pick up the win on the mound for Eureka.

Maine West 6, Lane Tech 4 (5 innings)
Maine West (1-0) score two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to break up a 4-4 tie and win the darkness-shortened season-opener for both clubs. After the Warriors scored the lead run on a ground out off the bat of Eric Outlaw, Kyle Divelbiss ripped a single to center, scoring Jake Riportella with a huge insurance run. Riportella took one for the team by getting plunked to reach base. Sean Russell and Alex Zimmerman each plated a pair of runs for West.  

Manteno 9, Grant Park 1
Manteno (1-0) rolled in its season-opener behind a combined four-hitter from Jack Morgan (1-0) and Caleb Selk. Morgan allowed two hits in his four spotless innings with nine punchouts to pick up the win. Selk allowed a run and and two hits with five strikeouts in his three innings of work. Luke Robbins had a double and a pair of RBI to lead the Panther attack. Tucker Presler chipped in with a pair of singles and an RBI.

Metamora 10, Pontiac 3
Metamora (1-0) scored six times in the fifth, to blow open its season-opener at Pontiac. Jake Guede led the Redbird attack with a homer, double and three RBI. Caleb Brachbill also went deep, singled and plated a pair of Redbird runs while Corbin Adams had a perfect 3-for-3 day with two runs scored and an RBI. Junior Alex Lewis (1-0) allowed three unearned runs and three hits in his four quality innings of work, to pick up the win on the mound.

Monticello 5, Leroy 1
The Sages won their season-opener behind a three-inning hitless performance from Daniel Caldwell (1-0). Caldwell punched-out seven in his three-inning masterpiece. David Vanderkloot singled, scored a run and plated a pair to lead the Sages attack

St. Joseph-Ogden 22, Villa Grove 2
St. Joseph-Ogden (1-0) scored 22 runs and had 18 hits in just five innings, crushing Villa Grove in the season-opener for both teams. Chase Gadau (Kaskaskia CC) went deep with the bases juiced and Aaron Schluter also hit one that left the premises in Villa Grove. Cole Berry (EIU)  allowed two unearned runs and one hit, in his three innings of work to pick up the win on the mound.  

Waukegan 8, Vernon Hills 4
Waukegan (1-0) opened up a 5-1 lead over its North Suburban Prairie guests and cruised to the opening day win in Waukegan. Tristan Ruiz led the Bulldog attack with a single, triple and three RBI. Augie Voight also was 2-for-2 with a single, double and three RBI. Voight 1-0) allowed two runs in his three innings of work, to pick up the win on the mound for the Bulldogs.

United Township 10, Kewanee 0
United Township (1-0) of East Moline, made quick work of Kewanee, scoring seven times in the bottom of the third enroute to a 10-0 season-opening victory, in East Moline. Louis Hill (1-0), Devin Wessels and Logan McDaniel combined on the three-hit whitewash.The trio combined for 10 punchouts. Aaron Halligan led the Panther attack with a 2-for-2 day with two runs scored and an RBI.   

Urbana 6, Champaign St. Thomas More 4
Urbana (1-0) outlasted the Tigers in Champaign behind a 3-for-4, 4 RBI performance from Britton Roberts. Chase Chenoweth (1-0) pitched four innings to pick up the win and Nick Amaya picked up the save with three quality innings of relief for the Tigers.

Preseason Countdown

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+ 2015 Schedules Released

+ Updated Illinois 2016 Rankings

+ Updated Illinois 2015 Rankings

+ June Event Schedule