Richardson gets his rips for Stars
Todd Genke has a couple luxuries any baseball coach would envy.
One is an ace starting pitcher like Zach Hirsch. The Nebraska-bound senior improved to 3-0 with a 2-hitter last week against Bartlett.
Another is a No. 3 hitter like Ryan Richardson.
Richardson, a junior who already is a two-year starter, has been on fire. He started the year 13-for-26, and that was before he went 3-for-3 Thursday at Bartlett.
While Richardson has considerable natural ability, Genke is as impressed with his mental game.
"He's a professional hitter," Genke said. "He just goes up there and has a great appraoch. He knows what he wants to hit and usually gets that pitch to hit. He's got quick hands, hits the ball up the middle as well as I've seen. If you make a mistake in he'll turn on it and hit the ball hard. Our guys learn from watching him hit."
The North Stars start play this week at 9-4 and ranked No. 7 in the Daily Herald Top 20. Other area ranked teams include No. 12 Marmion, No. 13 Batavia and No. 20 Geneva.
"The other guys set the standards high. Our goal is to get past the sectional final," said senior Kevin Borst, who also is looking forward to two makeup games in May against defending state champion Neuqua Valley.
"Those are the most fun games and they will be tough games. I can't wait to play them."
Wood wows them: While Batavia certainly has its share of hard-throwers, Chris Wood is proving successful by hitting his spots and keeping teams off balance.
Wood picked up a pair of wins in relief in two of Batavia's last three wins, Thursday against Sycamore and Saturday at Oswego.
"He's got a nice mix of pitches, knows his role and loves it," Batavia coach Matt Holm said.
Wood is 4-0 on the year. He said the relief role suits him well.
"Starting, I think teams catch on," Wood said. "Coming in relief is really good for me. Coming in aftger Krolo (Brian Krolikowski) or (Adam) Karger is a good change of speed."
Key WSC series: Batavia leads the Western Sun at 8-1 heading into a tough three-game series against Kaneland this week.
The Knights also are playing good baseball at 14-4 and 6-3. After starting the Western Sun with two losses to Geneva, the Knights have won 6 of 7 conference games. And they always play Batavia well.
"Those guys are the real deal," Holm said. "We're looking forward to it."
Batavia got off to a good start this year going 3-0 against both DeKalb and Rochelle, and that type of success can be the difference in a close race said Karger.
"We want to make a barrier between us and the competition," Karger said. "We want a little cushion."
Staying close: The Bulldogs currently have a 1-game cushion over Geneva. The Vikings stayed close last week by taking two of three from Glenbard South.
"We want to win every single game but we still got the series win." center fielder Jerrod Campbell said. "That's big. If we keep hitting the ball like we have all season I think we have a good chance to win conference."
The Vikings got a lift Saturday from backup catcher Asa Bielenberg, who homered at Oswego East while filling in for the second game for Eric Renner.
"It's nice to have second catcher come in and not miss a beat," Geneva coach Matt Hahn said.
Immediate impact: He's only a sophomore, but Kaneland coach Brian Aversa has a keeper in Joe Camiliere, who is hitting .390 for the Knights.
Camiliere also is among the area leaders in doubles, hits, runs and steals.
"Joe has hit the ball real well," Aversa said. "He's stepping up big for us as a sophomore and filling Jody Henningson's shoes from last year."
Searching for consistency: West Aurora has been up and down so far this year, as its 6-9 overall and 2-4 DVC records show.
That doesn't mean the Blackhawks don't have some players hitting the ball well. Cory Walden leads the way at .431 with 16 RBI, Brady Renner is at .333 with 15 runs while Chris Richter, Brian Kirhofer and Brandon Lawrence are all hitting over. 300.
It's just a matter of finding consistency.
"It seems like the last couple games we're streaky," West Aurora coach John Reeves said. "We'll get in a groove and hit really well and then other times it looks like we don't know what we are doing up at the plate."