Wrap: Neuqua's McKinley makes it quick
With the wind blowing in and Neuqua Valley's Mike McKinley on the mound in Naperville Thursday, raise your hand if you expected a fast, low-scoring game.
If your hand is up in the air, congratulations. Give yourself a pat on the back.
In a game that lasted just an hour and a half, McKinley once again led the Wildcats to victory, a 6-1 decision that saw McKinley strike out seven Royals hitters.
"Curveball, definitely with two strikes, was working, and our infield played pretty well," McKinley (6-1) said. "The fastball was good with the wind blowing in, which helps a lot."
Larkin's lone run against McKinley came in the top of the third, when senior third baseman John Banks' infield single scored leadoff hitter Justin Kalusa.
Neuqua Valley (22-3, 17-1 Upstate Eight Conference) answered back in the bottom of the fourth, capitalizing on a pair of Royals errors to take a 3-1 lead. Shortstop Travis Weldon's double to the right-field wall scored Jordan Williamson, tying the game at 1. Jason David poked an infield single three batters later, giving the Wildcats the 2-run advantage.
For David, the teamwide approach at the plate remains simple.
"We just come out swinging," David said. "Hit the ball as hard as we can, and get lucky sometimes."
Larkin (10-12, 9-10) coach Doug Ellett felt starter Luc Geier pitched well enough to win, but the defensive lapses proved too much to overcome.
"I thought he threw very, very well," Ellett said. "He changed speeds a lot, and I thought maybe in the whole game made two bad pitches.
"We were trying to play some small ball, and we were hoping to win a 3-2 ballgame or something like that. We really let them relax when we gave them three runs in the fourth inning. If we get out of that and we're ahead 1-0, you've maybe got a different ballgame."
Neuqua Valley tacked on 3 more runs in the bottom of the fifth, two of which came on catcher Geoff Rowan's line-drive double into the left-center field gap. Senior Brian McNabb's RBI single to right field scored the game's final run.
The Wildcats hitters adjusted to Geier the second time through the lineup, earning good at-bats against the type of pitcher they typically struggle with.
"We didn't know we were going to make the adjustments the second time through," Wildcats coach Robin Renner said. "I thought (Geier) did a really good job of throwing his breaking ball and changeup for strikes … and we struggle with those types of pitchers."
-- Matthew McClarey
Naperville Central 1, WW South 0:ŒJunior Pat Kaminska (4-2) needed only 69 pitches to notch a no-hitter for the Redhawks (15-8, 10-6) in their DuPage Valley Conference win. Kaminska struck out six and walked none.
Only one baserunner reached base for the Tigers (9-13, 8-8) on a dropped flyball in the first inning. The Redhawks tallied the lone run in the bottom of the seventh inning when Nick Linne scored an unearned run on Sean Garbarino's single off hard-luck losing pitcher Nick Brown (1-5), who scattered 4 hits.
Wheaton North 7, West Chicago 0:ŒAric Dama (6-1) threw a 3-hitter with 3 strikeouts and no walks for the Falcons (18-8, 12-4) in their DuPage Valley Conference win. Wade Cervenka, who launched a 2-run homer, and Jack DeAno each had 2 hits.
Glenbard North 2, West Aurora 1:ŒThe Panthers (8-10, 8-8) scored both runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to pull out the DuPage Valley Conference victory. A sacrifice bunt with runners on first and second, and a throwing error brought home both runs. Austin Safranski (4-3) was the complete-game winner, allowing only 3 hits.
Naperville North 2, Glenbard East 1:ŒBen Kelsey's RBI single in the top of the sixth drove in Jordan Tassio with the winning run for the Huskies (18-8, 10-6) in their DuPage Valley Conference victory. Derek Locascio (3-2) pitched 6 innings for the win while Aaron Augustyniak picked up his second save.
Benet 5, St. Patrick 2:ŒThe Redwings (17-9, 11-3) scored all their runs in the third inning of their East Suburban Catholic Conference victory. Complete-game winner Patrick Callahan (1-1) allowed only 3 hits. Mike Vanchieri drove in 2 runs.
Addison Trail 10, Hinsdale Central 9:ŒNick Karakosta and Nick Kamide each had 3 hits and 2 home runs, combining for 7 RBI as the Blazers (3-24) won the nonconference game. Tim O'Connor was the winning pitcher.
Waubonsie Valley 13, East Aurora 0:ŒRyan Servos (2-1) struck out 9 for the Warriors (10-14, 7-9) in their five-inning Upstate Eight Conference win.
Timothy Christian 2, Chicago Christian 1:ŒTaylor Slager and Jonathon VanByssum each drove in runs for the Trojans (6-17, 5-11) in their Private School League win.
Softball
WW South 12, West Aurora 2:ŒSenior Virginia McAndrews (9-6) struck out 9 and allowed just 1 hit in the five-inning game. Meaghan Sullivan went 3-for-3 and scored twice, and Meghan Murphy was 2-for-3 with 2 runs and 2 RBI for the Tigers (14-10, 7-4 DuPage Valley Conference).
Hinsdale South 5, Addison Trail 2:ŒKelly Payne went 2-for-3 with a run and 3 RBI for the Hornets in their West Suburban Gold win in Darien. Lindsey Hinni was the winning pitcher.
Glenbard South 8, Geneva 0:ŒThe Raiders (18-5, 10-0) kept their perfect Western Sun Conference season going as Jill Trzaska (12-1) struck out 12 in a 2-hitter. Lauren Podgorski was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI, 2 runs and 2 stolen bases. Trzaska was 3-for-3 with a run scored.
Driscoll 9, St. Francis 3:ŒTarah McShane doubled and tripled, scored 2 runs and drove in a run for the Highlanders (11-15, 5-9) in their Suburban Catholic Conference game. Senior Nicole Gange (7-8) was the winning pitcher.
Boys volleyball
Naperville North d. Glenbard North:ŒJust call Andy Martin "Ace."
The senior defensive specialist for Naperville North put away 7 service aces to spark the host Huskies to a 22-25, 25-17, 25-21 victory over Glenbard North.
Martin, who also had 17 service points, delivered an ace to end Game 2, and then opened Game 3 with 8 straight points, including 3 aces, to lead the Huskies (20-12, 8-4) to a 10-1 lead.
But that early run evaporated over the course of the game as the Panthers (12-11, 5-7) fought back to cut the lead to 21-20.
With the Huskies leading 22-20, Martin again took his place at the service line and produced 2 points, including his last ace of the night.
"I told the kids during that Glenbard North comeback, that other guys have to step up between Andy's service runs," said Naperville North coach Roger Strausberger. "We can't wait six rotations for Andy to come back. He is one of our best servers. He steps back and gives you the deep floater and it moves around on you. He also did a great job defensively tonight."
The 7 aces in the match was a career high for Martin.
"Nobody was stepping up so I had to do something, and I'm only in the back row, so all I can do is dig and serve. When I serve the deep floater I focus on an individual, and if he messes up I keep giving it to him. If not, I go on to the next guy."
Strausberger thought the Huskies relaxed a little after opening up that commanding lead at the beginning of Game 3.
"Glenbard North was really scrapping," Strausberger said. "They had the energy and the momentum and they weren't going to quit. They wanted to win there at the end. Luckily for us, they made some errors down the stretch that got us out of some situations."
"When they were coming back," Martin said. "I was thinking, 'Let me serve.' I just wanted to get out there and win it."
Jon Bunge, who sprained his left ankle near the end of Game 3, led the Huskies with 12 kills, 2 blocks and 3 digs. Mike Henry had 8 kills a block and 3 digs and Mike Buckman dished out 19 assists.
Tyler Gustafson led the Panthers with a game-high 14 kills, including 5 kills during the Game 3 comeback, and he added 7 digs. He was supported by Chris Kosirog with 7 kills and 2 blocks, Kyle Winter with 5 kills and Adam Mark with 7 digs and 15 assists.
"Adam was doing a great job setting the ball when we made the run," said Glenbard North coach Dedra DeBenedetti. "His set selection was so good and that was really the key to our comeback."
DeBenedetti thought the Panthers' serve-receive was weak, but, of course, Martin had something to do with that.
"That comeback was encouraging," DeBenedetti said. "It says to me that we have the heart and that we can play. And that's going to be a big motivator at the end of the season. Naperville North is a strong team, and tonight they stayed positive, communicated on the court and they took advantage of momentum shifts and they played smart."
-- Neil Shalin