Thursday's Fox Valley roundup
The South Elgin baseball team used a 13-hit attack to subdue visiting Larkin 8-2 in the first game of a 2-game Upstate Eight Conference series Thursday.
The Storm (11-4, 6-3) were led at the plate by Jake Toppel (3-for-3), John Menken (3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI) and Nathan Garris (2-for-3, 2B). Senior Drew Buddle threw 65 of his 99 pitches for strikes, struck out four, walked none and allowed only 2 earned runs on 7 hits.
Senior Jake McCleary (2-3) was touched for 6 earned runs on 9 hits in 4 innings of work as Larkin dropped its fourth straight. Junior Lee Jackson went 3-for-4 and drove in a run for the Royals (4-13, 3-6).
Waubonsie Valley 13, Elgin 3: Javier Cárdenas and Alex Doty each doubled and drove in a run for the Maroons (3-9, 3-4), but it wasn't enough to offset the 12-hit outburst by the visiting Warriors in an Upstate Eight contest.
Burlington Central 7, Harvard 3: Junior Nick Hahn (6-0) improved to 17-1 over two seasons by outdueling Chase Blazier in a Big Northern East game on Rocket Hill. Hahn also doubled and drove in a run and catcher Austin Jarvis went 2-for-4 with a double and RBI for Central (18-1, 3-0).
Hampshire 5, Marengo 0: Senior Kent Larson allowed only 3 hits and 3 walks and struck out six in a complete-game shutout in the Big Northern East. Nick Holze (2 RBI), Tyler Crater, Dylan Nihells and Ryan DeChant each had 2 hits for Hampshire (8-7, 3-0).
Montini 6, St. Edward 2: The Green Wave fell behind 5-0 through four innings and could not rally to win a Suburban Christian Conference crossover at Wing Park in Elgin. Jack Sutherland (2-4) took the loss for the Green Wave (8-9, 3-5).
Westminster Christian 12, Rockford Christian 3: Joe McGannon and Frank Oliver each had 2 hits and 2 RBI to lead the Warriors to a Northeast Athletic Conference win in Rockford. Sophomore Ryan Perez allowed 2 runs on 4 hits and struck out 10 in 5 innings to snap a 2-game losing skid for Westminster (10-5, 7-1).
Cary-Grove 4, Grayslake Central 3: Junior Matt Panek tripled and pitched the Trojans, who scored the winning run in the seventh inning, to a sweep of the 2-game Fox Valley Conference crossover series against the visiting Rams.
Jacobs 10, Woodstock North 0: Winning pitcher Scott Meyer threw 5 shutout innings in which he struck out six and walked three, and the Golden Eagles piled up 14 hits in a Fox Valley Conference crossover in Algonquin. Ben Albano (4-for-4, HR, 3 RBI) and Zach Bates (4-for-4, 3 RBI) were the offensive leaders for Jacobs.
Huntley 10, Prairie Ridge 8: The host Red Raiders bounced back from their first loss in the Fox Valley Conference by splitting the 2-game series against the Wolves despite committing 7 errors. Jeremy Ahillen (4-0) allowed 1 earned run and struck out five in 41/3 innings and Chris Klein went 4-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBI for Huntley (14-2, 8-1).
Dundee-Crown 11, Johnsburg 1: Junior Mark Lodi held the visiting Skyhawks to 1 earned run and struck out four in 6 innings, Scott Nowicke went 3-for-3 with a double and Zach Vodicka drove in 3 runs in a Fox Valley Conference crossover victory for Dundee-Crown (10-8, 7-3)
Crystal Lake South 4, Woodstock 3: Billy Wright (4-for-5, triple) drove in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh to lift CL South (9-8, 6-4) to a win in Fox Valley Conference crossover action. Josh Wruck (1-0) doubled, and he picked up the win in 1/3 of an inning of relief.
College baseballECC sweeps: Elgin Community College took a pair from Illinois Valley College, 5-4 and 10-0, to improve to 22-12. The Spartans overcame a 4-0 deficit in Game 1 to make a winner of Bill Rodriguez (3-1). Brett Loeding notched his eighth save. ECC posted 14 hits in the nightcap.Judson swept: The University of St. Francis (Joliet) leapfrogged into first place in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference by winning a pair against the Eagles in Elgin, 8-7 and 6-5. Judson (29-14, 16-5) can forge a tie for first place with a win in Joliet today.