Baseball/Fox Valley roundup
Crystal Lake South 4, Grayslake Central 3: The visiting Gators kept their hopes alive for a second straight split title in the Valley Division of the Fox Valley Conference with this crucial crossover victory against the three-time defending FVC Fox champions. Senior pitcher Tyler Hall improved to 8-1 with a 2-hitter. He allowed 3 unearned runs on 2 hits, walked 2 and struck out 9. Troy Bittenbender had 3 of the Gators’ 5 hits, including a 2-run, first-inning double that staked CL South (16-5, 13-5) a 2-0 lead.
To gain a split of the FVC Valley title with Huntley, which has already clinched a share, the Gators must win today’s makeup game at Dundee-Crown and get some help from McHenry, which hosts Huntley in the conference finale on Thursday.
McHenry 7, Huntley 0: Andrew Reisinger held Huntley (22-4, 14-4) to 6 hits as McHenry kept the Red Raiders from clinching the outright title in the FVC Valley. Mark Skonieczny had 2 hits, including a double, and Tyler Mindak went 2-for-2 with a walk. Losing pitcher Bryce Only (3-4) yielded 6 earned runs on 6 hits and 3 walks in 1 innings. Huntley can still clinch the outright FVC Valley title with a CL South loss at Dundee-Crown on Tuesday or a win at McHenry (19-13, 12-6) on Thursday.
Prairie Ridge 3, Cary-Grove 1: Mike Reitcheck allowed just 1 earned run on 2 hits in a victory that eliminated Cary-Grove (18-9, 12-6) from the FVC Valley title race. Losing pitcher Brandon McCumber (3-1) gave up 3 earned runs on 8 hits and 3 walks and struck out a batter in 7 innings. McCumber and Zach Marszal singled for the Trojans.
Crystal Lake Central 10, Hampshire 0: The Tigers scored 5 runs in the top of the seventh inning to turn this FVC Fox contest into a runaway. Mike Laramie, Brandon Wescher and Michael Merchut had the only singles for Hampshire (13-13, 5-12). Mike Dumoulin (4-3) allowed 8 earned runs in the loss.
Geneva 12, Elgin 6: The Maroons scored 5 runs in the bottom of the third inning to pull within 8-6, but the Vikings scored twice in the sixth and twice in the seventh to pull away in the Upstate Eight River. Ethan Henke (2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 runs), Brandon Higdon (2-for-3, RBI, run) and Nick Turner (1-for-3, 2 RBI) paced the offense for Elgin (6-19, 5-17). John Nelson (0-1) allowed 8 runs (2 earned) on 9 hits and 2 walks in 4 innings. Reliever Brock Chenier held the Maroons scoreless on 3 hits over 4 innings to earn the win for Geneva (17-13, 14-12).
Larkin 4, Streamwood 2: Jack McCracken held the Sabres to 2 earned runs by working his way around 8 hits and 3 walks in this complete-game victory in the Upstate Eight River. Tyler Kalusa went 2-for-4 and drove in a run, and Brayden Royse knocked in another for Larkin (10-16, 7-15), which benefitted from 3 errors. Michael Smith and Ramon Saldivar doubled, and Jeff Weaver finished 2-for-3 with a solo home run for Streamwood (5-19, 5-17). Collin Tatone (0-1) absorbed the loss.
Neuqua Valley 7, Bartlett 1: Visiting Neuqua Valley (23-8, 20-5) snapped a 1-1 tie with 3 runs in the fifth and added 3 in the sixth to prevail in the Upstate Eight Valley. Ben Havel (1-3) took the loss, allowing 7 earned runs on 12 hits and 2 walks in 5 innings. Mike Wick went 2-for-3 with a double for Bartlett (13-11, 12-11).