Good summer turning into better spring for Crystal Lake South
Summer success isn't always a barometer of how well a high school baseball team performs the following season, but Crystal Lake South has parlayed last July's fifth-place finish in the Phil Lawler Summer Classic into a fantastic spring thus far.
Led by pitchers Matthew Schingel and Ryan Wilkening and third-year shortstop Garrett Bright, the Gators swept a 2-game series this week from Jacobs to improve to 17-3 overall, 8-2 in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division.
The sweep was CL South's answer to last Saturday's 2-1 loss to Dundee-Crown, which snapped the Gators' 11-game winning streak.
"It's huge," said Bright, a St. Xavier recruit who against Jacobs went 3-for-6 with a double and 3 RBI. "After losing to Dundee-Crown, we had to sweep Jacobs and we got it done."
The sweep left the Gators tied near the top of the FVC Valley with Jacobs, which entered Thursday's action with an 18-5 overall record, 8-2 in league play. Cary-Grove (12-6-1, 6-1) is the only FVC Valley team with 1 loss.
"It gives us some more momentum for the second half of the season," CL South coach Brian Bogda said of the sweep. "Our guys and their guys both have some big battles ahead. We have 7 more conference games so we'll take them one at a time."
CL South and Cary-Grove square off in a 2-game set May 15-16. Jacobs and Cary-Grove close the FVC season with games on May 18 and 20.
Schingel (8-0), a right-handed contact pitcher committed to Northwest Missouri State, generally keeps teams from barreling up with his big curveball. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound senior has won all 7 starts and has a win in relief. In 38⅔ innings, he has yielded only 9 earned runs on 26 hits, walked 17 and struck out 24.
Wilkening (3-1) leads the Gators with a 1.21 ERA in 34⅔ innings. In 7 appearances (6 starts) the 6-foot, 190-pound right-hander bound for Wisconsin Oshkosh has limited the opposition to 6 earned runs on 33 hits, struck out 19 and walked 2.
Together, Schingel and Wilkening have pitched 73.1 of 138 innings for the Gators (53.1 percent).
Bright has been more than dependable at shortstop. He saved Wednesday's 4-3 win over Jacobs by making a tough play to seal it. With the bases loaded and two outs he ranged to his right for a sliding grab of a groundball and fired to second base for a game-ending forceout.
Bright also shines at the plate. Through the Jacobs series, he was hitting .484 (30-for-62) with 9 doubles, a triple, a home run, 28 RBI and 21 runs scored. He has drawn 10 walks and struck out only 4 times. Bright gets on base at a .541 clip and slugs .710 for a downright gaudy 1.250 OPS.
Led by Bright, the Gators are hitting .331 as a team. Other hot-hitting regulars include first baseman/pitcher John Constantino (.393), second baseman Dakota Siwula (.385), Cameron Geisser (.340), Schingel (.326) center fielder/pitcher Mike Avella (.323) and catcher Nick Van Witzenburg (.319).
Benefiting: Some area baseball teams plan to dedicate upcoming games to charitable causes.
On Saturday, May 7, Burlington Central and Marengo will play a Big Northern East game to benefit the Alzheimer's Association of Greater Chicago at Judson University at 7 p.m., the goal being to raise money and awareness.
Both teams will wear white and purple to honor those affected by the disease as well as their caretakers. Those uniforms will be sold for $20 after the game. There will also be a 50/50 split the pot and raffle drawings for team gear and wood bats signed by players from both teams.
The event includes a silent auction for Chicago sports memorabilia and a silent email auction for two Cubs tickets for Friday, July 24 against Philadelphia (section 204). Bids can be sent to Marengo coach Josh Maas at maas@riley18.org. Bidding begins at face value ($80) and continues through May 8 at 10 p.m. All proceeds go to the Alzheimer's Association of Greater Chicago.
Anyone who would like to donate to the cause, volunteer on game night or have the name of a loved one affected by Alzheimer's included in the program, contact Maas or Burlington Central coach Kyle Nelson at kyle.Nelson@central301.net.
As mentioned in this space two weeks ago, Hampshire and Woodstock North will host their second annual "Strike Out Cancer" event on May 16.
Rohde closed: Jacobs closer Johnny Rohde notched his eighth save in as many opportunities last Friday in a 5-2 win at Huntley.
Not only has Rohde already surpassed the 6 saves recorded by last year's area leader in the Fox Valley, Danny Denz of Dundee-Crown, he now owns what is believed to be the school record in that category. Zac Camacho. a 2012 Jacobs graduate, finished his senior season with 6 saves in 7 chances.
"It's just good to keep winning in conference and keep having the kind of season that we are," Rohde said after the save at Huntley.