Cary-Grove, Huntley tie for Valley title

Thanks to a helping hand from Dundee-Crown, the Huntley baseball team was able to gain a split of the title with Cary-Grove in the Valley Division of the Fox Valley Conference Saturday.

Cary-Grove (22-12, 17-7) clinched its share of the Valley title by defeating Dundee-Crown 5-3 in the completion of a game delayed by rain on Friday.

However, the Chargers (12-22-1, 9-15) scored 2 runs in the sixth inning of the regularly scheduled game to snap a 2-2 tie, and D-C junior Alex Thompson held the Trojans to 2 runs on 2 hits and threw a complete game in his first varsity start to pull the upset, 4-2.

"We just needed to finish a game and we finally did," said D-C assistant coach Hank Faulkner, who managed Game 2 because head coach Jon Sawyer had to leave to attend a wedding. "I think finishing a game was more important than playing spoiler."

The Valley Division title is the third straight for Cary-Grove, which became the second school in league history to win three straight baseball championships. Dundee-Crown is the other.

"We battled nicely in the first game, came up with some clutch hits and won ourselves a share of the conference title," Cary-Grove coach Don Sutherland said. "It's a good Dundee-Crown team. I know they don't win a lot, but they always have pitchers who will battle you. It's certainly baseball - where you can lose to anybody or beat anybody - and that was the case today."

Needing a sweep to tie the Trojans, Huntley (24-9, 17-7) won the first game of a doubleheader against Jacobs (18-15-1, 12-12) in Algonquin, when freshman Bryce Only hammered a 2-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, his seventh of the season, lifting the Red Raiders to a 4-2 victory. Huntley was the home team in Game 1 because Friday's game at Huntley was postponed due to rain.

Senior pitcher Chris Klein (5-4) snapped Jacobs' 5-game winning streak by holding the Golden Eagles to 2 runs on 6 hits in 8 innings.

In Game 2, Jeremy Ahillen (6-1) pitched a complete game, allowing only a 2-run home run to sophomore Henry Gigeous in the seventh inning. An infield error brought the tying run to the plate for Jacobs, but Ahillen induced a flyball to center field to conclude a 4-2 victory and clinch the title split.

The Valley Division championship is the first for Huntley in baseball since it joined the FVC in 2003-04.

"I'm very proud of our guys," Huntley coach Andy Jakubowski said. "We set it as a goal that we were going to give it everything we had (Saturday), no regrets, a lot of passion and intensity. Our guys did a great job and put themselves in position."

Libertyville 5, Burlington Central 3: The Rockets' 25-game winning streak came to an end in a nonconference road loss. Junior Nick Hahn (10-1) suffered his first loss of the season after allowing 2 runs (1 earned) in an inning of relief. Sophomore Ray Hunnicutt went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and Austin Jarvis went 1-for-4 with a double and drove in his 71st run of the season.

Wheaton Academy 1, Hampshire 0: Freshman pitcher Shane Hernandez (3-3) surrendered only 1 run, but the Whip-Purs (15-17) were held to 3 hits in a nonconference loss in West Chicago.

Streamwood 21, Foreman 2: The Sabres (22-13) tied the school record for victories with a five-inning, nonconference win in Chicago. Bobby Post allowed 2 earned runs on 3 hits. Ben Furbur (4-for-5, 2B) and Nate Pearson (2-for-3, 2 2B) paced an 18-hit attack.

DeKalb 7-4, Elgin 2-0: The Maroons were swept at home in a nonconference doubleheader. Joe Kellenberger (1-2) and Jake Meyer (0-7) were the losing pitchers for Elgin (5-28), which was outhit 22-9.

Albano sets HR record: With one mighty swing, Jacobs senior Ben Albano became the Fox Valley area's all-time home run leader. Albano hit his 16th home run of the season to right-center field against Huntley starting pitcher Chris Klein in the sixth inning of a 4-2 loss to the Red Raiders in Game 1 of a doubleheader in Algonquin Saturday.

"I was having trouble in my first at-bats with (Klein's) curveball, so I decided to wait for a fastball," said Albano, who has 63 RBI. "The count went 2-0 and he threw me a letter-high fastball. I just took a hack at it.

"I didn't even know until (recently) what the record was. I haven't really thought about it. I just go game by game."

Albano surpassed the record of 15 home runs set by Brian Brauer of Streamwood in 2009. Previously, Larkin slugger Jason Richardson's record of 14 home runs had stood since 1999.