Tuesday's Fox Valley roundup

Larkin senior Luc Geier out-dueled Nebraska-bound St. Charles North pitcher Zach Hirsch by tossing a complete-game, 3-hit shutout to lead the Royals to a two-game Upstate Eight Conference sweep of the North Stars with a 1-0 victory in St. Charles Tuesday.

"Geier was awesome," Larkin coach Matt Esterino said. "This is what he's capable of when he, as a senior, steps up and throws his three pitches for strikes." Geier (4-2) finished with 6 strikeouts and 2 walks.

Larkin registered the game's only run in the fourth inning. Reid Ellis singled, moved to second on Scott Harm's sacrifice bunt and scored on Jon Meidel's two-out double.

Meidel also played a key defensive role at shortstop. He ranged into the hole on groundballs in the fifth and seventh, turned and fired to get outs. The Royals also turned 2 double plays and played error free.

"This was definitely important because it makes us 7-4 in conference," said Esterino, whose Royals improved to 12-10 overall. "(Winning) conference would be a bonus, but we're just looking to get better every day."

Hirsch (3-1) endured his first loss of the season for St. Charles North (9-6, 5-3), though he allowed only 3 hits, 2 by Ellis.

Neuqua Valley 2, Elgin 1: Casey Knaak held the visiting Wildcats to 5 hits and struck out five, but single runs in the first and fourth innings by Neuqua Valley held up for an Upstate Eight Conference win despite an Elgin marker in the sixth. Dan Schmerber notched 2 of the 5 hits for Elgin (0-13, 0-8).

Cary-Grove 12, Wauconda 0: Seniors Kegan Mascarella and Matt Nelsen each doubled to lead a 10-hit barrage for the Trojans (14-6-1) in a five-inning nonconference victory in Cary. Sean Kaveney (3-2) held the Bulldogs to 2 hits and struck out three.