Spraying to all fields: Former prep standouts thrive at college
The postseason is on the horizon in college baseball.
So let's take a look at how some of the area's former stars are performing at the Division I level.
• Matt Davis (Prospect) is tearing it up in his senior year at Eastern Kentucky. Davis, who is playing center field, is hitting .450 with 7 homers, 15 doubles and 37 RBI and is 18-for-20 in stolen bases.
• Zach Borenstein (Buffalo Grove) had made a smooth transition as a true freshman in helping Eastern Illinois to a 31-9 record. Borenstein is third on the team in average at .406 with 4 homers and 24 RBI.
• Army sophomore pitcher Kirk Porter (Lake Zurich) was named the Patriot League player of the week and Army Athletic Association Athlete of The Week. Porter started out 1-2 in his rehab from labrum surgery eight months ago but then had three dominant outings, including taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning in a 6-0 win over arch rival Navy.
Former Lake Zurich teammate Jordin Hood has been a powerful force for Northern Illinois at .397 with 7 homers, 15 doubles and 33 RBI.
• Senior catcher Mark Kelly (Hoffman Estates) is capping off a stellar career at Southern Illinois. Kelly leads the Salukis in doubles (12) and RBI (31), is second in average (. 341) and has 3 homers.
• Eric Marshall (Barrington) has played a crucial role in Texas Christian's 26-12 start. The junior right-hander is Horned Frogs' closer and is 0-2 with 5 saves and a 1.37 ERA in 15 appearances.
Former Barrington teammate Dain Hall is having a solid sophomore season at Villanova. Hall is hitting .281 with 13 doubles, 22 RBI and 11 steals.
• Bryan Porter (Rolling Meadows) has also thrived as a senior closer at Bradley. Porter is 3-2 with 4 saves and a 3.66 ERA in 16 appearances.
• Former Hersey products Jason Ganek and Brandon Harwell have been battling for the batting lead at Illinois-Chicago.
After Saturday's win over Valparaiso, Ganek, a sophomore third baseman, was leading the Flames in average at .328 with 2 homers, 9 doubles and 23 RBI. Harwell, a senior first baseman, was at .327 with 4 homers, 8 doubles and 13 RBI.
Senior pitcher Adam Worthington (Warren) has been the tough-luck pitcher for UIC. Worthington only had a 2-5 record but leads the team in ERA at 3.31 and has 56 strikeouts and only 14 walks in 68 innings.
• A big Mid-Suburban League contingent has led Valparaiso to an 18-18 record. Sophomore Ryan O'Gara (Buffalo Grove) is second on the team in hitting at .326 with 4 doubles and 12 RBI.
Freshman Kyle Gaedele (Rolling Meadows) is hitting .283 with 2 homers, 8 doubles and 13 RBI and freshman shortstop Ryan Shober (Fremd) started 26 games and has 10 RBI. Sophomore pitcher Steve Godawa (Buffalo Grove) is 2-0 with 2 saves in a team-high 15 appearances.
Track and field
A group of Illinois State athletes with local ties competed in the prestigious 100th Drake Relays.
Michelle Brunk (Palatine) ran the 800-meter anchor leg in the ISU sprint medley relay which finished sixth. Freshman Mat Smoody (Palatine) finished 11th in the 800 in 1:55.17.
Competing in her second heptathlon this season, junior Morgan Schaefer (Rolling Meadows) improved her personal-best, tallying 4,612 points to place 10th overall. Schaefer set personal-best marks in the 200-meter dash (26.29) and 800 (2:23.35) in the multi-event.
Also last weekend for ISU, freshman Tori Ziegler (Grant) won the shot put in an NCAA Regional qualifying 49-1/4 at Butler's Stan Lyons Invitational in Indianapolis. Ziegler also had personal bests in the discus (third, 148-8) and hammer throw (153-0).
Sophomore Tyler Perna (Fremd) took third in the 400 hurdles in a personal-best 54.61.
• Kevin O'Brien (Palatine) of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy was first in the 10,000 (33:25.94) in the Silfen Invitational in Connecticut. O'Brien qualified for the Division III New England championships this weekend.
• Freshman Mandy Streu (Rolling Meadows) continued her stellar season for St. Ambrose as she took second in the shot put (42-93/4) at the Loras Open.
Soccer
Matt Kochanowski (Arlington Heights) was named the Dominican University Male Student-Athlete of the Year for the third straight time. The senior forward was named to the NSCAA All-Region first team and was the Northern Athletics Conference offensive player of the year.
Kochanowski had 43 points (17 goals, 9 assists) in just 18 games last season. He leaves Dominican as the men's soccer NCAA-era leader in career points (191) and goals (72).
CCIW award
Carthage College senior women's soccer player and track and field athlete Jackie Peterson (Schaumburg) was named as a winner of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Merle Chapman Leadership Award.
The award began in 2002-03 and is named after the longtime Millikin football coach/athletic director and second commissioner of the CCIW. The award identifies the student-athletes from the eight member institutions that best exemplify the traits Chapman displayed and encouraged during his three-plus decades of service as teacher, coach and mentor to the athletes, coaches and administrators of the CCIW.
Those traits are loyalty, enthusiasm, and commitment to academic, athletic and personal excellence, leadership and sportsmanship. Each member school is allowed to name one male and one female student-athlete from its Student-Athlete Advisory Council. Peterson was named first-team All-CCIW after receiving first-team all-conference honors in 2007 and second-team All-CCIW honors in both 2005 and 2006.
Sports Notes items should be sent via e-mail to mmaciaszek@dailyherald.com or by FAX to (847) 427-1173.