Conference races make for some entertaining baseball
The final week of the regular season could become championship week for three area baseball teams.
One of them - Marmion - already has a share of the Suburban Christian Conference title. The Cadets, who lost 1-0 to Batavia Monday, have an 11-4 record in the SCC Blue division.
Chicago Christian is a game back at 10-5. Marmion plays its final SCC game at Montini on Tuesday, and a victory would give the Cadets the outright title. Immaculate Conception won the Gold division.
That would be the second straight conference championship for coach Dave Rakow's emerging program. They finished second two years ago and ended that season by reaching a sectional title game for the first time in school history.
St. Charles North also has a conference title in sight this week. The North Stars 27-4 overall, 19-3 in the Upstate Eight) lead Waubonsie Valley (20-8, 16-4) by a game in the loss column, trying to add the 2010 crown to the ones it won in 2003, 2005 and 2007.
Todd Genke's squad plays three against South Elgin - at home on Tuesday and Thursday, and on the road Wednesday.
The Storm (18-10, 13-9) figure to be in a foul mood following a three-game sweep last week against St. Charles East (22-9, 16-6) in three tight games.
The Upstate Eight certainly has been a tight, hard-fought, entertaining race to follow this spring. Each of those adjectives apply to the Western Sun - and then some.
Geneva capped a classic three-game series with co-leader DeKalb last week by outlasting the Barbs 6-4 in 11 innings Friday on Chris Hipchen's walk off home run - his 12th of the season.
Both the Vikings and Barbs are 13-5 in conference. Kaneland is a game back at 12-6 after losing the second game of a doubleheader Saturday to Sycamore.
The Knights have to put the disappointment of that loss behind them and beat DeKalb this week while hoping Sycamore can play spoiler against Geneva.
"I know we can get refocused," said Kaneland junior cleanup hitter Bobby Thorson, who had 5 hits in the doubleheader Saturday. "We have done it before, we can do it again. I'm confident in that."
Don't tell Geneva coach Matt Hahn that the Vikings have it easy because they are playing Sycamore, 5-13 in the conference this year, while DeKalb has to battle Kaneland.
"When you come down to the end and you are fighting for first place they are all tough," Hahn said.
Friday's win over DeKalb snapped a 3-game Western Sun skid for Geneva that started with a 4-3 loss to Batavia. Hipchen, who injured his right heel Friday but said he didn't think it was serious, echoed Hahn's view of the Spartans.
"We have to come out and play good baseball like we have all year," Hipchen said. "It doesn't matter what their (Sycamore) record is, it doesn't matter what our record is. It is these three games that are going to matter."
Geneva is trying to end the Western Sun like it started it four years ago - as conference champs. The Vikings got their title that year by sweeping Sycamore in the final series. Sycamore followed with the 2008 title and Batavia won last year.
The Bulldogs aren't going to defend their title this year, though they are the only team to win a series from DeKalb. Whichever team comes up a game short in this race is going to have plenty of "what-if games" to think about.
"Trust me, I go back every night and revisit that (Batavia) series especially as tight as this race is," said DeKalb coach Justin Keck.