Baseball/Fox Valley roundup
Ryan Perez didn’t switch things up for this no-hitter.
The Westminster Christian junior hurler, known widely for his ability to pitch with equal effectiveness with either hand, stuck to his left and held Rockford East hitless in a 5-1 nonconference victory in Elgin Tuesday.
Perez walked only 2 E-Rabs hitters and struck out 15, believed to be a single-game school record, according to Warriors coach Jeff Moeller.
“He had real nice pop, and his curveball was working really well,” Moeller said. “He really kept them off balance. If it wasn’t for us kicking the ball around a couple of times, they wouldn’t have had a shot at scoring. He had as much pop at the end of the game as he had at the beginning.”
Will Woodhouse went 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored and Perez, Kevin Elder and Frank Oliver each drove in runs for the Warriors (3-4).
Streamwood 4, Lake Park 3: The Sabres (7-0, 1-0) won their Upstate Eight Conference opener against visiting Lake Park when the winning run scored on a Lake Park throwing error in the bottom of the seventh. Villanova recruit Josh Harris (2-0) pitched a complete-game 3-hitter, allowing 1 earned run to go with 12 strikeouts and no walks. Alex Morrow staked the Sabres (7-0, 1-0) to a 2-0 lead with a 2-run home run in the second inning.
Elgin 7, Bartlett 2: Starting pitcher Alex Doty pitched a complete-game 6-hitter with 14 strikeouts and just 1 walk, lifting Elgin to
victory in the Upstate Eight Conference opener for both schools. Lee Jackson (2 RBI) and Jake Meyer each doubled and Drew Bloomquist drove in 2 runs for Elgin (1-3, 1-0). Colin Nowak allowed 6 runs (4 earned) on 4 hits in 3 innings for Bartlett (3-5, 0-1).
Burlington Central 3, Yorkville 1: Zach Ranney (1-1) pitched a complete-game 3-hitter, allowing just 1 earned run in a nonconference road win. He struck out 7 without a walk and was helped by 10 assists by shortstop Sam Klein. Ray Hunnicutt went 2-for-4 at the plate for Central (6-2).
Aurora Central Catholic 9, St. Edward 7: Ryan DiCristofano went 2-for-3 with 2 doubles with a run driven in and Luke Duffy doubled in a run, but the Green Wave lost their second straight Suburban Christian Gold game to the Chargers, this time at Trout Park in Elgin. Sophomore Jake Koehring (1-2) took the loss for St. Edward (2-8, 0-2).
Huntley 2, Woodstock North 1: Huntley played extra innings for the second straight game and came away with a victory in the eighth inning of the Fox Valley Conference opener. With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the eighth, the winning run scored on a dropped third strike. Jake Staab (2-0) pitched all 8 innings for Huntley (5-1, 1-0), allowing just 1 unearned run on 4 hits. He struck out 10 and walked 1.
Cary-Grove 11, Johnsburg 1: John Spoelstra (2-0) limited the visiting Skyhawks to 1 earned run on 5 hits and struck out 5 in 5 innings of work to lift the Trojans to victory in the Fox Valley Conference opener. Tyler Lau went 2-for-2 with a home run and scored 3 runs and Matt Panek went 1-for-2 with 2 RBI for Cary-Grove (4-3, 1-0).
Woodstock 13, Dundee-Crown 5: Scott Nowicke hit a solo home run and Jake Romano went 2-for-3 with a stolen base, but the Chargers were overwhelmed by 12 Blue Streaks hits in the Fox Valley Conference opener for both teams in Carpentersville. D-C pitcher Mike Lodi took a 5-1 lead into the sixth inning, but Woodstock exploded for 4 runs in the sixth and 8 more in the seventh. Reliever Jordan Kalous (1-1) took the loss for Dundee-Crown (3-6, 0-1).
Grayslake North 3, Crystal Lake South 1: The Gators dropped this Fox Valley Conference opener for both teams in Crystal Lake.
Jacobs vs. Crystal Lake Central, suspended: The Golden Eagles and visiting Tigers saw their Fox Valley Conference opener suspended due to darkness in the top of the ninth inning with the game tied 6-6. No continuation date was immediately announced.
Jerry Fitzpatrick contributed to this report