PBR DAILY ROUNDUP

May 2

By Drake Skleba

Big 12

When Normal Community and Normal West meet in any sport expect the unexpected. On Wednesday at The Corn Crib Stadium in Normal, Normal Community (9-15; 5-2) surprised its rival No.7 Normal West 3-0.

6-foot-6, 275-pound senior RHP Randy Heideman (3-4) fired a three-hit shutout at the hard-hitting Wildcats. It was the first time in two years that West was shutout. University of Illinois-recruit junior RHP Matthew James (7-1) suffered his first loss of the season for Normal West (20-5;5-1). The two rivals will meet again on Thursday at the Corn Crib at 4:30.

Catholic Blue

No. 2 St. Laurence (24-2-1; 10-1) defeated St. Rita 2-1 behind Viking senior 1B Brandon Mallder. Mallder doubled home the lead run for the Vikes in the bottom of the fifth to break up a scoreless battle between St. Laurence’s Zach Lewis (5-1) and St. Rita sophomore Mike Constanzo (5-1). St. Rita (16-8; 7-4) tied the game at one with a run in the sixth. St. Laurence left the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth against Mustang sophomore reliever Jake Shepski (3-1).

In the bottom of the seventh, Mallder ripped a double to the wall, plating Viking senior Joel Rotkvich, who had singled to lead off the inning, with the Viking game-winner. Viking sophomore Brad Wood (4-0) picked up the win in relief for the CCL-Blue leaders.

On Thursday, the two teams will continue Monday’s suspended game with St. Rita leading 2-0 in the top of the third at St. Rita at 4:30.

No. 1 Mount Carmel (24-3; 10-2) avenged its defeat to Loyola by crushing the Ramblers 9-0 on Wednesday. Caravan junior DH Tom Hayes led the MC attack with two hits and four RBI. Senior Brent Novosel went deep with a man on and junior Jason Gasser improved to 7-0 on the mound with a two-hit shutout. 

No. 4 Providence (19-6; 10-2) slipped past Brother Rice 4-3 behind Notre Dame-bound Zak Kutsulis and senior RF Kenny King. Kutsulis had three hits and drove home two Celtic run. King plated another big Celtic run. Brother Rice falls to (16-10; 6-5)

No. 4 Providence will host No. 1 Mount Carmel in New Lenox on Saturday at 11.

Central Suburban Crossover

No. 18 New Trier (14-6; 6-3 South) defeated Deerfield 6-2 behind Trevian junior RHP Grant Amick.

No.18 New Trier will meet No. 14 Maine South (20-3; 9-0) at 4:45 in Park Ridge on Thursday. You can watch the game LIVE at: www.prepbaseballreport.highschoolcube.com.

The PBR’s own Drake Skleba will be doing play-by-play. Legendary blues-singer Tyrone “T-Bone” Wilson had to return to his hometown of Sad Songs, Mississippi. His unique style of color commentary will be truly missed in today’s broadcast.

Central State 8

Chatham Glenwood (18-6; 10-2) destroyed Lincoln 14-1 in five innings. Titan sophomore Brian Hobbie (4-2) went the distance for Glenwood to pick up the win on the mound.

Glenwood scored nine times in the first inning highlighted by a three-run double by Titan senior Dane Blakeman. Senior Kyle O’Brien had a two-run double in the inning and senior Nate Prindle went deep with a pair of Titans aboard in the fifth.

Glenwood leads the CS8 by one game over Sacred Heart-Griffin (14-8; 8-2).

DuPage Valley

Naperville Central (15-7; 8-2) took over the lead in the DVC with a thrilling 3-2 win over Wheaton North (15-9; 7-3) in 11 exciting innings. Redhawk junior Cody Campbell sent everyone home when he ripped a walk-off-double to vault the Redhawks into first place in the DVC. Senior Ross Murphy plated the other two NC runs. Redhawk Zach Aranov fired three scoreless innings in relief to pick up the win.

East Suburban Catholic

No. 8 Marist (20-5; 8-0) blanked St. Viator 3-0 behind a two-hitter from Redhawk RHP John McKevitt (4-2). Junior Cody Bohanek continued his hot-hitting with a pair of hits for the ESCC-leader. Senior Bryan Polak chipped in with two hits and an RBI.

No. 10 Nazareth (21-2; 7-1) blasted Marian Catholic 7-1 behind six shutout innings from sophomore Jake Bartels (5-0). Sophomore Tim DalPorto led the Roadrunner attack with three hits and an RBI.

Carmel (14-7; 7-1) slipped past Notre Dame 1-0 on a sac-fly from Corsair Nick Carraciolo; after a 13-pitch at bat to stay in the ESCC race. Notre Dame (11-15; 3-6) senior ace RHP Danny Hyde blanked the Corsairs over 5 1/3 innings to lower his team-leading ERA to 0.79.

No. 5 Joliet Catholic Academy (17-5; 1; 6-1) blanked Benet Academy 7-0 behind University of Illinois-bound LHP Kevin Duchene (5-0) on Wednesday. Duchene fired a three-hitter with 13 big strikeouts.

Fox Valley Fox

Grayslake Central (19-5; 12-1) routed Johnsburg 14-5 for the Rams 13^th consecutive victory. Ram senior Jon Gurchak continued his torridhitting driving in another five runs for the FVC-Fox leaders.

Fox Valley-Valley

Surging Crystal Lake South (20-7; 11-2) swept away McHenry 3-1 behind a four-hitter from Gator ace Jordan Van Dyck (8-1). Van Dyke struck out nine and the run he allowed was unearned. C Tyler Salm led the CLS attack with a perfect 3-for-3 day and an RBI. Indian State-bound Nick Martin chipped in with an RBI single.

The Gators will travel to Prairie Ridge on Thursday at 4:30, in a battle of Crystal Lake rivals. Executive Director of the PBR, Sean Duncan, will be in Crystal Lake for the big FVC-Valley showdown.

Interstate 8 North

No. 25 Lisle (25-5; 11-1) split a twin-bill with Plano. The Lions won the first game 3-2. Senior RHP Kazim Kahn (4-2) picked up the win on the mound for the I-8 North leaders. Plano (11-14; 4-7) struck for three runs in the bottom of the seventh to stun Lisle 7-6 in game two.

Interstate 8 South

Manteno (25-2; 9-2) took over the top spot in the I-8 South with an 8-1 win over Wilmington on Wednesday. Judson College-bound Panther 2B Mark Reardanz went deep with sacks full for Manteno. Panther Paul Dufrain fired five shutout innings at the Wildcats to improve to 5-1 on the mound for Manteno.

Interstate 8 Crossovers

Herscher (23-6; 9-3 South) was stunned by Dwight 1-0 in an I-8 Crossover on Wednesday.

Mid-Illini

Metamora (21-5; 6-3) stunned M-I co-leader Morton 1-0. Redbird sophomore Brerndan Nachtreib singled home the game-winner off of Illinois State-bound Morton ace Will Headean (6-2), in the sixth. Headean struck out 16 Redbird hitters in his heart-breaking defeat for Morton (20-5;7-2).

No.23 Bartonville Limestone (17-3; 7-1) leads Washington (18-4; 8-2) by percentage points in the wild Mid-Illini Conference race.

Mid-Suburban East

Hersey (18-4; 8-3) shut out Elk Grove 7-0, behind a one-hitter from Huskie RHP Trevor Haas (5-1).

Prospect (11-14; 8-3) slaughtered Wheeling 17-5 in five inning on Wednesday to stay atop the MSL-East with Hersey (18-4; 8-3). Knight senior Erik Krohm and junior Dan Kavanaugh each plated four big runs for the MSL-East co-leaders.

Mid-Suburban West

Fremd (15-8; 8-2) beat Conant 7-3 in the completion of yesterday’s suspended game. Viking Keith Browning had three hits and Jack Anderson plated two Viking runs making a winner of Viking starting pitcher Lee Breitzman.

NIC-10

Red-Hot Rockford Boylan (18-7; 10-0) won for the 14^th consecutive time, blanking Rockford Guilford 5-0 behind Judson College-bound Bryan Engelsen. Engelsen fired a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts against the Vikings. Zach Stoner homered and tripled for the Titans. Senior Joe Kubera chipped in with a pair of booming doubles for the NIC-10 leaders.

Machesney Park Harlem (19-7; 8-2) stayed in the NIC-10 race with a 10-0 pasting of Freeport. Huskie senior Parker Anderson fired a three-hitter at the Pretzels. Speedy Dylan Elmer scored three runs for Harlem and pilfered his 22nd base of 2012.

Mississippi Valley

No.11 Troy-Triad (20-4; 8-0) won a wild slugfest 22-13 over Bethalto CivicMemorial (7-19; 0-7). Knight senior C Dylan Johnson had quite a day at the Bethalto Sports Complex Wednesday night. Johnson doubled, tripled twice and plated five Triad runs. Senior Andy Range went deep and had a pair of doubles and had four RBI.

Junior Lucas Infante picked up the win on the mound for the Knights to improve to 7-1.

Highland (19-6; 5-3) bombed Jerseyville 13-0 in five innings. Bulldog junior Zach Stieb had a perfect 3-for-3 day with three RBI to lead Highland.

North Suburban Lake

Libertyville (15-8; 6-2) bounced back to stun No. 6 Mundelein 5-3. Augustana-bound RHP Dar Townsend (5-2) shut out the hard-hitting Mustangs for six-innings. Senior Wildcat Anthony Mack had three hits, including two doubles to lead the Libertyville attack. Mundelein (21-4; 7-1) went to work on the Libertyville bullpen in the seventh but fell short.

North Suburban Lake

Vernon Hills (19-6; 7-1) shutout Grant 3-0 behind sophomore LHP Pat Crowley. Crowley (6-1) fired a seven-hit shutout at the Bulldogs for the NSC-Prairie leaders. Butler-bound Chris Marras had a big RBI triple for the Cougars.

Sangamo

Williamsville’s University of Iowa-bound RHP Nick Roscetti (6-1) fired a no-hitter at Pleasant Plains (16-8; 5-1), leading the Bullets to a 2-0 SC victory. Roscetti struck out seven Cardinal hitters as defending Sangamo Conference champion, Williamsville (22-3; 5-0) takes over first-place in the SC.

South Seven

Mount Vernon (22-6; 9-0) defeated Cahokia 4-2 on Wednesday. Ram senior Zack Jones had two hits and picked up the save on the mound for MV. Trevor Flota picked up the win for the SSC champions.

South Suburban Blue

Oak Forest (18-4;11-2) shutout Shepard 9-0 behind University of Louisville-bound Kyle Funkhouser. Funkhouser fired a four-hitter at the Astros with eight strikeouts. Sophomore 1B Brian Richard had a 4-for-4 day with three RBI to lead the SSC-Blue leaders.

South Suburban Red

Reavis (10-15; 6-5) stunned Oak Lawn 3-2 in nine thrilling innings in Burbank on Wednesday. Ram senior Dave Beltran singled home the game-winner and there was great joy in Burbank on Wednesday night. Oak Lawnfalls to (15-9;9-3).

Southland

Crete-Monee (15-9; 8-1) destroyed Rich South 17-1 in five innings on Wednesday. The Warriors were led by Jake Kadis and Kyle Bumpass who each plated three CM runs.

Southwest Prairie

No. 3 Plainfield North (22-2; 12-1) and University of Notre Dame-bound Joey Cresta defeated city-rival Plainfield Central 5-4 on Wednesday. Cresta went the distance on the mound to improve to 6-0. Cresta went deep once and drove home two Tiger runs.

Minooka (18-8; 10-3) blasted Romeoville 11-0 in five innings as Bellarmine-bound Josh Jiminez fired a no-hitter at the Spartans. Jiminez fanned 10 as the Indians stayed close to SWPC-leader Plainfield North.

Southwest Suburban Blue

No. 15 Sandburg (16-4; 6-2) blanked Bolingbrook 4-0 to remain atop the SWSC-Blue standings.

Lockport (14-9; 5-3) handed Homewood-Flossmoor (16-7; 4-4) ace LHP Danny Lietz (5-4) his second loss in a week as the Porters defeated the Vikings 2-1 in Flossmoor on Wednesday. Junior RHP Evan Martens (5-2) fired a four-hitter at the Vikings. Junior Ted Snidanko went deep against Lietz. Lietz finished with a three-hitter with 13 strikeouts.

Lincoln-Way Central (14-9; 4-4) hammered Joliet Central 11-0 in five innings behind a no-hitter from Knight junior LHP Mike Mikolojcak (1-0). Knight senior SS Jack Krull had two hits and two RBI for L-W C.

Joliet West (12-9; 4-4) swept away Lincoln-Way East 4-2 in 14 innings on Wednesday. Tiger RHP Kyle Henderson allowed two runs in a solid 7-inning stint.  Junior Josh Herron’s two-run single in the top of the 14^th won it for the Tigers. Anthony Dinardo (3-3) allowed one run in his spectacular seven-inning relief performance to get the win. Dinardo fanned seven, L-W East (12-9; 4-4) hitters.

Southwest Suburban Red

No. 13 Lincoln-Way North (21-5; 8-0) blew-out Thornwood 15-5 in five innings as Phoenix senior Dom Hartman went deep with a pair of teammates aboard. Junior Josh Handzik chipped in with three ribbies for the SWSC-Red leaders.

Upstate 8 River

St. Charles North (15-7; 9-3) scored a touchdown with one minute left to beat Batavia 14-7. Actually Wright State-bound John Brodner had three hits and three RBI to keep the North Stars in the River race.

Geneva (16-4; 10-4) swept away Elgin 13-5 to stay in the River race with St. Charles East.

Upstate 8- Valley

Lake Park (14-9; 10-5) surprised South Elgin 5-0 behind Lancer junior RHP Christian Taugner. Taugner fired a one-hitter at the Storm with 11 punch-outs. Taugner improved to 6-1 on the season. South Elgin falls to (14-4; 11-3).

West Suburban Gold

No. 21 Hinsdale South (19-4; 10-2) swept away Morton West 5-1 behind Villanova-bound Emanuel Morris. The future Wildcat had two hits and two RBI to lead the WSC-co-leaders. P.J. Schuster improved to 6-0 for the Hornets firing a three-hitter at the Mustangs.

Addison Trail (17-8; 10-2) completed its sweep of Leyden, blasting the Eagles 11-0 in five innings behind Blazer Anthony Infantino who fired a one-hitter at Leyden. The WSC-Gold co-leaders will collide in a huge twin-bill at 2 on Saturday. No. 21 Hinsdale South vs. Addison Trail. The PBR’s Drake Skleba will be in Addison for the WSC-Gold showdown.

West Suburban Silver

WSC-Silver leader York (15-9; 10-3) slipped past Hinsdale Central 3-2 Wednesday. The Dukes scored single runs in the first three innings and hung on to preserve their position atop the WSC-Silver. Duke Louis Alcarez fired a six-hitter at the Red Devils with 4 strikeouts. Mike Shank and Kyle Burr plated the Duke runs.

Nonconference

No. 19 Harrisburg (20-7-1) blasted Eldorado 14-3 in five innings. Bulldog senior Ty McGowan went deep for the Bulldogs.

S. Illinois River-River-Mississippi champs Anna-Jonesboro (19-5) defeated Ziegler Royalton 7-3 on Wednesday.

Rock Island Alleman (19-9) outslugged Rock Falls 13-10 on Wednesday. Rock Falls falls to 21-10

Lakes (14-11) stunned No. 22 Prairie Ridge (18-7) 5-3 behind a three-hitter from Cougar senior Chris Hoffman.