Baseball / Lake County notes

Always the bridesmaid…

Wauconda has yet to be the bride of the North Suburban Conference Prairie Division.

But maybe the Bulldogs should be looking for something new, something borrowed and something blue.

Wauconda is on the brink of history.

With three division games left, the Bulldogs are inching closer and closer to winning their first Prairie Division title in school history.

At 7-2 in division play, Wauconda has a slight lead over Lakes and Antioch, both 6-3 in the division. The Bulldogs close out with Antioch and two games against Grant next week.

“This is what every team, every coach wants, to be in the thick of things at the end,” Wauconda coach Bill Sliker said. “The key for us, and it sounds cliché, but we seem to be very focused for every game. These kids have been doing a great job of playing for right now. They’re not looking ahead or behind.”

If the Bulldogs looked back far enough, they’d discover that the best Prairie Division record in program history is 8-4. They’ve hit that mark three times in the last 10 years, and have finished as high as second.

Two years ago, Wauconda finished as the division runner-up.

“To be able to win a division championship would mean so much for our program,” Sliker said. “Any time you can reach the top, it’s a really good feeling and it sends the message that all the hard work in the off-season and in the weight room pays off.

“This is also a great example for all the young kids coming up through the ranks. This is what can help you build up a program.”

Sliker says his three senior pitchers, Erik Maki, Jeremy Wagner and Tim Matesi, have continued to provide one quality start after another for his team.

Pat to Purdue: It’s been a big week at Warren.

The Blue Devils are fresh off wins over Mundelein and Libertyville. Playing a big role in those wins and every Warren win is junior Pat Kenney, who made some big news of his own.

A 6-foot-5 jack of all trades, Kenney announced that he has committed to Purdue, ending a whirlwind recruiting ride that got its start after a sensational sophomore campaign last season.

Kenney blasted 13 home runs last year and was a force on the mound as well as in the field at shortstop.

“Pat may be only a junior, but you knew he was going to get a lot of recruiting attention after the year he had last year. You just knew it was going to happen,” Warren coach Clint Smothers said. “He had a great year last year and he also has a lot of things that you just can’t teach. Pat has size, he has speed and he can throw the ball hard. He’s been clocked at 88. He had a lot of schools interested in him.”

Still, Kenney has been on edge all season, wondering what options would ultimately be available to him.

“You can tell Pat is so much more relaxed now that he’s got this decision behind him,” Smothers said. “The pressure is off his shoulders and now he can just go out and have fun when he plays.”

Colleges on parade: The list of former Warren baseball players to play in college is getting longer.

The Blue Devils have four players on their current roster who will be playing college ball next year, including Pat Kenney (Purdue), Kevin Colburn (Dayton), Ryan Kennedy (Valparaiso) and Caleb Haley (CLC).

Last year, that number was at six with outfielder Tim Bodine (Evansville), catcher Scott Heelan (Virginia Tech), outfielder Jon Frericks (Illinois Wesleyan), and pitchers P Jeff Johnson (Illinois Wesleyan) and Zach Schneider (Webster) all moving on to the next level.

“This is a tribute to the kids’ hard work. I couldn’t be prouder of them,” Warren coach Clint Smothers said. “I think this also says a lot about our program that we continue to get a lot of kids who are getting to play in college. That’s very exciting for us.”

Keep working: Despite all the rainouts of the last few weeks, Round Lake had been idle for eight straight days as of Wednesday.

The Panthers had their bye week come up, plus they built in some extra down time to account for prom.

Not that baseball went totally by the wayside, though.

The extra down time gave the Panthers a chance to work on the problems that have plagued them during a 4-16 campaign.

“Our defense has been a major issue all season,” Round Lake coach Ed Adamson said. “We took advantage of all those days off to get a lot of infield reps in. One of the things that has hurt us has been errors and we need to keep working on our defense.”

Offensively, the Panthers have been hanging in there thanks to the consistent hitting of Chris Rana, Anthony Gutierrez, Randy Enos and Ryan Newman.

Tourney time: The IHSA tournament isn’t quite here yet, but Round Lake will be in tournament mode this week.

For the first time, the Panthers will be participating in the Lake Forest Academy Invite, which also involves North Chicago and Lakeview.

“We’re really looking forward to playing in that tournament,” Ed Adamson said. “It’s nice because we feel these other teams are all teams we can compete with. It also helps you focus and prepare for the state tournament. You’ve got that tournament atmosphere and you’re put in pressure situations.”

Numbing numbers: At 15-11, Carmel is in the midst of what would be considered an average season by program standards.

But considering how much experience graduated last year, head coach Joe May entered the season well prepared.

“I knew it could be a struggle for us at times just because we have so many new guys and that’s tough sometimes,” May said. “We lost 200 innings of pitching and we lost 900 at-bats. We have only three guys back, two of whom played significant innings.

“We figured it might take awhile for us to get going. We’re hoping that we’ll be clicking at the end of the year, which is what you want to be doing anyway. You want to be playing your best at the end.”

Numbing numbers, part 2: In most years, Carmel issues about 2 to 3 walks a game and makes 1 error a game.

This season the Corsairs are walking batters at a steady rate, six to seven a game. And they’re making double the errors, at least 2 per game.

“We are shooting ourselves in the foot,” Carmel coach Joe May said. “We are our own worst enemy. I think it gets in your head. If you’re a pitcher and you’re trying so hard not to walk anyone, you usually end up pressing. Same thing with fielding.

“I think we just need to relax more.”

Big brothers: The Ryan brothers are coming up big for Carmel.

Older brother Jimmy is hitting .465 and has been one of the Corsairs’ top offensive players all season.

Not to be outdone, younger brother Matt is keeping pace. He has come up with some big hits since being brought up from the sophomore team.

“Matt is doing a nice job and hitting the ball very well for us,” Carmel coach Joy May said. “He’s already had a couple of huge hits. He’s also really helping us at third base.”