Wrap: Rakow, Cadets handle Bulldogs

There's nothing like coaching against your former coach -- and beating him.

Dave Rakow, a first-year baseball coach at Marmion, faced his former coach, Batavia's Matt Holm, on Monday. And Rakow's Cadets won 7-2 in nonconference play in Batavia.

"A lot of what I know about baseball, I learned from coach Holm," said Rakow, a 1999 Batavia grad. "(Coaching against Holm) was a lot of fun."

The Cadets outhit the Bulldogs 14-6 with Matt Milroy leading the way with 3 hits and 3 RBI.

"I think that's the most hits we've had all season," Rakow said. "We've really hit our stride in the past couple of weeks."

Milroy was crucial in the fourth inning, when Marmion (12-8) scored 6 runs, thanks to his home run.

"He's one of the best players for us," Rakow said of Milroy. "He's been big for us."

Will Sterne and Zack Young also finished with 2 hits apiece for the Cadets. On the mound, Brain Burns pitched his third consecutive complete game and improved to 3-2 after allowing just a pair of walks and fanning 4 batters.

Batavia scored first in the opening inning and again in the seventh.

West Aurora 8, Neuqua Valley 6:ŒThe Blackhawks (14-14) scored four runs in the sixth, turning a 4-3 deficit into a five-run lead. The Wildcats (24-5) rallied for three runs in the seventh, but Jesse Pena retired the final two batters of the game.

DJ Smith went 2-for-4 with a homer and 3 RBI, including a two-run single in the sixth. Kyle McCradic and Chris Richter added two hits apiece.

St. Charles North 6, Waubonsie Valley 1:ŒBrian De la Torriente allowed three hits over 7 innings and won his fifth game of the year. He and Sam Weinberg both batted 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI. The North Stars improved to 20-7 overall and 15-5 in the UEC.

Aurora Central Catholic 12, Hampshire 5:ŒNick Czaja drilled a three-run homer in the third as the Chargers (11-13) won a nonconference game at home. Mark Adams added another homer and scored 3 runs.

Driscoll 7, St. Francis 3: Nothing like tuning up for the playoffs with your ninth home run of the season.

Sparked by the latest bomb from Illinois-bound senior catcher Adam Davis, Driscoll pulled away for a 7-3 Suburban Catholic Conference baseball victory over St. Francis Monday in Wheaton.

The Highlanders (20-8, 10-4), who on Wednesday open play in the Class 2A playoffs, appeared to be on cruise control after opening a 4-0 lead through five innings. But after St. Francis (10-14, 2-11) narrowed the gap to 4-3 in the sixth, Driscoll regained its margin behind Rick Divito's RBI double and Davis' blast over the left-field fence.

"We feel pretty confident right now, we're playing good defense and we're starting to hit the ball much better," Davis said. "As long as we keep doing that, we'll be fine."

Driscoll coach Sean Bieterman went with pitching by committee, and Anthony Campanella and winning pitcher Corey Eisenmann rolled through the first five innings. The duo faced just one batter over the minimum and didn't allow anyone to reach second base in front of an errorless defense.

"Defensively I thought we did a nice job, and we've been trying to focus on that lately," Bieterman said. "Our pitching plan was to use three different guys and that worked out well for us, too."

Mark Doroba's second-inning sacrifice fly gave Driscoll a 1-0 lead. Third-inning infield singles by Davis and Gabe Tumlos drove in 3 runs for a 4-0 advantage.

St. Francis had only 2 hits in the game before stringing together 3 hits and a pair of walks in the sixth inning. Losing pitcher Michelangelo Consiglio (0-2) singled home 2 runs and Jason Lombardi followed with an RBI double.

The Spartans had the tying run at third base with one out when Brian Hartzell sent a fly ball to center field. Driscoll outfielder Jim Vondruska caught the ball and fired home to Davis, who tagged the runner out at the plate for an inning-ending double play that preserved the 4-3 lead.

It was the second twin killing of the game by the Highlanders. Davis also threw out a runner trying to steal second base.

"We made a little noise late in the game," said Spartans coach Rich Janor. "That double play in the sixth killed us, but we're just trying to get better and take steps in the right direction. We're looking forward to clearing the slate for the playoffs."

-- Kevin Schmit

Boys tennis

Wheaton Academy 5, Geneva 0: Austin Hall won and Jason Roy won singles matches for the Warriors.

Softball

Bartlett 6, St. Charles East 0: Lauren Wydra threw a perfect game for Bartlett, striking out 15 in the process. The Saints fell to 12-12-1 on the season and 9-6 in the UEC.

Naperville North 3, West Aurora 0:ŒThe Huskies scored three runs in the third inning without a walk or a base hit. The Blackhawks dropped to 17-11 overall and 5-8 in the DVC.

Rosary 10, Oswego 4: Kylie Schalz batted 3-for-5 with two doubles, a homer, and six RBI for the Royals (15-10). Brenda Rocha and Courtney Classen both added a pair of hits. On the mound, Jessica Fortier struck out six and picked up the win.

College

Two Spartans Named ESPN Academic All District:ŒAurora University baseball catcher Ray Kosmicki as well as softball third baseman Dana Cebular were named to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V College Division Teams.

Kosmicki, a junior, hit a team-leading .432 with eight doubles, one triple, four home runs, 37 runs scored and 24 runs batted in. also had a team high .663 slugging percentage and .557 on-base percentage.

Cebular was named NAC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, is a four-time NFCA All-Region player, four-time First-Team All-Conference selection, AU Female Athlete of the Year in 2007 and 2008. She has established seven new AU career marks, including career home runs (38), runs batted in (159) and games played/started (184). She holds single season records in home runs (11 in 2005 and 2008), total bases (130 in 2007), runs scored (60 in 2007) and games played/started (49 in 2006), all while leading the Spartans to a 37-8 overall record in 2008.

In her final season, Cebular had a .510 batting average with 11 home runs, five triples, seven doubles, 44 runs batted in and 54 runs scored. Aurora won the NAC and won twice in the NCAA Tournament.