Baseball/Scouting Class 4A DeKalb sectional
Class 4A DeKalb sectional
Matchups: Streamwood (28-6) vs. Boylan (26-5), today at 4 p.m.; Cary-Grove (27-9) vs. Dundee-Crown (24-13), Thursday at 4 p.m.
How they got here: Streamwood defeated 7-2 and South Elgin 5-4 in 11 innings to win the Hoffman Estates regional; Dundee-Crown defeated DeKalb 8-7 and Huntley 1-0 to win the Huntley regional; Cary-Grove defeated Crystal Lake South 8-3 and Prairie Ridge 9-0 to win the McHenry regional; Boylan defeated Guilford 4-3 and Hononegah 7-6 to win its own regional.
Streamwood vs. Boylan: June baseball is new to Streamwood, which cleared a huge hurdle Saturday by outlasting rival South Elgin to win the first baseball regional title in school history. The Sabres gained confidence last summer when they charged all the way to the state championship game. Now, they hope to keep the momentum rolling.
“Saturday was the toughest mental and emotional game that they've played all season,” Streamwood coach Steve Diversey said of his players. “Getting that first monkey off their back was huge. I think they think the sky is the limit for them.”
Villanova-bound left-hander Josh Harris (6-2, 3.18 ERA, 104 strikeouts) pitched 6 innings Saturday and could be available to close against Boylan, Diversey said, but the starter will be picked from among junior lefty Dalton Lundeen (6-1, 2.30, 60), junior Dominick Tatone (4-0, 2.40, 24) and senior Richie Gorski (4-1, 1.91, 15). Lundeen tossed a complete game in the regional semifinal and pitched an inning of relief in the title game.
“We'll have to assess how our guys are feeling and make a decision from there,” Diversey said Tuesday. The co-champions of the Upstate Eight River will face the Titans, who won their first regional since 2007 on the heels of a NIC-10 Conference championship. Mark Garton slugged a 2-run home run in the bottom of the seventh to lift Boylan past Guilford in the playoff opener.
“They're going to be a tough team from what I can gather,” Diversey said. “They're not going to get cheated at the plate. I haven't been able to find out much about their pitching, but everybody's got a No. 1 and a No. 2. We need to play the best that we can and anything at this point is a bonus. There's no tomorrow if you lose, so let's not make this our last.”
Cary-Grove vs. Dundee-Crown: These fellow members of the Valley Division of the Fox Valley Conference met twice during the regular season. Dundee-Crown won the first game 5-4 on a walkoff single by sophomore catcher Dylan Kissack, thereby snapping a 7-game win streak for the Trojans at the time. Cary-Grove returned the favor with a 9-4 win behind Ohio State-bound Matt Panek's 3-hit effort. The 6-foot-2 left-hander will face the Chargers again Thursday barring anything unforeseen,
Cary-Grove coach Don Sutherland said Tuesday.
The Cary-Grove staff also includes senior Kevin Weber, who has come on strong since a sore shoulder delayed his season debut until April 9, not to mention talented hurler John Spoelstra (6-2). Weber scattered 7 singles, struck out 6 and walked 2 in a shutout of Prairie Ridge in the regional title game.
“They all have rest and they've all pitched well,” Sutherland said. “If one falters, we'll go with the next one. Dundee-Crown is an awfully good hitting team, maybe the best in the sectional, so you need good pitching.”
The Chargers are hitting .316 as a team, led by junior Jake Romano (. 400, 11 doubles, 3 triples, 4 HR, 27 RBI) and seniors Scott Nowicke (. 362, 14 doubles, 3 triples, 7 HR, 29 RBI), Nick Spagnola (. 351, 7 doubles, 27 RBI), Steve Schwartz (. 340, 6 doubles, 26 RBI) and Kissack (. 357, 11 doubles, 26 RBI). However, it was a dazzling pitching performance by 6-foot-3 left-hander Mike Hazelhurst that vaulted D-C into sectional play for the first time since 2007. The junior held off late threats to preserve a 1-0, complete-game victory at Huntley and could return on full rest. Though coach Jon Sawyer wouldn't name his starter Tuesday, Sutherland said he expects the Trojans will face Hazelhurst, who is 7-1 with an ERA of 1.31, 38 strikeouts and 18 walks in 53⅓ innings.
Other options for D-C include senior Michael Lodi (6-2, 3.38 ERA, 58 IP), Erik Brewer (3-3, 3.65) and Tyler Gross (3-2, 4.37). D-C pitching will try to tame the bats of Cary-Grove seniors Michael Vilardo and Nick Richter. Vilardo, a shortstop committed to Richmond, leads the Fox Valley area in home runs (14) and RBI (54). Richter missed most of his junior year in the spring of 2010 after the all-area point guard broke his leg midway through basketball season. Entering the postseason, he led the Trojans with a batting average of .449 and on-base percentage of .545 with 36 runs scored.
Dundee-Crown won sectional titles in 2001 and 2007 and advanced to state each time. Cary-Grove won sectional titles in 2006 and 2009 and finished fourth in Class 4A in 2009.
“We have a ton of respect for Cary and their program, and they're a great team again this year,” Sawyer said. “Obviously, they're pretty familiar with us and we're pretty familiar with them. I think it will be a good game.” Is familiarity with the foe a pro or a con at the sectional level? “You always worry about facing someone you know with the idea that your kids might not take them seriously enough,” Sutherland said, “but I know our kids respect D-C because they play real well and hit the ball hard. We'll take them seriously.”
Advancement: The winner of the DeKalb sectional will face the winner of the St. Charles North sectional in the Rockford River Hawks supersectional on Monday, June 6 at 7 p.m. The four teams remaining in the St. Charles North sectional are No. 1 Lyons (32-4), No. 2 St. Charles East (27-10), No 5. Glenbard North (23-11) and No. 14 Glenbard West (18-18). Lyons plays Glenbard North today at 4 p.m. St. Charles East faces Glenbard West Thursday at 4 p.m.