PBR DAILY ROUNDUP

May 10

By Drake Skleba

Big Northern East

Burlington Central (21-8; 9-1) hammered Genoa-Kingston 14-4 in five innings to share the BNC-East title with Richmond-Burton (23-7; 9-1).

Rocket senior RHP Zach Ranney (7-1) went the distance to pick up the win and doubled home three Rocket runs with his bat. Senior C Tanner Scott had two hits and two RBI and Ray Hunnicutt added a three-hit day for the BNE co-champions.

Big 12

No. 14 Bloomington (25-5; 9-1) won for the 12^th straight time, thumping Decatur Eisenhower 9-2 on Thursday. Purple Raider junior Brandon Edwards (3-0) allowed a run and three hits in his quality six-inning stint on the mound for BHS. Edwards struck out six and continued his hot-hitting with two more hits. Red-hot senior Matt Mardis had two hits as well.

The Purple Raiders will host Mattoon on Saturday and then will travel to the West Side, of Normal that is, to take on their arch-rivals from Normal West (24-6; 8-2) on Tuesday at 4:30. The PBR’s Drake Skleba will be in Normal with all the action.

No. 16 Normal West (24-6; 8-2) blasted Decatur MacArthur 14-3 in five innings. Wildcat junior Turner Reid had a pair of doubles and had four RBI to lead the West attack. NIU-bound 3B Wes Sery plated three runs and senior Garrett Cook was 3-for-3 with an RBI. Junior Jake Evans was 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI.

Senior Nick Barnhill (3-1) and junior Alex Jefferson combined on a three-hitter. Jefferson had three hits, scored three runs and stole three bases.

The Wildcats will host Champaign Central on Saturday and Bloomington on Tuesday before wrapping up Big 12 action with a trip to Bloomington on Thursday.

Catholic Blue

No. 2 Providence (23-6; 13-2) needed a clutch two-run single form senior RF Kenny King in the bottom of the sixth to rally the Celtics past Loyola 6-5. With the win the Celtics stayed atop the mighty CCL-Blue with No. 1 St. Laurence (27-3-1; 13-2).

Providence will travel to Loyola for an 11 a.m. Game tomorrow in Glenview to wrap up CCL-Blue play. St. Laurence will travel to Mount Greenwood for an 11 a.m. battle with arch-rival Brother Rice. St. Laurence and Providence were co-champions in the CCL-Blue in 2011.

CSL North

Glenbrook North (21-9; 9-4) defeated Highland Park 4-1 behind Bradley-bound RHP Peter Resnick. Resnick fired a two-hitter with eight strikeouts against the Giants. Senior Chad Bruce had two hits and drove in a big run for GBN, who clinches a tie for CSL-North title. Highland Park falls to (14-15; 7-6).

CSL South

Glenbrook South (19-8; 9-4), behind the University of Indiana-bound LHP Sully Stadler (7-0), blanked No. 6 Maine South 3-0. With the win the Titans ended their 18-game winning streak. Maine South falls to (22-4; 12-1)

New Trier (16-9; 8-5) shutout arch-rival Evanston 2-0 behind a two-hit shutout from Penn State-bound Nick Hedge (8-1). Hedge fanned 12 Wildkits in his masterpiece on Thursday.

Niles West (23-6; 8-5) blanked Waukegan 2-0 behind a two-hit shutout from junior Kyle Colletta (8-1). University of Michigan-bound Kevin Ross was a bomb short of hitting for the cycle and plated and scored a Wolf run.

DuPage Valley

Wheaton North (21-10; 14-4) took over the top spot in the DVC, wrapping up their three-game sweep of Glenbard North, 7-3 on Thursday.

Naperville North (18-13;12-6) routed Naperville Central, 12-1 in five innings at North Central College in Naperville on Thursday. Huskie senior Mariano Long fired a four-hitter at Naperville Central (19-12; 13-5).

East Suburban Catholic

No. 18 Marist (23-8; 11-3) shutout No. 8 Nazareth again,this time 2-0, by University of Notre Dame-bound LHP Mike Hearne (7-3). Hearne fired a five-hitter at the Roadrunners with eight strikeouts.

Redhawk senior SS Ryan Meyer had two hits and drove in both Marist runs.

No. 8 Nazareth falls to (22-5; 6-4).

Marist will host No. 4 Joliet Catholic Academy (22-6-1; 10-2) on Saturday in a huge ESCC twin-bill starting at 10.

You can watch the game LIVE at www.prepbaseballreport.highschoolcube.com The PBR’s own Drake Skleba will have all the exciting play-by-play.

Fox Valley Fox

Grayslake Central (22-6; 15-1) smashed Woodstock North 14-4 in five innings on Thursday.

Fox Valley Valley

No. 25 Crystal Lake South (23-8; 14-2) defeated Dundee-Crown behind senior Jordan Van Dyck (9-1). Van Dyck fired a six-hitter at the Chargers and had three RBI to lead the FVC-Valley leaders.

On Monday, the Gators will take on FVC-Fox champions Grayslake Central (22-6;15-1) in a battle of divisional leaders at 4:30. The PBR’s Drake Skleba will be in Gator country for all of the action.

Prairie Ridge (20-9; 12-3) defeated Jacobs 3-2 on former Porsche Player of the Week junior Jordan Getzelman’s walk-off bomb.

Cary-Grove (19-9; 12-3) rallied past Huntley 4-3 on Thursday (See Sean Duncan’s gamer)

Interstate 8 Crossovers

Lisle (30-5; 15-1) won its 30^th game for head coach Pete Meyer as the Lions beat Wilmington 6-5 in eight thrilling innings on Thursday. Senior Parker Murray led the Lions past the Wildcats with a 4-for-4 day and drove home three Lion runs. 

Interstate 8 South

Dwight (14-15; 5-9) swept past Herscher 7-4 on Thursday. Herscher (26-7; 10-4) will travel to Manteno (26-5; 10-4) tomorrow at 10  in an I-8 showdown.

Jackie Robinson South

Simeon (21-7; 11-2) blasted Brooks 11-1 in five innings behind a five-hitter from Wolverine Darien Clifton (1-0). Freshman Terrance Robertson had two hits and drove in a pair for the JR-South co-leaders.

Metro Suburban

Glenbard South (21-8; 13-2) swept away Elmwood Park 6-1 behind a complete-game gem from Raider Mike Atkinson. Red-hot Raider Doren Blake had three more hits and EIU-bound Mitch Gasbarro had two hits and two-RBI for the MSC-leaders. 

Illiana Christian (22-7; 12-2) kept pace with Glenbard South as the Vikings swept away Fenton 16-2 in five innings. Viking senior Aaron Gibson drove home four for IC. Viking junior Josh Van Beek (4-1) picked up the win on the mound.

Illiana Christian will play Elmwood Park today in Lansing and then begin a best of three series with Glenbard South, for the MSC championship,on Tuesday in Glen Ellyn.

Wednesday the two clubs will meet again in Glen Ellyn and then travel to Lansing on Thursday for the season finale.

Mississippi Valley

No. 15 Troy-Triad (24-5; 10-0) survived arch-rival Waterloo 8-7 to wrap up an undefeated championship run through the MVC. Knight junior Keaton Wright had three hits and plated four Triad runs. Senior Blake Thomas had two hits and drove in three for the MVC champions. Waterloo falls to (13-13; 5-4).

Highland (21-9; 7-3) finished in second place in the MVC, winning an 8-7 thriller over Mascoutah on Thursday.

N. Illinois Big 12 East

Defending Class 3A state champs Kaneland (20-8; 13-2) won the NIB-12 East title with a 3-2 win over Morris on Thursday. Knight Ray Barry had two hits and two RBI to lead the Knights past the Redskins.

Yorkville (18-10-1; 12-3) defeated Sycamore 5-1 to complete the Foxes sweep of Sycamore on Thursday.

NIC-10

No. 23 Rockford Boylan (22-7; 14-0) won for the 18^th consecutive time, rallying past Belvidere 5-2 on Thursday. With the Titans trailing 2-1, Britt Seivert and Jake Nunez went deep to lead Boylan past the pesky Bucs.

Jake Sheley allowed a run in four innings to pick up the win and do-everything Boylan senior Joe Kubera fired three scoreless innings to nail down the save for the NIC-10 leaders.

South Suburban Crossovers

No. 21 Oak Forest (21-4; 15-2 Blue) defeated Evergreen Park 6-1 behind University of Louisville-bound RHP Kyle Funkhouser (9-1). Funkhouser allowed three-hits, with six strikeouts, in five innings of work, as the red-hot Bengals won for the 17^th straight time. 

Red-hot Lemont (19-7; 14-2 Blue) smashed Eisenhower 10-0 in five innings. Indian senior Jeff Worsech went deep, doubled and plated three Indian runs. Indian senior LHP Fred Schuett (4-2) fired a four-hitter at the Cardinals with seven strikeouts.

Richards (17-11;12-3) clinched a tie for the SCC-Red title with a 6-1 win over Tinley Park on Thursday.

Oak Lawn (17-9; 11-4 Red) blanked Hillcrest 10-0 in five innings as the Spartans kept pace with Richards in the SSC-Red. Spartan junior Connor Niemac (1-0) struck out seven Hawks in his three scoreless innings on the mound for OLCHS.

Junior Marcin Krzysiak tattooed the baseball on Thursday. Krzysiak had a perfect day at the plate with three singles and a triple and plated four big Spartan runs.

Billy Thome (no relation to Jim) hit like the future Hall of Famer, with a single and a double. Thome drove in two and scored four times for the Spartans. Junior 2B Lorenzo Gudino joined the party with two RBI.

Southland

Crete-Monee (18-10; 11-1) clinched a share of the SC with a 7-1 win over Rich East on Thursday. Warrior Chris Cockle (6-2) fired a six-hitter at the Rockets with 10 punch-outs for the SC champs.

Rich Central (18-11; 8-4) beat Bloom 8-2 behind Olympian senior Nolan Bullock, who had an RBI and scored four RC runs.

Southwest Prairie

No. 12 Plainfield North (26-3; 16-2) wrapped up another SWPC title with a thrilling come-from-behind 3-2 win over Minooka (20-11; 12-6) on Thursday. University of Notre Dame-bound Joey Cresta once again beat the Indians with a two-run walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh to send head coach John Darlington and Tiger Nation into orbit.

Southwest Suburban Blue

Lockport (19-10; 8-3) beat Lincoln-Way Central 5-3 on Thursday to stay even with No. 10 Sandburg (20-5; 9-3) in the loss column in the SWSC-Blue.

Porter senior SS Tommy Hook had two hits and drove home a Porter run to lead the Porters past the Knights. Porter junior C Derek Bangert chipped in with a hit and an RBI for the SWSC-Blue tri-leaders.

Joliet West (17-11; 8-3) stayed alive in the SWC-Blue race as the Tigers crushed arch-rival Joliet Central 9-0 on Thursday. Tiger junior Jake Herron (5-3)

lowered his 0.69 ERA with a complete-game shutout and red-hot Matt Koran homered again and drove in three Tiger runs. Tiger Justin Jackson came off the bench and went deep for the SWSC-Blue tri-leaders.

Southwestern

No. 9 O’Fallon (25-6; 11-1) blanked Belleville West 5-0 behind a two-hit masterpiece by SIU-Edwardsville-bound RHP Sammy Hopkins. Hopkins improves to 8-1 on the season. Panther junior Tanner Hudson had two hits and two RBI to lead the O’Fallon attack as the Panthers clinched a tie for the SWC championship.

Alton (20-8; 9-3) destroyed winless East St. Louis 24-1 in five innings.

No. 19 Edwardsville (22-8; 9-4) defeated Granite City 6-2 behind Tiger senior Derek Page. Page doubled, went deep and drove in five of the six Tiger runs. Junior Zack Sparks (5-3) picked up the win on the mound.

Upstate 8 River

St. Charles East (19-7; 17-3) rallied past Geneva 11-9 as the Viking defense imploded, making six errors handing the victory to the Fighting Saints. Johnny Hondik (4-2) picked up the win for STC-East with a stellar 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Senior Jordan Hayes led the Saints attack with three hits and an RBI. Junior Joey Hoscheit chipped in with two hits and an RBI for the U8C-leaders.

St. Charles North (21-8; 15-4) won for the 16^th time in its last 17^th game defeating Elgin 13-3 in six innings. North Star Erik Nelson had a 4-for-4 day with four RBI to lead the North Star attack. EIU-recruit Jake Johansmeier had two hits and plated four North Star runs. Nick Gilmore chipped in with a 3-fo-r3 day with a ribbie.

Upstate 8 Valley

Neuqua Valley (22-7; 16-3) blasted Waubonsie Valley 13-3 in five innings.

Nonconference

No. 13 Benton (27-6) defeated Hamilton County 5-3 on Thursday. Bradley University-bound Ty Leffler (7-2) fired a seven-hitter with 11 strikeouts for the Rangers. Senor Jared Johnson had a double, two singles and drove home two Ranger runs to lead the SIRR-Ohio champs attack.

No. 21 Hinsdale South (23-4) stung the Class 4A defending state champs from Lyons Township 9-5 in a West Suburban Conference crossover game on Thursday. Lyons Township falls to (16-10)

St. Rita (19-10) defeated Stagg 9-5 on Thursday. Stagg falls to 12-16.