Tri-Cities All-Area baseball team
John Brodner
St. Charles North
This all-Upstate Eight Conference River Division selection completed his third year playing varsity baseball for the North Stars before heading to Wright State for college baseball. A 2-year All-Area selection and three-year all-conference pick, Brodner hit cleanup for the 23-13 North Stars and batted .347. “John was one of the best pure hitters we have ever had,” North Stars coach Todd Genke said. “He became a Division I talent through hard work and determination. He has left a mark on the record books. He is the kid you want at the plate with the game on the line.”
Nick Erickson
St. Charles East
This junior shortstop and leadoff hitter got the offense going for a St. Charles East team that went 25-11 and won both the Upstate Eight Conference River Division and a regional championship. Batted .373 and showed his pop with 16 doubles among his 44 base hits while also driving in 20 runs from that leadoff position. Erickson scored 37 runs — third-best in the area — and stole 11 bases. Defensively, committed just 3 errors in over 130 chances. “Nick was outstanding all the way around,” Saints coach Len Asquini said. “We had to do very little talking to him on how to be leadoff hitter. He did great right off the bat. He took the reigns as a leadoff hitter and ran with them.”
Tom Fox
Kaneland
With nearly all the offense from Kaneland’s 2011 Class 3A state championship team graduated, coach Brian Aversa needed some new faces to emerge. Fox certainly did. He led the Knights in batting average at .374 and also was first on the team with 15 doubles, 2 triples and 26 RBI while scoring 20 runs and drawing 12 walks to post a .504 on-base percentage and .591 slugging percentage. Helped the Knights win their first outright conference championship with a 13-2 record in the Northern Illinois Big 12 East.
Andy Honiotes
Geneva
This junior didn’t lose a game for Geneva this spring, finishing 7-0 with 74 strikeouts and just 17 walks in 48 1/3 innings to post a minuscule 1.01 ERA. While his fastball consistently reaches 87 or 88 miles per hour, it’s his command of four pitches — fastball, curve, change and slider — that have Division I colleges like Miami and Oregon showing interest. Threw a 1-hitter against Batavia with 12 strikeouts. “He really, really improved from his sophomore year,” Geneva coach Matt Hahn said of the all-conference pick. “I think he became one of the elite pitchers in the area.”
Joe Hoscheit
St. Charles East
As good of a pure hitter as the area has, Hoscheit ripped pitchers this spring to the tune of a .412 batting average, 14 doubles, 29 RBI and 2 home runs. Scored 25 runs and had a .484 on-base percentage while slugging .608. Also stole 13 bases. Split time between left field and some catcher and impressed coach Len Asquini at both. “Big clutch hitter for us,” Asquini said. “Came through on many occasions, no matter one out, two outs, he just hit, hit, hit, just a hitting machine. And I loved the way he played defense. Wherever we put him he was a big part of our defense. He was super.”
Jake Johansmeier
St. Charles North
Headed to Eastern Illinois, this hard-throwing right-hander didn’t always get the best run support. No game epitomized this more than the final one, a 2-1 loss to Schaumburg in the regional final when Johansmeier struck out nine and walked just one but lost on an unearned run. Ranked among the area leaders with 55 strikeouts, 2.68 ERA and 20 RBI at the plate while earning Upstate Eight Conference honors. “Jake really developed into a dynamic two-way player this year,” North Stars coach Todd Genke said. “Not only was he a clutch hitter and defender, but he also wanted the ball on the mound in our biggest games. His confidence and intrinsic motivation helped him become one of the best players in the conference and Fox Valley area.”
Kyle Kozak
Marmion
The Cadets’ senior catcher also was their most dangerous hitter with a .340 average, 24 runs, 12 doubles and a .536 slugging percentage. Also got on base at a .460 clip while perhaps most impressively finishing with 35 RBI good for third-best in the area. The 3-year starter will play next year at Washington University. “His leadership behind the plate this season was just as valuable as his performance on the field,” Marmion coach Dave Rakow said. “He was arguably our most consistent player over the course of the last two seasons, batting in the 3 or 4 spot both years. He was also very dependable defensively behind the plate, which is something that stats don’t really record, but definitely won us ballgames this season.”
Bobby Kuntzendorf
Aurora Christian
Headed to Northern Illinois, this lefty delivered one more big year for the 26-9 regional champion Eagles. He led the area in both wins (10-1) and strikeouts (117) while finishing with a 1.44 ERA. Two-time All-Area selection also was a force at the plate with a .365 average, 6 home runs and 35 RBI. In three varsity seasons went 24-4 with 343 strikeouts and 1.17 ERA. “Bobby had another tremendous year,” Eagles coach Andy Zorger said. “He was dominant again and did what we came to expect from him. He pretty much hasn’t been hit hard at all in his three varsity seasons.”
Kyle Manske
St. Charles East
The left-handed ace of the Saints’ conference championship team made sure that would be an outright title when he beat rival St. Charles North on the final game of the regular season at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark. That was one of eight wins in his 8-2 senior season. Fanned 56 hitters in his 68 1/3 innings while finishing with a 1.43 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. Take away one bad start when he gave up 8 runs to Geneva and that ERA was under 0.70. “Kyle was super for us from start to finish,” said coach Len Asquini. “He had a super year for us, very difficult to replace.” Pitching at Blackhawk Community College next year, Manske won four games this year after a Saints loss. “That was senior leadership,” Asquini said.
Matt Williams
Geneva
The captain of this year’s All-Area team, Williams delivered in the clutch both at the plate and as a closer who nailed down 6 saves for the Vikings, who went 26-8 to take second in the Upstate Eight River and earn a No. 1 sectional seed. Williams led the area with 10 home runs and 49 RBI while batting .392 with 9 doubles, 34 runs and 9 stolen bases. “Numbers-wise this was his most productive season,” Geneva coach Matt Hahn said of the two-time All-Area pick and future NIU quarterback. “If you combine what he’s done on the mound and at the plate it’s hard to argue the last several years anyone has had a better year than he had.”
2012 Baseball All-area roster
Player School Pos. Yr.
John Brodner St. Charles North 3B Sr.
Nick Erickson St. Charles East SS Jr.
Tom Fox Kaneland 3B Sr.
Andy Honiotes Geneva P Jr.
Joe Hoscheit St. Charles East LF Jr.
Jake Johansmeier St. Charles North P/2B Sr.
Kyle Kozak Marmion C Sr.
Bobby Kuntzendorf Aurora Christian P/OF Sr.
Kyle Manske St. Charles East P Sr.
*Matt Williams Geneva CF/P Sr.
Second team
Player School Pos. Yr.
Matt Brandys Geneva OF/P Sr.
Micah Coffey Batavia 1B/3B/2B/P/OF So.
Troy DeFilippis St. Charles East OF Jr.
Carl Formento St. Charles North P Sr.
Andy Francis Geneva 3B Sr.
Jake Hanson Aurora Christian C Sr.
Josh Haugen Aurora Christian SS Sr.
Jacob Razo Kaneland RF Sr.
Richie Renner West Aurora SS Sr.
Mitch Sterne Marmion 2B Sr.
* — Honorary captain
Special mention
Brandon Drawnt (St. Charles North, sr., OF); Jordan Hayes (St. Charles East, sr., 2B); Austin Higgins (Batavia, sr., 2B/P); John Hopkins (Kaneland, jr., P); Austin Shanahan (Batavia, jr., P); Trevor Storck (Kaneland, sr., P); John Swiderski (Geneva, sr., C).
Honorable mention
J.T. Baksha (Aurora Christian, sr., P/OF); Ray Barry (Kaneland, sr., OF); Robbie Bowman (Batavia, jr., OF); Shane Cano (Marmion, sr., P/OF); Matt Czerak (Aurora Central, sr.); Mitch Endriukaitis (Geneva, jr., 2B); Laren Eustace (Batavia, so., OF); AJ Friedman (Marmion, sr., CF); Ty Heinle (Kanleand, sr., C); Bobby Hess (Geneva, jr., OF); Johnny Hondlik (St. Charles East, sr., P/1B); Nick Huskisson (St. Charles East, jr., P); Luke Ludke (St. Charles East, sr., P); Kenny McCracken (Aurora Christian, sr., 3B/P); Connor Medernach (Marmion, sr., 1B/3B); Erik Nelson (St. Charles North, sr., OF); Connor Riley (Marmion, jr., P/OF/SS); Andrew Salapateck (Aurora Central, sr.); Phil Schuetz (Aurora Central, jr.); Jake Smiley (St. Charles North, sr., SS); Shawn Soris (Aurora Central, jr.); Jordan Touro (Geneva, jr., P); Bryan VanBogaert (Kaneland, sr. P); Jake Weede (Geneva, jr., OF).
The winners
Conference champions
Aurora Christian, Kaneland, Marmion, St. Charles East
Regional champions
Aurora Christian, Marmion, St. Charles East
The future
Teams to watch in 2013
St. Charles East, Geneva, Batavia