Wrap: Lipp, Funke help Huntley past Whips; Westminster wins
Craig Lipp provided the offensive fireworks while Tanner Funke was stellar on the mound.
The junior standouts were the key components in Huntley's 8-1 defeat of Hampshire in non-conference baseball action in Huntley Wednesday afternoon.
Lipp, who hit for the cycle (single, double, triple, homer), was 4-for-4 with 3 RBI and 3 runs scored.
"I have been in a bad hitting slump lately," said Lipp. "I really saw the ball well today. I was able to read the pitcher today and had some great swings. I was excited to get out of my slump."
Funke, who struck out 11 and walked 1 in 7 innings, blanked the Whip-Purs (2-5) for 6 innings before surrendering a RBI double to Joe Moore in the seventh inning. The Huntley junior left-hander allowed 1 run on 5 hits.
"I got a little tired in the seventh," said Funke. "But, overall I thought I had good stuff. My fastball was moving well and I changed speeds well."
Huntley coach Andy Jakubowski was impressed with the performances of Lipp and Funke.
"Craig is a solid hitter but he was in a bad slump and really struggling," said the Huntley coach. "He really swung the bat well today and proved why he is a tremendous hitter. This was Tanner's third straight outstanding pitching performance. He threw the ball well and mixed his pitches well."
After leaving 4 runners on without scoring a run in the first 2 innings of the game, Huntley finally solved Hampshire sophomore Kent Larson with 4 runs in the third. The key hits for the Red Raiders (7-3) were a 2-run homer by Lipp and a RBI double by No. 9 hitter Jimmy Gordon.
Huntley added a run in the fourth on a RBI single by Nathan Prokuski and 3 in the fifth on a RBI triple by Lipp, a RBI single by Raymond Foote and a RBI single from Chris Klein.
Huntley, which scored 8 runs on 14 hits, got 2 hits each from Foote and Tyler Funke.
James Goebbert had 2 of Hampshire's 5 hits.
"This was our worst effort of the season," said Hampshire coach Steve Ream. "We have only two seniors on the team and the juniors are afraid at the plate right now. It is all mental right now. I know they have the ability to hit but they haven't shown it yet. Our kids aren't hitting and they are taking that out to the field."
Westminster 4, Walther Lutheran 3: A game-winning home run off the bat of Ted Grossman, who was 2-for-3 in the game, lifted Westminster Christian's baseball team to a 4-3 Private School League win over Walther Lutheran. Ben Palmer (3 IP, 5 strikeouts) pitched in relief to shut down Walther Lutheran, which led 3-0 before the Warriors (7-3, 1-1) nabbed a 3-run fifth inning with timely offense from Carter Ward (2 RBI), Casey Schuring (2-for-4) and Tyler Beachler (RBI). Palmer also went 2-for-3 at the dish.
St. Edward 9, Aurora Central 7: Big bats from Mike Kondrath (2-for-3, 2b), Jordan Torres (2-for-4, 3 RBI), T.J. Madzy (3-for-4, RBI), Riley Coleman (2-for-3, RBI) and Anthony Bauer (2-for-4) led the Green Wave (2-4, 1-1) to this Suburban Catholic Conference win, their first of the season. Jim Fraczek got the win allowing just 1 unearned run while striking out seven in 5 innings of work.
Dundee-Crown 4, Grayslake Central 0: With a 2-hit shutout from Ben Rodriguez, Dundee-Crown (3-2) put this Fox Valley Conference crossover victory in the books. Rodriguez improved to 2-0 on the year, striking out five in the complete game effort. At the dish, Brendon Schumacher, Kyle Livengood, Trevor Wodsland and Willie Larsen each had RBI for the Chargers.
Waubonsie Valley 4, South Elgin 3: Despite solid hitting from Jon Meuser (2-for-3, 2b, 2 RBI), Kyle Fitzpatrick (2b, 2 runs) and Kyle Daker (2b), South Elgin (1-2, 1-2) dropped its second straight Upstate Eight Conference contest. Pete Scaffidi took the loss allowing 4 runs on 5 hits in 5 innings of work.
CL South 10, Marengo 8: Ian Gardeck was 2-for-3 with a double, home run and 4 RBI as the Gators (4-1) prevailed in this nonconference game. Sean Wilson had a double and Steve Kedroski had 2 hits and 3 RBI for South. Easton Kowalski was the winning pitcher.