Baseball: Lake County roundup
Lakes 12, Northside Prep 0: Brett Buchholz belted a grand slam, and Lakes' baseball team started the postseason with a 12-0 win over Northside Prep in five innings at Redmond Park in Bensenville on Wednesday.
Buchholz also doubled, finishing 2-for-3 with 5 RBI, as the top-seeded Eagles advanced to the Class 3A Fenton regional final. Lakes will play No. 8 Marian Central at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Bryan Gross was also 2-for-3 for the Eagles, while Matt Nordlund was 1-for-2 with a walk, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Winning pitcher Ben Haviland threw all 5 innings, striking out six, walking none and allowing 6 hits.
Grayslake Central 13, Woodstock North 0: At Woodstock North, the third-seeded Rams pounded out 14 hits in their Class 3A regional semifinal.
The win sends Grayslake Central to its eighth consecutive regional final, where the Rams will play Saturday at 11 a.m. against the winner of today's game between No. 6 Woodstock and No. 11 Richmond-Burton.
Sophomore Ben Fitzgerald had a double, 2 singles and 3 RBI in leading the Rams offense. Jay Hoffman and Devin Moran both had a pair of singles and each scored 3 times. Greg Gauger and Anthony Fitzgerald doubled, and Sam Nozicka added a pair of singles.
Sam Ruhlmann tossed 3 scoreless innings, scattering 2 hits and striking out four in picking up his fifth win on the season. Fellow juniors Griffin Edwards and Brett Whalen both threw scoreless innings for GC.
Vernon Hills 26, Senn 2: At Antioch, 12 players had hits for the second-seeded Cougars.
Robby Nardini, Brendan Keogh, Kyle Hull and Connor McNamara all had extra-base hits for Vernon Hills, which will play in Saturday's 10 a.m. Class 3A regional final against the winner of today's contest between No. 7 Harvard and No. 10 Antioch. Sam Perlin earned the win. Ryan Larsen and Eric Weiler both threw an inning of scoreless relief.
Prairie Ridge 10, Grant 0: At Prairie Ridge, the fourth-seeded Bulldogs saw their season end in a five-inning Class 4A regional semifinal.
Grant finished 25-12.