Buffalo Grove looks smart with Van Wazer

Andrew Van Wazer is one of Buffalo Grove’s best students on and off the baseball field.

It’s why the all-area third baseman will play baseball at the prestigious University of Chicago. It also explains why Van Wazer is succeeding as a pitcher even though it isn’t his forte.

“You can see he’s a competitor and he’s a battler,” BG coach Jeff Grybash said after Van Wazer beat Rolling Meadows 11-3 on Wednesday. “As a student of the game he’s probably our most advanced kid. You can see he trusts changing arm angles and mixing up his pitches.”

Van Wazer seemed to effortlessly go from three-quarters to sidearm deliveries to take a 3-hit shutout into the sixth inning against Meadows. He allowed only 1 earned run and 6 hits and threw 63 of his 99 pitches for strikes as he improved to 2-1.

“I have to vary up my arm angles because I’m not going to come out and throw 90 miles per hour,” Van Wazer said. “I have to change it up and keep the hitters off balance.”

And Van Wazer kept Meadows off the board after BG scored 6 runs in the top of the fifth for a 7-0 lead. A walk and an error started a potential threat but Van Wazer got a double play turned by second baseman Trevor Myers and shortstop Jake Monson and a flyout.

“That was huge,” Grybash said. “We shut down the inning and one of the things we’ve been struggling with is finishing innings and finishing games. We did a nice job there.”

Resurgent Saxons: A tradition started years ago by Schaumburg coach Paul Groot of treating his team to root beer for games without an error or walk naturally morphed into “Groot Beers.”

There were no “Groot Beer” games last year as the Saxons finished 10-19 for just their third losing season in Groot’s 26-year tenure. But Wednesday’s 10-1 win over Hoffman Estates was their third of the year as Kurt Kempema pitched 6 strong, walkless innings and was backed by flawless defense.

“We’re clicking,” Groot said of the Saxons’ seventh straight win since a season-opening loss to Glenbard North ace Andrew Bergmann. “When you get the pitching we’ve been getting, pitching and defense, this is fun.

“The kids are making plays and we’re getting phenomenal starting pitching.”

The Saxons’ top three starters, Kempema (2-1, 0.88 ERA), Pat Bellinger (2-0, 0.60) and Matt Brancato (1-0), led the way to a 1.35 team ERA and just 6 walks in the first six games.

And Groot called Tuesday’s 9-8 win in 8 innings over St. Viator one of the best comebacks he’s been a part of in a number of years. The Saxons tied it with 2 runs in the bottom of the seventh and Jeremy Hall’s 2-run single capped a 4-run rally in the eighth.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve done that,” Groot said. “The kids just kept battling.

“Hall has been one of our best hitters, (Tom) Byrne is starting to hit and (Dave) Geller has been hitting. And we’ve seen some pretty good pitchers.”

Schaumburg is also scheduled to play a Tuesday home game against Class 3A title contender Nazareth.

Dazzo dazzles in defeat: Prospect coach Ross Giusti called it “the storm that came out of nowhere” when senior Steve Dazzo took a 1-hit shutout into the seventh inning Monday and ended up with a 6-3 loss to Warren.

Dazzo had allowed only a third-inning single and faced the minimum 18 hitters through six innings of his first start. Giusti called it one of the top 10 pitching performances he’s seen since he’s been at Prospect.

But a pair of groundball errors on plays Giusti said “we’ve made all year” opened the door to a stunning rally for Warren and heartbreaking loss for Dazzo.

“He was absolutely dominant and every pitch was working,” Giusti said. “It shows how baseball works in strange ways because he deserved better.

“He was just absolutely phenomenal. And with a 3-0 lead on that kid (Valparaiso-bound Ryan Kennedy), you think you’re in great shape.”

Big tests ahead for Leyden: Unbeaten Leyden’s biggest tests are coming up — although its West Suburban Conference crossover at Oak Park-River Forest on Thursday doesn’t have any division title implications.

But that’s followed by three games with preseason state title contender Downers Grove South (8-5). The Eagles host a 10 a.m. Saturday doubleheader at 10 a.m. and then hit the road for the series finale on April 26.

Downers South features the 1-2 pitching punch of Louisville recruit Nick Burdi, who has bee battling the flu, and Kansas State-bound Matt Wivinis. Justin Stawychny and John Marino have combined for 9 homers to power Leyden’s impressive start.

The comeback trail: Former Fremd pitcher and Buffalo Grove pitching coach Dan Grybash is making a comeback in with the Wichita Wingnuts of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.

Grybash, whose brother Jeff is BG’s head coach, sat out all of last season after having shoulder surgery. He was drafted in 2003 out of Carthage College in the 34th round by Milwaukee and reached its high Class A affiliate.

Grybash is 41-25 with a 3.78 ERA and an average of 7.1 strikeouts per 9 innings in his seven-year pro career.

Savino has Spartans surging: Former Elk Grove all-area infielder Dominic Savino couldn’t ask for a much better start to his head coaching career at Glenbrook North.

The Spartans improved to 12-1 and their winning streak hit 10 games with wins this week over Hoffman Estates, Maine South and Evanston. Their lone loss was to Francis Howell, the top-ranked large school in Missouri which won its first 13 games before losing Wednesday.

“The kids have really been great,” said Savino, who was an assistant at Notre Dame before taking over at GBN after Barry Ruppert retired. “It starts with senior leadership and their approach has been outstanding. It’s made it a lot of fun for us.”

Savino’s assistant is Mike Nisi, another Elk Grove product.