Lancers place fifth at Conant
The Conant gym was nearly empty, but the final score of Game 3 of the championship match at the Cougars boys volleyball tournament still shined brightly on the scoreboard.
You couldn't have blamed the hosts if they wanted to keep the board lit up all night.
Conant, winners of 2 matches in pool play and a berth in the title game by virtue of a tiebreaker, rallied to stun Lyons Township 20-25, 26-24, 17-16 to win the tourney championship.
Lyons had won 3 matches and 7 straight games without a loss until Conant slammed the door.
"This is amazing," said Conant senior outside hitter Dan Aloisio. "It's great to see our team come together as a unit."
"Dedication," added senior Ryan Schraub when asked the reason for Conant's success. "We all wanted to win this so bad."
Lake Park beat the Cougars in pool play and only a disappointing loss to York kept them from a spot in the championship game.
The Lancers recovered to beat Highland Park in the fifth-place match as Matt Durbin hit 11 kills.
"Our team played extremely well," said first- year Lake Park coach Brad Baker. "The level of improvement from Tuesday (a loss to Schaumburg) to today is fantastic."
-- Bill Esbrook
Baseball
Driscoll 7, Westmont 0:ŒSenior pitcher Anthony Campanella was perfect through 5 innings with 8 strikeouts before being relieved in the host Highlanders' season-opening victory.
Steve Schwabe, Jim Vondruska and Gabe Tumlos each had 2 hits for Driscoll.
Naperville North 14, Oswego 5:ŒA 9-run top of the eighth inning powered the visiting Huskies (2-1) to their nonconference win. Jordan Tassio and Devon Moon each had 3 hits and a double. Derek Locascio, who had 2 hits and 3 RBI, won in relief of Mike Nodzenski.
Glenbard South 5, Glenbard North 1:ŒTony Scotellaro (1-0) pitched a 4-hitter with 7 strikeouts for the Raiders (1-1) in their nonconference win. Joe Biagini, who had 2 RBI, and Will Hill had 2 hits apiece.
Wheaton North 6, Riverside-Brookfield 5:ŒLuke Thorpe's squeeze bunt in the bottom of the seventh inning capped a 3-run rally and drove in the winning run for the host Falcons in their season opener. Jack Quinn's infield single tied the game. Wade Cervenka went 3-for-4 while Trey Martin notched the win with 3 innings of relief.
Lisle 4, Walther Lutheran 3:ŒJordan Jayne's 2-run fifth-inning single gave the visiting Lions (1-0) the lead in their nonconference victory. Starting pitcher Billy Potter also had 2 RBI while Jon Surber pitched 4 innings to win in relief.
Downers South 8, Glenbard East 2:ŒA 7-run bottom of the fifth inning broke open the nonconference win for the Mustangs in both teams' season opener. Sean Enright's 2-run double highlighted the 7-hit outburst. Joe Luft (1-0) picked up the win.
Keegan Knoll went 2-for-4 for Glenbard East while Eric Knol drove in both Rams runs in the seventh inning.
Softball
Glenbard South 5, Bartlett 2:ŒThe visiting Raiders (2-0) scored 4 runs in the fifth inning to pull away to the nonconference victory.
Winning pitcher Robin Borowski (1-0) struck out eight and walked none while driving in 2 runs with a fifth-inning single. Nikki Simpson launched a solo homer.
Glenbard North 7, St. Charles East 4:ŒJenny Nelson went 2-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBI for the host Panthers (1-0) in their nonconference win. Winning pitcher Hannah Santora struck out 12.
Timothy Christian 8, Aurora Central 5:ŒWinning pitcher Janna Strodtman (1-1) had 3 hits and 3 RBI for the host Trojans (1-1) in the nonconference win. Lauren Hansberger went 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored.
Hinsdale South 4, Reavis 1:ŒPaula Louise homered and drove in 2 runs for the host Hornets in their nonconference win. Carly Hinni allowed no hits and struck out five in 3 innings to earn the victory.