Maine West 9, Niles North 1
Maine West senior Eric Romani did his best to make sure coach Joe Pederson wasn't late to the Central Suburban League baseball all-conference meeting.
The tall right-hander allowed only a fifth-inning infield single and threw 48 pitches in Wednesday's CSL North finale with visiting Niles North.
T.J. Van Derpluym and Cody Meincke finished a 3-hitter as Maine West (15-5, 12-4) won 9-1 to extend its winning streak to 6 games.
"It's really great when he gets into a groove," said Maine West third baseman Ryan Tuntland. "It's a quick 1-2-3 and we get to go hit."
Romani (4-1) spotted his fastball and used his curve to throw 67 percent of his pitches for strikes. He had 2 strikeouts and 1 walk.
"I felt really good," Romani said. "This boosts it really good and gives me more confidence."
Maine West also showed it at the plate by scoring its first 6 runs with 2 outs. Tuntland had an RBI double and Justin Johann and Tommy Ross (3-for-3) had RBI singles in a 4-run second.
Kane Hernandez had a 2-run single in the fifth for a 6-0 lead. Mike Santa Maria (2-for-4) also had an RBI single.
"Our whole lineup is real solid," Tuntland said. "Every other day someone steps up and gets big hits. Our lineup is really complete."
Schaumburg 3, Conant 2: Mike Mistrata's RBI single in the top of the ninth capped a Schaumburg (19-6, 13-3) rally from a 2-0 deficit in the MSL West. Dan Launhardt had a sacrifice fly in the sixth and Steve Mahler had a two-out RBI single in the seventh.
Andy Brandt (7-2) got the win with 4 hitless innings of relief. Austin Wright didn't allow a hit until the fifth, had 13 strikeouts in 7 innings and had a 2-run double for Conant (8-14, 5-11).
Meadows 7, Hersey 4: Kyle Gaedele went 3-for-4 with a 3-run double in the sixth and 4 RBI and pitched 4 scoreless innings for Meadows (17-8, 12-4) in the MSL East. Scott Wenzel went 3-for-4 with an RBI and Ted Metzger was 2-for-3.
Chris James was 2-for-2 with an RBI for Hersey (16-13, 7-9).
Prospect 8, BG 7: Tim Scanlan hit a tying grand slam in the fifth and Jason Leblebijian had an RBI grounder in the sixth as Prospect (14-12, 10-6) rallied from a 7-0 deficit in the MSL East.
Joe Wederitch threw 3 scoreless innings in relief for the win. Mike Ricciardi was 3-for-4 for BG (8-14, 4-12).
Hoffman 8, Barrington 7: Matt St. John hit a game-winning 3-run homer in the bottom of the seventh and Mike Eisele hit a 3-run homer in the fifth as Hoffman (10-12, 6-10) rallied from a 6-0 deficit in the MSL West. Jack Golek hit a grand slam for Barrington (15-12, 9-7).
Fremd 4, Palatine 1: Adam Weber (3-1) allowed 1 hit in 6 innings and Brennan Taylor got his first save for Fremd (16-6, 11-5) in the MSL West. T.J. Bode broke a 1-1 tie with an RBI single in the fourth.
Elk Grove 4, Wheeling 1: Donny Duschinsky threw a 2-hitter and hit a tiebreaking 2-run homer in the fifth for Elk Grove (13-15, 7-9) in the MSL East. Chris D'Angelo was 3-for-4 for the Grens.
Leyden 7, Downers N. 4: Jack Townley (3-for-4), Tim Mackey (2-for-4, 3 RBI) and Cam Stephens (2 RBI) led Leyden (20-6) in the West Suburban crossover.