advertisement

McEnroe, Fleming produce for Elk Grove

Jack McEnroe and Chuck Fleming helped Elk Grove get an edge in the Mid-Suburban East baseball race with big days at the plate.

The pair each had 3 hits and a RBI as the Grenadiers blew past host Buffalo Grove 8-2. Elk Grove (20-9, 11-3) took a half-game lead over Prospect, which was idle Thursday.

"It was a very important win for us," said Elk Grove coach Terry Beyna. "The runs really helped Jonathan (Maday). He grinded it out and got the job done for us.

"We got some big hits and created some distance and comfort there."

Both teams have West champion Barrington remaining on their schedule. Elk Grove will play at the Broncos on Friday before hosting Palatine on Monday. Meanwhile, Prospect plays at Fremd, has a make-up game against Rolling Meadows left to play and then hosts Barrington on Monday.

Should the teams be tied after Monday, they'd share the East championship. But in that case, Elk Grove would play in the MSL title game by virtue of the second tiebreaker, which is record within the East Division.

"That's why this game was so important to us," Beyna said. "It is very tough to sweep someone in the MSL, so we are very pleased."

McEnroe got things started for the Grens. He belted a towering home run to left to give the Grenadiers a 1-0 lead in the second.

"It felt really good," said McEnroe, who belted his first round tripper. "I saw the ball well of out their lefthander. It was a real good day for me."

Elk Grove added another run when it loaded the bases on 2 errors and a single by Sean Fege. Matt Wary then had a sacrifice fly to deep center to double the lead to 2-0.

The Grens extended their lead to 3-0 in the fourth as Chuck Fleming doubled home Wary, who had singled earlier.

"I have been seeing the ball real well," Fleming said. "I have had very good approach and I have been trying to hit the ball middle to opposite field. And I was able to do that."

Buffalo Grove, which was shut out on Wednesday by Elk Grove, ended its scoreless streak at 10 innings against the Grens by picking up a run in its half of the fourth. Joey Pinakidis, who got the first hit of the game for the Bison, came home to score on Justin Hasek's double.

Elk Grove came right back to increase its lead to 5-1 in its next at-bat.

McEnroe singled to lead off the inning. Pinch runner Bobby Hlavin stole second and came home to score on Austin Shallcross' single. He then scored on Taylor O'Connor's double.

Buffalo Grove threatened to get back into the game in the fifth. The Bison loaded the bases thanks to infield hits by Nate D'Onofrio and Mike Kleczynski. Elk Grove pitcher Jonathan Maday induced a double play and a ground to end the inning, limiting the damage to just 1 run.

"I think we have some guys pressing at the plate right now," Buffalo Grove coach Tim Miller said. "We were hitting for a while, but we are kind of in a funk. They are thinking too much at the plate and not focusing."

Elk Grove, which pounded out 13 hits, added a run in each of the last 2 innings.

Brandon Post doubled home Fleming and Wary, who had 2 hits, doubled home Christian Camacho.

Conant 13, Barrington 1 (5 inn.): The visiting Cougars got the bats going in a 5-inning MSL West triumph at Barrington.

Anthony Forte doubled, homered and finished with 3 RBI for the Cougars (16-12, 7-8). Jimmy McLaughlin had a pair of doubles while Matt Fauth and James Brady had 2 hits apiece.

Matthew Mills picked up the victory after allowing 3 hits and 5 walks in 5 innings.

MSL West champ Barrington dropped to 21-8 overall and 12-2 in the MSL.

Fremd 12, Schaumburg 4: Jake LaGasse hit a 3-run homer and finished with 4 RBI to help the host Vikings power past the Saxons.

Among the multiple hitters for Fremd (14-13, 8-6) were Cody Patenaude (2-4, double, 1 RBI), Kaz Higuchi (3-3, 2 steals) and J.T. Kolderup (2-3, walk).

Jared Swenson allowed 3 earned runs in his 5 innings to get the win.

Schaumburg (11-12-1, 5-9) got a homer from Brendan Beck, who drove in 2 runs.

Hoffman Estates 7, Rolling Meadows 3: Brandon Harris hit his first homer of the season, a 2-run shot to left, to help host Hoffman Estates past Rolling Meadows in MSL action.

Harris finished with 3 hits, and Doug Rathje and Stephan Bonilla had 2 apiece for the Hawks.

Ryan Davalos went 6 innings for Hoffman Estates (12-12, 5-10) to earn the win.

Terry Moran homered for Rolling Meadows (4-23, 2-12), which got 2 hits apiece from Moran, Jack O'Neill and Luka Pavlakis.

Glenbrook North 11, Maine West 1 (5 inn.): David Burnside tossed a 5-inning no-hitter to lift the host Spartans in CSL North play. Burnside walked five and struck out four.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.