Articles filed under Baseball

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  White Sox bats explode for 14-7 win over IndiansMay 26, 2012 12:00 AM
  Paul Konerko had four hits, Dayan Viciedo homered in his third straight game, and the White Sox pounded Derek Lowe and the short-handed Cleveland Indians 14-7 Saturday for their eighth win in nine games.
  

   

• Helmich, Grant topple Cary-Grove May 26, 2012 12:00 AM
  A nasty collision between Grant's Jared Helmich and Cary-Grove's Matt DiCicco at first base in the top of the seventh inning looked much worse than it actually was. "I tried to avoid the guy," Helmich said. "There was nothing I could do, I was going full speed I just couldn't get away from him." Luckily, both players eventually got up, dusted themselves off and continued on. But it was Helmich who would ultimately forget the pain. How so? He'd pitch the bottom half of the inning with a 2-run lead and close the Trojans out for a 4-2 Class 4A McHenry regional championship win. It's the Bulldogs' first regional win since 2001.
  

   

• The bare truth: Lakes is a regional champ May 26, 2012 12:00 AM
  In throwing the one-and-done monkey off its back, the Lakes baseball team got a hand. A bare hand. A ball that took a bad hop screamed towards Lakes first baseman Ryan Burnett on Saturday afternoon. He improvised and used his bare hand to field the ball and step on the bag. It was not only the most impressive out of the day, it was also the final out in Lakes' 3-2 regional championship victory over host Antioch. And it put to an end the Eagles' string of three straight first-round postseason tournament exits. Lakes will meet Grayslake Central in Class 3A sectional play Wednesday at Grayslake Central.
  

   

• South Elgin graduates into sectional May 26, 2012 12:00 AM
  South Elgin senior Jake Buhman said he wasn't worried about missing his 2 p.m. high school graduation ceremony if it came to that, even when Saturday morning's Class 4A Larkin regional championship game against Elgin went to extra innings around noon. "I told my parents (Friday) night that everybody graduates, well, almost everybody," Buhman said, "but not everybody gets a chance to win a regional championship." Buhman's walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth made certain he and his senior teammates did both. With Ryan Ford at second base after a single and a sacrifice bunt by David Palmer, Buhman swatted an 0-2 curveball from reliever Alex Doty for an opposite-field single to left. Ford scored easily to clinch a 4-3 victory and the second regional title in three years for South Elgin (20-12).
  

   

• Schaumburg rallies past St. Charles N. May 26, 2012 12:00 AM
  Schaumburg's baseball team has a 10 in front of its name that is pretty misleading.
  

   

• Grayslake Central a regional championMay 26, 2012 12:00 AM
  Grayslake Central catcher Kristian Meehan had no trouble expressing his feelings on the importance of the Rams' 4-1 Class 3A regional championship victory over Notre Dame in Niles on Saturday. "Huge," said the senior. "This is why you do all the winter workouts, get up early in the morning, do all the sprints — it all pays off when you can get a great win like this for your team and your school. There's a lot of things that go on behind the scenes that people don't see."
  

   

• Burlington Central trips up Sycamore May 26, 2012 12:00 AM
  Burlington Central's Blake Alexander would not consider himself a stolen base threat. But he took one when it mattered the most. Tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the seven, Alexander stole second and eventually scored the game-winning run against Sycamore in the championship game of the Class 3A Hampshire baseball regional Saturday.
  

   

• DeFilippis blasts St. Charles E. to regional title May 26, 2012 12:00 AM
  As he stepped into the batter's box with runners on the corners and 2 out in the bottom of the first inning, St. Charles East's Troy DeFilippis was looking for one thing.
  

   

• Willowbrook wins first regional title since 1973 May 26, 2012 12:00 AM
  Willowbrook (22-14) claimed its first regional title since 1973 by beating District 88 rival Addison Trail 4-1 Saturday.
  

   

• Naperville Central savors regional title May 26, 2012 12:00 AM
  The Naperville Central baseball players all piled on each other at the pitcher's mound after winning pitcher Jimmy Nashert got the final Downers Grove South batter to fly out to right fielder Kevin Linne and finish a 5-1 victory Saturday in the Class 4A Downers Grove South regional final.
  

   

• Bartlett ‘not done yet’ May 26, 2012 12:00 AM
  There have been very few rough outings this year for Bartlett righthander Colin Nowak, but one of them came during the regular season against Lake Park.The Hawks junior more than made up for that in Saturday's Lake Park regional championship, striking out 14 Lancers without a walk and defeating the hosts 5-3 for the baseball program's first regional title in 10 years.
  

   

• Mandel, Mundelein warm to the task against Fremd May 26, 2012 12:00 AM
  Several pregame warm-up pitches and 2 full innings of work weren't enough for Mundelein senior left-hander Jared Mandel to get a feel for his off-speed pitches during Saturday's Class 4A regional championship game against Fremd at Mundelein. After falling behind 3-1, the Mundelein offense put together a decisive 5-run second inning in which 11 Mustang batters came to the plate. During the offensive outburst, Mandel was afforded the time to visit the bullpen to refine his off-speed pitches. The in-game bullpen session did the trick. Behind Mandel, the Mustangs (33-4) blanked Fremd for the remaining six innings en route to a 7-3 win and a regional title.
  

   
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  Why Spiegel has a new perspective today on baseball May 26, 2012 12:00 AM
  In his weekly baseball column, Matt Spiegel shares why he has a new perspective on the game he loves so much. It's a perspective rooted in the moment he peered through the backstop with his 79-year-old Pops to watch a young nephew, Jack, work his magic on the mound. It's a new feeling for Spiegel, and one he wants to enjoy for many years to come.
  

   

• Larson: Welcome to Boomer baseball May 25, 2012 12:00 AM
  Letter to the editor: Schaumburg Mayor Al Larson welcomes the suburbs to the inaugural season of Boomer baseball, and describes his joy for the summer game. "It is the only game where time doesn't matter," he writes. "It is the only game where if one hits good enough, if one plays good enough, the game could go on forever."
  

   
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  Images: Schaumburg Boomers Opening Night May 25, 2012 12:00 AM
  Images from Opening Night for the Schaumburg Boomers baseball team.
  

   
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  Cubs' losing streak hits 10 in 1-0 loss to Pirates May 25, 2012 12:00 AM
  A.J. Burnett and four relievers worked out of trouble all game and the Pittsburgh Pirates sent the Chicago Cubs to their 10th straight loss with a 1-0 victory on Friday night. Burnett (3-2) gave up six hits, struck out six and walked two over 5 1-3 innings and the National League's best bullpen made it stand up as the Pirates extended Chicago starter Ryan Dempster's misery.
  

   
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  Dunn homers, White Sox pound Indians 9-3 May 25, 2012 12:00 AM
  Adam Dunn hit his 15th homer, A.J. Pierzynski and Dayan Viciedo each went deep for the second time in as many nights, and the Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 9-3 on Friday for their seventh win in eight games.
  

   
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  Clemens trial could lose another juror May 25, 2012 12:00 AM
  The Roger Clemens trial could be losing another juror. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said Friday afternoon that Juror No. 16 learned that her mother has died. Walton recessed for the weekend immediately. He said the juror was too distraught to continue. He indicated he didn't expect the juror to continue in the trial, which has just wrapped up its sixth week.
  

   
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  Kendrick’s hit gives Anaheim 6-4 win in Seattle May 25, 2012 12:00 AM
  Pinch-hitter Howie Kendrick broke a tie in the top of the ninth inning with a two-run single off Seattle closer Brandon League, and the Los Angeles Angels rallied from a 4-0 deficit for a 6-4 win over the Mariners on Friday night.
  

   
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  Cruz drives in 8 for Rangers in rout of Blue Jays May 25, 2012 12:00 AM
  Nelson Cruz hit a grand slam and tied his career high with eight RBIs, Josh Hamilton hit his 19th home run of the season and the Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 14-3 Friday night.