PBR DAILY ROUNDUP

May 8

By Drake Skleba

Big Northern East

Burlington Central (20-7; 8-0) blanked Genoa-Kingston 7-0 behind a two-hit masterpiece by Rocket Mike Scott (2-2). Senior C Tanner Scott hammered his 11^th bomb of 2012 and drove home two Rocket runs.

Richmond-Burton (21-7; 7-1) kept pace with Burlington Central with a 10-0 five-inning victory over Harvard. Rocket senior RHP Ryne Blanton (6-3) fired a five-inning no-hitter at the Hornets. Blanton faced the minimum, picking off the only Hornet base runner that walked.

Blanton helped himself at the plate with a double, triple and drove home three Rocket runs. On Wednesday in Richmond at 4:30 the “Battle of the Rockets 2” will take place between Burlington Central and Richmond Burton in the BNE game of the year.

Big 12

No. 14 Bloomington (23-5; 8-1) defeated Decatur Eisenhower 9-5 on Tuesday. Senior Matt Mardis plated a pair for the Purple Raiders an now has 31 RBI for 2012. Raider Jayden Thompson (5-1) struck out 11 in his solid 5 1/3 innings of work for the BIG 12 leaders.

No. 16 Normal West (23-6; 7-2) crushed Decatur MacArthur 19-3 in five innings on Tuesday. Wildcat junior Josh Appel went the distance to improve to 4-0 on the mound for West.

Appel helped himself with a first-inning grand-slam to keep head coach Chris Hawkins’ ‘Cats within a game of Bloomington head coach Steve Clapps’ Purple Raiders of Bloomington.

On Tuesday the 15^th the two rivals will meet at Normal West at 4:30. The PBR’s Drake Skleba will be on the Westside of Normal for all the action.

Catholic Blue

No. 1 St. Laurence (26-3-1; 12-2) defeated Loyola 18-6 in Glenview on Tuesday. Viking senior 1B Brandon Mallder continued his assault on the baseball with a homer and a double and three RBI to lead the top-ranked Viking attack. Junior Kevin Smith had four hits, including a homer and drove home three for the top-ranked Vikings.

UAB-bound Nick Altobella (3-0) picked up the win on the mound for the CCL-Blue co-leaders.

No. 2 Providence (22-6; 12-2) kept pace with St. Laurence and sent No. 3 Mount Carmel (24-4; 10-4) to its fourth loss in its last five games, defeating the Caravan 7-5 in nine innings on Tuesday.

SEMO-bound SS Brandon Baggetto had two hits, including a game-winning two-run bomb and had three RBI for Providence. The dynamic duo of University of Notre Dame-bound Zak Kutsulis and Ball State University-bound Sam Tidaback went deep for the second straight game for the CCL-Blue co-leaders.

Brother Rice (17-11; 8-6) outslugged No. 22 St. Rita 7-6 on Tuesday. Crusader senior Garrett O’Neil went deep with a man on for the Crusader game-winner. Kevin Biondic had three hits and an RBI and nailed down the save for Brother Rice. St. Rita falls to (18-9; 9-5).

Central State 8

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin (17-10; 10-3) hammered Springfield Lanphier 13-1 in five innings behind junior RHP Brian Richard. Richard fired a five-hitter at the Lions and was 3-for-3 with five RBI.

Central Suburban North

Highland Park (14-14; 7-5) made things interesting in the CSL-North by defeating Glenbrook North 7-2 on Tuesday. Giant Jake Rubin (6-4) fired a four-hitter at the Spartans with six strikeouts. Giant seniors Max Kaplan and Christian Biondi as well as junior Howie Carl went deep for HP. Glenbrook North falls to (20-9; 8-4). The two clubs will meet again on Thursday in Northbrook.  

Central Suburban South

No. 6 Maine South (22-3; 12-0) defeated Glenbrook South 6-4 to clinch a share of the CSL-South championship. (See Drake Skleba’s story)

DuPage Valley

Naperville Central (18-11; 12-4) beat Naperville North 5-3 at Central on Tuesday. Naperville North falls to (17-12; 11-5) (See Sean Duncan’s uninspiring story).

Wheaton North (18-9; 12-4) kept pace with Naperville Central with a 6-4 win over Glenbard North on Tuesday.

East Suburban Catholic

No.4 Joliet Catholic (20-6-1; 9-2) hammered Marian Catholic 10-0 in five innings behind a one-hitter from the Hilltoppers University of Illinois-bound LHP Kevin Duchene (6-0).

Fox Valley Fox

Grayslake Central (21-6; 14-1) wrapped up the FVC-Fox title with a 13-0 dismantling of Woodstock North in five innings. Red-hot Ram Joe Gurchak went deep with a Ram aboard for the FVC-Fox champs.

Fox Valley Valley

Sizzling No. 25 Crystal Lake South (22-7; 13-2) put up a 17-7 score the football Gators are familiar with in the fall, on Tuesday. The Gators scored five in the first, four in the second and then eight in the sixth for a 17-7 six-inning victory over Dundee-Crown.

Seniors Jordan Van Dyck and Max Meitzler each plated four Gator runs.

Huntley (16-13; 8-7) defeated Cary-Grove 3-1 behind Red Raider senior RHP Bryan Doherty (5-2). Doherty allowed one run and six hits in his six-inning stint on Tuesday. Doherty fanned 11 Trojan hitters before giving way to Red Raider closer junior RHP Josh Perkins in the seventh, who nailed down the save.

Senior Nick Corpolongo drove home a run and scored a run for the Red Raiders. Senior Colin Lyman chipped in with a pair of hits.

Cary-Grove falls to (19-9; 11-3) and trails Crystal Lake South by 1 ½ games in the Valley race.

Prairie Ridge (19-9; 11-3) stayed in the Valley chase with a thrilling come-from-behind 2-1 win over Jacobs (16-11; 9-5) on Tuesday. The Wolves scored two unearned runs in the top of the seventh to stay within 1 ½ games of Valley leader Crystal Lake South.

Interstate 8 North

Lisle (28-5; 13-1) defeated Sandwich 8-0 behind a no-hitter from Lion senior Jared Jayne (6-0).

Interstate 8 South

A classic took place on Tuesday in Herscher (26-6; 10-3), as the host Tigers hung on for a thrilling 2-0 victory over Manteno (26-4; 10-3) in an I-8 South showdown. Tiger senior LHP Matt Webber (6-2) and NIU-Bound LHP Jordan Ruckman combined on a two-hit shutout of the hard-hitting Panthers of Manteno.

The Panthers loaded the bases against Webber with one out in the top of the seventh. Herscher head coach Eric Regez went to his ace Ruckman to nail down the final two outs of this thriller.  Ruckman obliged his head coach with the save and Herscher joins Manteno atop the I-8 South standings.

The two clubs will meet in Manteno at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning for the I-8 South championship. Be there.

Jackie Robinson North

Lane Tech (15-11; 12-0) blanked Mather 5-0 on Tuesday.

Jackie Robinson South

Harlan (19-9; 9-2) beat Kenwood 11-4 to stay even with Simeon for the JR-South lead. Falcon Jerome McKinney had a perfect 3-for-3 day with three RBI for the JR-South co-leaders.

Metro Suburban

Glenbard South (19-8; 11-2) routed Elmwood Park 11-1 in five innings on Tuesday. Raider Ethan Gaspiro had four hits and plated two for the MSC co-leaders.

Mid-Illini

Morton (24-5; 10-2) rallied past Metamora 6-5 on Tuesday to take over first-place in the M-I. Potter David Rossi’s sac-fly in the top of the seventh won it for Morton. Metamora falls to (22-6; 6-4)  

Mid-Suburban East

Dartmouth-Bound RHP Matt Danielak (7-1) went the distance as Hersey (20-6; 9-4) defeated Rolling Meadows 5-2 on Tuesday. With the win the Huskies vault into a first-place tie in the MSL-East with Prospect (12-15; 9-4). The Knights fell 7-3 to Elk Grove on Tuesday.

North Suburban Lake

No. 7 Mundelein (23-4; 8-1) blanked Zion Benton 10-0 in five innings behind Mustang RHP Jared Mandel (8-1). Mandel went the distance with seven strikeouts for the NSC Lake leaders.

Libertyville (16-8; 7-2) stayed within a game of first-place Mundelein with a 5-2 win over Lake Forest on Tuesday. Senior Anthony Mack had a big two-run triple for the Wildcats and Dar Townsend (6-2) had a fine six-inning performance to pick up the win on the mound for Libertyville.

N. Illinois Big 12-East

Life is good for the defending Class 3A state champs from Kaneland (18-8; 11-2). On Tuesday the Knights were no-hit by Morris but still won 1-0. The Knights scored the game-winner on a balk. Knight junior John Hopkins (9-2) fired a one-hit shutout at the Redskins.

Yorkville (16-10-1; 10-3) fell 3-2 to Sycamore to fall into second place in NIB-12 East standings. Junior C Chris Hill and senior 3B Chris Correa hit solo-shots for the Foxes.

N. Illinois Big 12-West

Ottawa (21-6; 11-2) defeated Sterling 6-0 behind a four-hit shutout from Pirate Jordan Jansen. Junior CF Mike Hermosillo and Pirate leadoff man Buddy Ahlstrom each had two hits and two RBI to lead the NIB-12 co-leaders.

La Salle-Peru (21-6; 11-2) will invade King Field in Ottawa at 4:30 for the NIB-12 game of the year.

NIC-10

Rockford Boylan (20-7; 12-0) won for the 16^th straight time, defeating Belvidere 7-2 on Tuesday. The Titans will host Machesney Park Harlem (21-7; 10-2) today at 5. The PBR’s Sean Duncan will be in Rockford for all the action.

South Seven

Mount Vernon (23-7; 10-0) ran the table in the South Seven Conference again with a 3-1 win over Centralia. Ram junior Jared Anthis (9-0) fired a five-hit masterpiece at the Orphans with four strikeouts. Landon Thomas continued his torrid hitting for MV with a single and a double and two RBI for the SSC champions. Mount Vernon is 29-1 in South Seven action the last three years.

South Suburban Blue

No. 21 Oak Forest (22-4; 14-2) crushed Hillcrest twice, 13-0 and 10-0 in a pair of five-inning contests on Tuesday.

Lemont (16-7; 12-2) white-washed Tinley Park 10-0 in six innings. The Indian‘s University of Illinois-bound LHP Tyler Jay (7-3) won for the sixth consecutive time, firing a two-hitter at the Titans. Jay fanned nine and added four hits with his bat, including two doubles and two RBI.

South Suburban Red

Richards (15-11; 10-3) was trounced 20-8 in five innings by Shepard (12-12; 9-6) and Astro Matt Scott. Scott had four hits including a two-run homer and plated six Astro runs.

Oak Lawn (16-9; 9-4) stayed within a game of Richards with a 4-2 win over Shepard on Tuesday. Spartan senior RHP Nick Mozwecz (6-3) struck out 10 Astros and fired a three-hitter for OLCHS. Spartan senior captain Kyle Smith drove home his 30^th RBI of 2012.

S. Illinois River-River Ohio

After striking out 17 in his last start against Mount Vernon, the question was what would the University of Illinois-recruit junior RHP Ryne Roper (5-3) do for an encore on Tuesday. All Roper did was fire a five-inning no-hitter at Massac County as No. 20 Harrisburg (24-7; 7-2) rolled to a 12-0 win over the Patriots. John A. Logan College-bound Ty McGowan provided Roper with all the offense he would need. McGowan hit a bomb and drove in six runs for the Bulldogs.

Southland

Crete-Monee (17-10; 10-1) slipped past Kankakee 2-1 as Warrior Mike Wojtanowski fired a three-hitter at the Kays. Wojtanowski punched-out an even dozen Kankakee hitters

Southwest Prairie
No. 12 Plainfield North (24-3; 14-2) defeated Minooka 2-1 as University of Notre Dame-bound RHP Joey Cresta (7-0) out-dueled Minooka’s Bellarmine University-bound LHP Josh Jiminez (8-2).

Cresta had two hits and his last one was the game-winner in the bottom of the seventh. Minooka falls to 20-9; 12-4. The two clubs will meet again on Wednesday and return to Plainfield for a matchup on Thursday.

Southwest Suburban Blue

No. 10 Sandburg (19-4; 9-2) rallied past Joliet Central 3-2 on a two-run bomb from Air Force-recruit Zach Reks. Eagle Brent Jurceka (5-2) picked up the win on the mound for the SWSC-Blue leaders.

Lockport (18-10; 8-3) rolled past Bolingbrook 7-5 behind a 4-for-4 afternoon from Porter junior Austin Mastela. Junior Evan Martens (6-2) picked up the Porter win on the mound and senior Rob Walus nailed down another save for LP.

Southwest Suburban Red

No. 5 Lincoln-Way North (24-5; 10-0) blasted Thornridge 13-0 in five innings behind a two-hit, three RBI day from Phoenix senior Jack Troike.

Andrew (20-7; 10-0) kept pace with L-W North with a 6-3 win over Bradley-Bourbonnais. 6-foot-3, 225 pound junior Zach Klockowski went 3-for-3 with a home run and two RBI for the T-Bolts. T-Bolt senior Justin Rzeszutko also had a perfect 3-for-3 day for Andrew.

Andrew will invade Frankfort for the first of a huge SWSC-Red two-game series with L-W North on Wednesday. The two clubs will battle in Tinley Park on Friday at 4:30. You can watch the Friday Phoenix-T-Bolt battle LIVE at: www.prepbaseballreport.highschoolcube.com

Suburban Christian Blue

Marmion (16-9; 12-3) defeated St. Edward 9-4 behind a four-hitter from Cadet Connor Riley. Riley struck out 15 Green Wave hitters. Cadet senior 3B Connor Medernach had a pair of doubles and drove home four runs for the SCC-Blue leaders.

Suburban Christian Gold

Aurora Christian (22-6; 10-2) crushed Immaculate Conception 13-0 in five innings behind a no-hitter from NIU-Bound LHP Bobby Kuntzendorf (9-0). Senior Josh Haugen and sophomore Brad Walgren each had three hits and three RBI for the Eagles. Valpo-bound Jake Hansen chipped in with a pair of hits and a pair of RBI for the SSC-Gold leaders.

Upstate 8 River

St. Charles East (18-7; 16-3) blanked Elgin Larkin 9-0 behind a two-hitter from Fighting Saint senior ace Kyle Manske. Manske (6-0) fanned seven Royal hitters. Junior Joey Hoscheit provided Manske with all the runs he would need when he hammered a bases-clearing double in the second inning. 

Geneva (19-6; 11-6) defeated rival Batavia 4-2 on Tuesday behind a two-hit, two RBI performance from Viking Anthony Bragg.

Upstate 8 Valley

Neuqua Valley (20-7; 14-3) swept away South Elgin 8-7 to complete its three-game sweep of second-place South Elgin (16-7; 13-6). Wildcat junior C Dylan Goss singled home fellow junior Tanner Geisel, who had doubled, with the eventual game-winner in the bottom of the sixth. Fellow junior David Gerber (6-0) picked up the win on the mound for NV. University of Illinois-bound Nick Blackburn had a perfect 4-for-4 day at the plate, with a pair of doubles and a stolen base for the U8C leaders.

West Suburban Gold

No. 11 Hinsdale South (22-4; 13-2) swept away Addison Trail 2-1 behind a four-hit gem from Hornet ace RHP P.J. Schuster (7-0). With the win the Hornets clinch a tie for a share of the WSC-Gold championship.

West Suburban Silver

Lyons Township (16-7-1; 10-2) defeated Hinsdale Central 8-2 behind Lion senior Steve Heilenbach, who went deep with a man on for the WSC-Silver leaders.

York (19-9; 12-3) awaits the Lions for a huge three-game set beginning on Saturday with a double-header in Elmhurst. The Dukes beat Morton West 5-4 in a WSC-Crossover affair on Tuesday. Duke senior RHP River Pitlock picked up the win on the mound for York.

Oak Park (18-6-1; 8-4) trounced Downers Grove North 10-0 in five innings behind the Huskies Purdue-bound C Jack Picchiotti. The future Boilermaker had a single and a double and plated three Huskie runs.

Oak Park will host Lyons Township on Wednesday and then travel to Western Springs to meet the Lions on Friday. PBR Executive Director Sean Duncan will be in Western Springs on Friday for all of the action.

Nonconference

No. 13 Benton (26-6) fell 5-1 to two-time defending Class 2A State champion Teutopolis (24-5). T-Town senior Mark Niebrugge hit a mammoth three-run bomb in the seventh to lead the Wooden Shoes to victory.

Peoria Notre Dame (15-9) defeated Western Big 6 champion Galesburg 6-1 on Tuesday. Galesburg (22-7) clinched the WB6 crown with a huge double-dip over Rock Island Alleman on Saturday.

SIRR-Mississippi champs Anna-Jonesboro (23-7) scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to edge Murphysboro 6-5 on Tuesday. Murphysboro falls to (21-7).