Baseball / Lake County roundup
C.J. Bailey had a day to remember Friday.
Grayslake North’s left-handed-hitting junior hit 3 home runs, finishing 4-for-4 with 5 RBI and leading the Knights to a 16-7 win over host Woodstock.
Kevin Staszczak was 3-for-5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI, and Kyle Fosco belted a 3-run homer. Fosco also had an RBI groundout.
Adam Gomski pitched the first 4 innings for the win, and Fosco tossed the final three for his fourth save.
Grayslake North (12-18) finished 11-13 in the Fox Valley Fox Division.
Grayslake Central 11, Huntley 7: Make it back-to-back Fox Valley Conference Fox Division championships for the Rams.
Grayslake Central (22-10) finished with a 16-8 FVC Fox mark.
“From a baseball standpoint, this has been a special week for a hardworking group of boys,” said Rams coach Troy Whalen. “We got to 20 wins again and won conference, which were program goals from Day 1. Having graduated eight full-time starters (last year) says a lot about these kids. They have worked their tails off, and we are playing our best ball heading into the postseason.”
Offensively, Jon Gurchak had a home run and single to lead the Rams, while Nick Hosford and Cam Neely each had a pair of singles with each scoring 2 runs. Austin Miller added a 2-run double.
Grayslake Central trailed 3-1 heading into the top of the fourth, but the Rams put up 6 runs to take the lead for the good.
On the mound, Austin Leggett picked up his seventh win, tossing 5 innings and allowing 3 runs on 5 hits. Leggett also had the strikeout pitch working, as he fanned 7 batters.
“Anytime you can get on the bus and win in Huntley, it’s special,” Whalen said. “Like everyone else, we’ve played five conference games in five days this week and the kids have kept an incredible energy level. Our seniors graduate on Sunday so it will be a great way to end the week for them.”
The Rams have one final regular-season game, as they host Wauconda at 10 a.m. today.
Carmel 7, Lakes 6: Tommy Ryan’s walk-off 2-run single in the seventh capped a wild nonconference win for the Corsairs, who entered the inning trailing 6-2.
Ryan and Brian Brennan each had 2 hits for Carmel (16-15) in its regular-season finale.
Lakes (18-13) got a 3-for-4 effort from Jake Brown.
Libertyville 7, Notre Dame 5: Joey Ruppert hit a 2-run homer for the Wildcats.
Evan Skoug (2 doubles) and A.J. Schurr each had 2 hits for Libertyville (19-12), which hosts Glenbrook North today.
McHenry 5, Lake Zurich 3: Sean Eder was 3-for-3 for the Bears (14-16), who had their seven-game winning streak snapped.