Divarco homers twice as Carmel sweeps Marist
Carmel Catholic's baseball team moved a little closer to the East Suburban Catholic Conference championship Saturday.
The Corsairs swept visiting Marist in a doubleheader, 6-4 and 8-6, rallying late in both games in Mundelein.
Northern Illinois-bound Chris Divarco led the way in Game 1, hitting his eighth and ninth home runs of the season and driving in 5 runs.
"He's really on fire," Carmel coach Joe May said after his team remained undefeated in the ESCC. "He's carried us quite well."
Carmel (17-4, 8-0) also got 2 hits from both Jimmy Spagna and Kyle Bessa, while Daniel Mooney earned the win.
In Game 2, the Corsairs broke a 6-6 tie with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning. Derek Jordan went deep for the Corsairs, and Tim Hendricks and Alex May had doubles. Hendricks, May and Divarco each had 2 hits.
Cale St. Clair picked up the win, and Nick Battalini notched his second save of the day.
Lake Zurich 12, Clemente 3: Justin Russell went 4-for-5 with 2 doubles and an RBI, and Ryan Baartmans was 2-for-4 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI, as the visiting Bears won the nonconference game.
Danny Minogue and Chris Bauman also had 2 hits each for Lake Zurich (14-11).
Mike Lutz earned the win, pitching 3 scoreless innings of 1-hit ball in relief. Mike Irgang struck out two in a scoreless inning.
Libertyville sweeps Elk Grove: Matt Dohse pitched the Wildcats to a 5-0 win in Game 1 of the nonconference doubleheader, and Mike Whartnaby earned the victory in a 6-3 decision.
Nathan Clark went 3-for-3 with an RBI double in the opener, while Tyler Schweigert was 2-for-4. Chad Uhler had a double.
A.J. Schurr smacked a double in Game 2 for Libertyville (13-8).
Vernon Hills 16, Marengo 3: The Cougars pounded out 19 hits in the 5-inning win, with 10 players hitting safely and nine driving in runs.
Brian Palmer (3-for-3, double, 2 RBI) and Zach Kisley (3-for-4, 2 RBI) led the way. Vernon Hills got 2 hits apiece from Chris Marras (double, RBI), Eric Oberwise (double, 2 RBI), Scott Kempel (2 RBI), Ryan Knopoff (double, triple, RBI) and M.J. Crowley (RBI, 2 stolen bases). Tyler Feece and Cesar Gallegos contributed doubles.
Kempel earned the win, and Feece and Gallegos also threw quality innings.
Grayslake Central 10, Johnsburg 3: The Rams broke open a close game by scoring 4 runs in the top of the fifth inning of the Fox Valley Conference game.
Jackson White paced Grayslake Central (15-6, 9-4) at the plate with a double and single. Andrew Hosford and Matt Murphy each had a pair of singles, and Kevin DeRue hit a 2-run double.
Austin Legget threw 5 scoreless innings in relief to pick up the victory. The junior righty struck out five and walked one.
Cary-Grove 18, Wauconda 3: Jake Ziolkowski homered and went 2-for-2 for the Bulldogs in their nonconference loss.
Tom Tyrrell and Axel Madison had doubles for Wauconda (14-12).
Warren 11, Fremd 0: Kevin Colburn homered twice, and Pat Kenney went 3-for-4 with a homer for the visiting Blue Devils in the nonconference game.
Mike Herrmann (2 RBI) and Scott Heelan also had 2 hits apiece for Warren (22-3). Kenney (3-1) pitched 6 innings, allowing 1 hit, striking out three and walking on.
Antioch splits with Westosha Central: The visiting Sequoits rebounded from a 4-3 loss to win the second game of the nonconference doubleheader 11-0.
Kevin Smiley had a home run, double and 3 RBI in the second game for Antioch (8-12). Alex Grimm had a pair of singles, while Kris Nordby (2-1) pitched a 5-hitter over 6 innings.
Chris Terzic suffered the Game-1 loss, despite allowing only 3 earned runs over 7 innings. Paul DeJong went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Grant 4, McHenry 2: Jared Helmich went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI for the visiting Bulldogs.
Ronald Kucharski pitched 41/3 innings and struck out four for the win, and Justin Cokefair finished up for the save, striking out seven.