Cary-Grove blanks Round Lake
The Cary-Grove baseball team scored 5 runs in the first two innings, and pitcher Ryan Kaveney pitched a complete game 3-hitter in Wednesday’s 8-0 victory over No. 4 Round Lake in a Class 4A McHenry regional semifinal.
Kaveney (9-2) struck out 11 without issuing a walk. The left-hander threw first-pitch strikes to 17 of the 24 hitters he faced, and he completed the game in 85 pitches, 61 of which he threw for strikes.
No. 1 Cary-Grove (22-14) advance to Saturday’s regional title game to play the winner of today’s semifinal between No. 2 Grant and No. 3 McHenry.
The Trojans took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Daniel Vilardo drove Matt Byrne in from third with a sacrifice fly.
The Trojans erupted for 4 runs in the second inning. With two outs and the bases loaded, Matt Ewert doubled to right field to score Jeremy Vasquez and Matt DiCicco. Byrne and courtesy runner Anthony Monfeli subsequently scored on one of Round Lake’s 3 errors.
Cary-Grove scored twice in the fifth inning on a double by Nick Beyer and Dylan McDonough’s RBI groundout. Vilardo’s sixth-inning single scored Byrne to make it 8-0.
Offensive pacesetters for the Trojans included Byrne (1-for-3, BB, 3 runs), Ewert (2-for-3, 2 RBI) and Vilardo (1-for-2, BB, 2 RBI).