Baseball: Scouting Fox Valley area sectionals

Class 4A

St. Charles East sectionalPairings: Wednesday - Game 1) St. Charles North (32-4) vs. Glenbard North (24-10), 4:30 p.m.; Thursday - Game 2) South Elgin (23-7) vs. Lake Park (15-21), 4:30 p.m.; Saturday - Game 3) sectional championship 11 a.m.

How they got here: No. 1 St. Charles North defeated No. 19 Streamwood 4-2 and No. 8 Schaumburg 7-0 to win the Schaumburg regional; No. 4 Glenbard North defeated No. 20 Rolling Meadows 10-0 and No. 5 Geneva 3-1 to win the Geneva regional; No. 7 South Elgin defeated No. 10 Batavia 9-2 and No. 2 Willowbrook 4-0 to win the Wheaton North regional; No. 14 Lake Park defeated No. 18 Addison Trail 11-1, No. 3 St. Charles East 5-4 and No. 11 Glenbard West 8-4 to win the Addison Trail regional.

Outlook: South Elgin has won 8 of its last 9 state tournament games dating back to last May, including the 2014 Class 4A third-place game. The Storm recaptured their postseason mojo in the regional round at Wheaton North, where they excelled largely due to excellent pitching. Armed with senior right-handers Max Keough (7-1) and Ryan Weiss (5-2), coach Jim Kating has a potent 1-2 punch at his disposal. Keough held Batavia to 2 earned runs in a regional semifinal and would pitch against Lake Park on 8 days rest if he gets the nod as expected. Weiss shut out Willowbrook on 1 hit and 2 walks and struck out 9 in a 4-0 title-game victory on Saturday. Both boast impressive stat lines. Keough (UW-Oshkosh) owns a 0.99 earned-run average. In 49⅓ innings, he has 58 strikeouts and 12 walks. Weiss, who threw a no-hitter against Glenbard East earlier this season, lowered his ERA from 2.51 to 1.89 with the shutout of Willowbrook. In 44⅓ innings, he has struck out 48 and walked 8. "Those two all year have set the tone for the staff as to how to pitch and go about their business," South Elgin coach Jim Kating said. "I'm very confident in them and I think our players believe in them, too." Former Upstate Eight opponent Lake Park is the surprise sectional entrant. The Lancers upset No. 3 St. Charles East when Colin Jameson and Brody Thompson hit back-to-back, ninth-innning doubles to score the eventual winning run. Coach Dan Colucci's bunch averaged 8 runs in 3 regional games. "They're a scrappy team," Kating said. "Dan will have them playing at a high level. They are very competitive kids and I expect a very solid game from them." Upstate Eight River champion St. Charles North is the favorite, led by Kansas State commit Cory Wright, the program's all-time wins leader on the mound with 22. Against Schaumburg on Saturday, it took Wright just 64 pitches to complete a 1-hitter with 4 strikeouts and no walks. DuPage Valley Conference champion Glenbard North powered past Geneva 3-1 on Monday on the strength of second baseman Nick Barrett's 3-run home run. Eric Orze, who pitched a 4-hitter against Geneva, is 11-0.

Advancement: The winner of the St. Charles East sectional will face the winner of the Niles West sectional in the Schaumburg supersectional at Boomers Stadium on Monday, June 8 at 6:30 p.m.

Cary-Grove sectionalPairings: Wednesday - Game 1) Jacobs (26-10) vs. DeKalb (19-16), 4 p.m.; Thursday - Game 2) McHenry (23-13) vs. Rockford Boylan Catholic (31-1-1), 4 p.m.; Saturday - Game 3) sectional championship, 11 a.m.

How they got here: No. 1 regional seed Jacobs defeated No. 4 Dundee-Crown 5-4 in 12 innings and No. 2 Cary-Grove 3-0 to win the Jacobs regional; No. 1 DeKalb defeated No. 4 Elgin 10-3 and No. 2 Rockford East 3-2 to win the DeKalb regional; No. 3 McHenry defeated No. 2 Crystal Lake South 5-1 and No. 1 Prairie Ridge 5-3 to win the Prairie Ridge regional; No. 1 Boylan defeated No. 5 Guilford 10-0 and No. 2 Hononegah 3-1 to win the Boylan regional.

Outlook: Jacobs seeks its third straight appearance in a sectional final and its second sectional title in three seasons. To reach Saturday's championship game, the Golden Eagles must take care of business against DeKalb, a team they defeated 11-1 in six innings on April 6. "That was light years ago, eight weeks ago," Jacobs coach Jamie Murray said. "It's a baseball game. It doesn't mater who we play. We just have to play our game: pitch, play good defense and get timely hits." If the Golden Eagles stay with their regional rotation, Brown commit Ryan George (6-0) would start against DeKalb. He took a no-decision against Dundee-Crown last Wednesday. In 50⅓ innings, George has 48 strikeouts, 17 walks and a 1.95 ERA. Ryan Sargent would be available on regular rest if Jacobs makes it to the final. In Monday's regional title game against FVC Valley champion Cary-Grove, Sargent (4-2) tossed a 2-hit shutout with 1 walk and 9 strikeouts to lower his ERA to 1.72 in 53 innings. He has walked 15 and struck out 60. "We're not done yet," Sargent, an Ohio Univ. signee, proclaimed after his complete game. Murray can always turn to Casey Dennison (42⅓ IP, 1.65 ERA) and hard-throwing closer Johnny Rohde in relief. Rohde threw 3⅔ scoreless innings against Dundee-Crown and Dennison threw 3 perfect innings to earn the win. Rohde enters the sectional with 10 saves in 11 tries, 31 strikeouts, 6 walks and a 0.91 ERA in 22⅔ innings. The Golden Eagles enter sectional play hitting .243 overall. The only regular hitting better than .300 is shortstop Matt Kozlak (.324). DeKalb finished 1-11 in the East Division of the Northern Illinois Big 12, but those struggles are a memory now that the Barbs have won 5 straight, including Saturday's rain-shortened 3-2 victory over Rockford East in six innings. Junior Connor Hoyle will pitch against Jacobs if DeKalb coach Justin Keck sticks with his regional rotation. In a regional semifinal last Wednesday against Elgin, Hoyle threw a 2-hitter with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts. McHenry sophomore Bobby Miller is a force. Committed to NCAA power Louisville, he not only pitched a 3-hitter with 8 strikeouts against 24-win Crystal Lake South last Thursday, he took the hill on short rest Monday and pitched 4⅓ innings of 6-hit ball with no walks and 5 strikeouts to earn the win in the title game against FVC Fox champion Prairie Ridge. Miller also doubled and drove in 2 runs to lead the upset of the Wolves. Boylan is a legitimate threat to win the sectional based on its quality nonconference victories. The Titans defeated CL South 6-5 on March 20, defeated McHenry 7-2 on March 21, defeated Prairie Ridge 12-3 on April 4 and beat up eventual Mid Suburban Leauge-West champion Barrington 11-1 on April 11.

Advancement: The winner of the Cary-Grove sectional will play the winner of the Stevenson sectional in the Rockford Aviators Stadium supersectional on Monday, June 8 at 6:30 p.m.