Baseball: Aurora Central Catholic sweeps doubleheader
Alex Rakas tripled to open the top of the eighth inning and scored what proved to be the winning run on Chris Cartwright's sacrifice fly to lead Aurora Central Catholic to a 4-3 win in the first game of a nonconference doubleheader at Bloomington Central Catholic Saturday.
Cartwright drove in 4 runs. Tommy Musuras earned the win in relief of Brett Crissie and Nathan Sundberg with scoreless 1⅔ innings.
Aurora Central (11-4) completed the sweep with a 12-6 win. Musuras tossed the first 4 innings to pick up a second win on the day. He allowed 3 earned runs on 4 hits and 4 walks, but the offense supported him with 10 hits. Rakas finished 3-for-5 with 2 doubles and drove in 5 runs. Leadoff batter Jeff Albert and Cartwright each contributed 2 hits.
Metea Valley 12-7, Aurora Christian 5-6: Undefeated Metea Valley rallied for 3 runs in its last at-bat to walk off defending Class 1A state champion Aurora Christian and complete the sweep of a nonconference doubleheader in Aurora Saturday. Dylan Wrona singled to center field with the bases loaded to score Spencer Collins with the winning run. Sam Tickel, who went 3-for-3 at the plate with a double and 2 RBI, took the loss in relief.
Metea Valley (11-0) won the first game 12-5. Jake Kuntzendorf absorbed the loss after allowing 9 runs (6 earned) on 9 hits and 4 walks. He struck out 5 and threw 98 pitches in 3⅓ innings. Tickel had 2 of the 5 hits for Aurora Christian (7-2-1).
West Aurora 5, Bartlett 4: Darrin Hartkopp scored after a leadoff, eighth-inning triple and the Blackhawks added an insurance run in an Upstate Eight win. Winning pitcher Kyler Sroggins pitched a scoreless seventh inning. Reliever Adrian Ruiz allowed a run after a two-out double and a walk, but earned the save by notching a strikeout with the potential tying run at third base.
Burlington Central 9, DeKalb 3: Cody Carlson, Jake Jarvis and Braden Seyller doubled, and Colton Wallace drove in 2 runs in a nonconference road win for Central (4-5). Winning pitcher Adam Payton held the Barbs to an unearned run on 5 hits and did not issue a walk in 4⅔ innings.
Crystal Lake South 7, Hampshire 6: Evan Jewson's fifth-inning single scored Nick DiBenedetto with the go-ahead run and reliever Beiker Fuentes earned the win by holding the Whip-Purs to 2 unearned runs over the last 4 inning. Jewson also hit a solo home run in the Fox Valley Conference home win for CL South (6-2, 3-1). John Brady Young was the tough-luck losing pitcher after allowing 6 runs (1 earned) in 3⅓ innings. Andrew Krajecki and Gavin Kriegel each doubled twice for Hampshire (5-4, 0-3).
Prairie Ridge 9, Dundee-Crown 3: Enrique Aramburo went 2-for-2 with a double, a walk and 2 RBI in a Fox Valley Conference loss for Dundee-Crown (2-8, 0-4).
South Elgin 14, Elgin 0: Griffen Allen singled, doubled twice and drove in 3 runs, and Austin Doty went 2-for-3 with a double as the Storm pounded out 11 hits in a five-inning Upstate Eight win. Pitchers Patrick Roy (3 innings) and Andy Jachim each allowed 1 hit in the combined shutout for South Elgin (5-2, 3-1). Tim Mitchell and Eric Damerow managed the only hits for Elgin (0-7, 0-4)
Elgin Academy 19, Westminster Christian 0: The Hilltoppers scored 19 runs on 6 hits, helped by 5 Westminster errors, to win a five-inning nonconference game. Colin Konicek drove in a pair and Connor Reece allowed a lone hit in 3 innings to earn the victory for Elgin Academy (4-4). Frankie Schlaffer's double was the only hit for Westminster Christian (1-2)
Jacobs 11, McHenry 0: Andrew Balkcom threw 5 scoreless innings and limited McHenry (7-2, 2-1) to 4 hits in a Fox Valley Conference road win. Max Bielawski went 3-for-3 with a double and 3 runs to lead a 13-hit attack for Jacobs (5-5, 2-1).
West Chicago 6, Larkin 5: West Chicago scored the game-winning run with help of an outfield error by Larkin (0-9) in the Upstate Eight win. Max Anderson went 3-for-3 and drove in a run and Kevin Duffy finished 2-for-4 with a double and 2 RBI.
St. Charles North 13, Libertyville 6: Andrew Jimenez (3 RBI) counted an inside-the-park home run among 3 hits and John Hamer doubled twice and knocked in 3 runs to pace a 13-hit barrage in a nonconference win for the North Stars (5-4).
Kaneland 3, Oswego 2: Joe Born drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh to walk off the Panthers in nonconference play. Jon Alstott (double) and Angel Acevedo each contributed 2 hits for Kaneland (7-5).
Glenbard South 6, Streamwood 1: Dylan Caruso and Justin Gonzalez had the only hits in an Upstate Eight loss for Streamwood (4-4, 2-2). Losing pitcher AJ Reyna allowed 5 runs (4 earned) on 7 hits and 3 walks in 5 innings. He struck out four.
St. Edward 14, UIC College Prep 2: St. Edward won its second straight game and third in five outings as five pitchers allowed only 3 hits and 3 walks and struck out eight. Starting pitcher Drew Tilche went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI and leadoff man Ben Boydston doubled twice in 4 at-bats, walked and scored 3 runs for St. Edward (3-7).