Baseball: Scouting Cook County
Baseball returns this week - if they can get the weather and the fields to cooperate.
No area teams qualified for the state finals last year. Maine South, Buffalo Grove and Barrington each won their respective conference titles, only to be eliminated by one run in the playoffs. St. Viator and Fremd lost in the sectionals, also by one run.
Maine South, along with St. Viator, Barrington, Conant, Buffalo Grove and Hersey could contend again this season.
The season will culminate with the state finals June 9-10 in Joliet.
Here is a look at area teams:
Barrington is coming off another successful season. The Broncos won 20 games for the 10th consecutive season, and they also won the MSL West title. They will have huge holes to fill this season, losing eight starters from that team. P/INF Nick Lacson (Colorado School of Mines), P/INF Payton Soske (Columbia), P Maks Pierga (Eastern Illinois) and OF Kade Schneider return to help shore up that lineup and give consistency to the mound. They can expect help from 1B Dylan Provenzano (Carthage) and a junior class that went 29-4 last year as sophomores.
Conant will be young but still deadly. The Cougars started five sophomores last season and still were able to finish with a .500 record. Three-year starter Jake Parpet, who is a junior, will direct the team from behind the plate. He will have three starters returning to catch in Bryce Loeger, Jackson Breaux and Logan Gale while the back end will be strong with Daniel Broeker and Connor Bowman coming out of the bullpen. Isiah Rhodes was the top run producer for the Cougars last season with Loeger, Angelo Coletta and Matt Maize figuring to be huge contributors as well.
Fremd is looking to build off the late deep run the Vikings had last season. Fremd, which was third in the MSL West last season, advanced to the sectional finals before losing 2-1 to Mundelein. The Vikings return a nice core from that team including Yuhki Yamada, who hit .357, Quinn Nelson, Brayden Mobley, Jake Schreiner, James Philipp and Dean Rokkas (PIMA CC)
Hoffman Estates lost just two seniors to graduation last year and hope to build off a more experienced roster. The Hawks return seven starters, three of which are seniors this season. Ethan Dorka, Emmett Bond, Branden Osorio, Nate Frank, Joey Lizak, Xavier Martinez and Will Nock will look to keep the Hawks on an upward trend. Hoffman also got a bonus when Eloy Suarez, who is a junior, transferred from Harvest Christian.
Palatine figures to be strong up the middle. Joe Peiper led the team last year with 51 innings pitched while sophomores Toby Peterson and Peter Mulhern, who combined for 25 innings pitched, give the Pirates varsity experience on the bump. Palatine also returns its middle infield in SS Carter Munroe and 2B Andy Illiopolous. Tommy Coroneos will be back in center field after he returns from an injury he suffered in football. Nate Branch, who hit .363 last year, moves to first base while Aiden Wimer and Ajay Rizzo will be behind the plate.
Schaumburg will be looking to build off the late season success last year when the Saxons knocked off second-seeded Willowbrook in the opening round of the state playoffs. They return junior outfielder Brayden Mazzacano (Illinois) to lead the offense. Raffi Torosian (Benedictine) should also be a key factor offensively along with Justin Reineke (UW-Platteville), Jack Denk, Lucas Tillotson, Anthony DiGioia, Erick Colon, Colin Adams, Timmy Spatz, Jason Williams and Stephen Schroeder. Reinke, Denk, Williams and Colon will pick up most of the innings for the Saxons.
Buffalo Grove is looking for a three-peat. The Bison have won the MSL East and then the MSL championship the past two seasons. They lost in the regional title game by a run to Mundelein, which finished second on the state last year. Mason Hulligan will be one of the leaders on the mound to help drive the Bison. James Hensley, who threw 66 innings last season, along with Payton Diaz, who threw 49 innings, also return. Diaz, along with Brody Mac, Michael Wolverton and sophomore sensation Griffin Kelly, return to key the offense.
Elk Grove returns four starters as the Grenadiers look to be in contention in the MSL East. Those four, all seniors, are all versatile, playing both the field and pitching as well. David Garza, Mitch Janczak, Dylan McCorry and Myles Schwartz all hit better than .320 last season and will be the main factors for the Grens. Elk Grove will need additional help from Peter Pantazis, Lucas Rogers, Matthew Martorano, Dylan Berkowitz and Nick Jimenez.
Hersey will have a great mix of players with returning experience this season. P/INF David Denten, INF Aidan Groberski (Dominican), OF Connor Kave (Ohlone College), C Carson Naegel and INF Tyler Naegele all return to give the Huskies some senior leadership. P/INF Jeremy Allen and OF Brandon Pflomm are juniors while P/INF Keegan Luxem and P/INF Chuck Meister who hit .365 last season are both sophomores. Luxem, Denten, Allen and Meister will give the Huskies depth on the mound.
Prospect has six seniors on its roster this season. Gavin Flanagan, Drew Terpins, Jack Friar (IIT), Tyler Erickson, Laughton Joyce, Zach Moreth and Cole Cacini (Carroll College) all have experience and leadership. The key for the Knights will be the development of a long list of juniors including Nick Albrecht, Owen Anderson, Justin Bjorgo, Matt Guza, Jack Krueger, Jack Mannion, Matt Szyska, Alex Tabbert, Nate Tader and Ryan Foley, along with sophomore Jack Davis.
Rolling Meadows graduated 11 seniors from last season. The Mustangs do return Jake Repack, Carl Moland-Kovash, Pete Frominos, Logan Szukala, Danny Quick, Brady Ryan, Braden Koons and Adam Lasiewicki.
Wheeling is looking for its best season in years. Many of their players participate in multiple sports, giving the team tremendous athleticism. The Wildcats return six starters, four of which have been four-year starters at Wheeling. Zach Zalewski, Caleb Martinez, AJ Marchetti and Gavin Stanke have been the key cogs with their ability to pitch, hit and play the field. Zach Zangara and Grant Scheuerman also have solid varsity experience.
Leyden has hopes to turn things around after a tough year last year. The good news for the Eagles is that they return a core of players to do that. Jimmy Traficanti (DuPage) and Matthew McBrien (DuPage) were solid players last season along with Andrew Mann (Morton) and Jake Sarnecke. Sammy Calderon Jr., who is a freshman, and Hassan Khrawish, who is a sophomore, could also be factors.
St. Viator is beginning a new chapter this season. Former Elk Grove coach Terry Beyna is taking over for Mike Manno, who stepped down to become athletic director at Nazareth. Beyna inherits a team that went 31-3 last season and lost in the sectional finals. Shortstop Zan Von Schlegel, Michael Nix, Dylan Harer, Jake VanBooven, Sean Hogan, Bryan Hatch, Jake Glassetter and Carter Johnson all are back as the Lions look to make another run in 3A.
Maine East will be hoping that its young players grow up quickly. The Blue Demons will start three freshmen and a sophomore. Maine East will lean heavily on the senior leadership from P/3B Andrew Isho and P/OF Wolfgang Gustaveson along with outfielders Mike Brook and Quintin Lasky. Juniors Dean Kakares and Jalen Moraga will also be factors.
Maine South won its second consecutive CSL South title last season. But a loss in the regional finals derailed the Hawks. This year Maine South looks to challenge again. The Hawks boast a trio of pitchers in Braden Quinn, who had an ERA of 1.22, Drew Koenen (Dartmouth), who had an ERA of 1.35, and James Stanisic, whose ERA was 1.42, to power their run. Kerim Orucevic (UC San Diego), who was an all-state shortstop, along with Brady Marques, Noah Collins, Joe Ward (SW Iowa CC), Liam Maloney and Ben Labutka (Concordia-Chi) all return to key a strong offense.
Maine West will have a youth movement this season. The Warriors will start just one senior along with seven juniors and a sophomore. Charlie Parcell (Northern Illinois), who is that lone senior, is coming off a terrific season where he hit .520 and had an ERA of 1.71. Ben Cooper, who threw out 23 runners behind the plate, also returns. He will catch Zach Steingard and Tanner Carson, who had a .656 ERA last season.