Cook baseball notes: Schaumburg’s Adamowicz off to near perfect start
What a start for Schaumburg freshman Hayden Adamowicz.
He is almost unhittable. Adamowicz had a perfect game last Saturday against Vernon Hills in his team’s 12-0 win in six innings. That was proceeded by a six-inning no-hitter against West Chicago on March 28.
Adamowicz has allowed just two hits in 17.2 innings. He has a 3-0 mark and also has recorded a save for the Saxons (9-2, 2-0).
And just to make his stats even juicier, he has fanned 35, allowed one earned run, has an ERA of 0.36 and opponents are hitting just .036 against him.
“You could tell early on that Hayden has the ability to compete at a high level,” Schaumburg coach Nick Kostalek said. “However, there are two things that have really stuck out. First, is his mindset. His willingness and confidence to take on any role in order to contribute to the team's success has been impressive. Whether he is starting, closing, or taking on the DH role, he is a gamer and passionate about his responsibility. The second surprise has been his control. He throws all of his pitches for strikes and the off-speed has complimented the elevated velocity on his fastball. “
And the best part for Schaumburg is that Adamowicz isn’t the top pitcher in their rotation. That honor goes to Brayden Mazzacano, who is committed to Illinois. Mazzacano is 3-1 and has allowed just four earned runs in 14 innings while striking out 27.
“Adamowicz and Mazzacano remind me of the one-two punch of Nick Laxner and Kyle Morgan when I coached at Huntley High School in 2016 and we went to the supersectional.,” Kostalek said.
Barrington: The Broncos (7-4-1, 1-1) are off to another solid start. And head coach Pat Wire said, “It still early.” Barrington has been getting some solid pitching from Bryce Koch, who is 2-0 with 18.2 IP, 31K, a 2.25 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He also tossed a no hitter against Palatine on Monday. Patrick Podelesnik has also looked good. He is 2-1 in 16.2 IP with 24K and a 1.26 ERA. Dillon Fitzpatrick (.353, 3 2B, 13 runs), Juilian Ashley-Friedman (.320, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR) and Jackson Cavaliero (.409, 3 2B, 1HR, 8 RBI and 5 runs) have been the offensive leaders. Catcher Peter Ensign recorded 5 outs defensively at catcher vs St. Charles by either caught stealing or putouts at the plate.
Buffalo Grove: The Bison (5-6-1, 1-1) are looking for some consistency in their play. They had a solid 3-2 spring trip to Tampa/St. Pete, but have not completely capitalized on that coming home. Jonah Pomerantz (.435, 2 2B, 1 3B, 6 RBI) and Cole Diaz (.300, 5 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI and 8 runs) have been the offensive leaders. Griffin Kelly (19IP 1.84 ERA, 20 K) and Payton Diaz (13 IP, 3.20 ERA, 20 K, 3 BB) have been Buffalo Grove’s top pitchers. “We've been inconsistent with our play to this point and our top guys have started off slow,” Buffalo Grove coach Bill Montemayor said.
Conant: The Cougars (8-1, 2-0) are off to a terrific start thanks to solid pitching and lively bats, which have accounted for an average of 8.4 runs per game. Jake Parpet (.565), Jacob Szpiganowicz (.500), Matt Maize (.480), Isaiah Rhodes (.455 avg, 11 RBIs) have been the hitting leaders while junior Richard Pena hitting .385 in the 9-hole. Franklin Kircher and Bryce Loeger are each 3-0 and lead a staff that has posted a pair of shutouts. “We’re playing well,” Conant coach Derek Fivelson said. “As long as our pitchers throw strikes and limit walks, our offense should take care of business and we’ll be tough to beat.”
Elk Grove: The Grenadiers (1-7, 0-2) have been off to a slower start than they had hoped for. But coach Steven Lesniak says that their record is not indicative of the way the team has played. “We continue to improve every day,” Lesniak. Rogers has the only win on the season and has a 3.436 ERA with 9 strikeouts and 0 walks while Matthew Martorano is hitting .320 and freshman Cooper Casterton has played a solid left field (1.000 fielding) and is hitting .250 with 4 runs and 3 stolen bases.
Fremd: The Viking (2-6, 0-2) are looking to overcome the little things to get themselves back into the winning column. “Right now, we are making a lot of small mistakes and are beating ourselves,” Fremd coach Chris Piggott said. Sophomore Johnny O’Brien leads Fremd hitting .524 while Chase Nelson is batting .400 and Brody Frieders .300.
Hersey: Defending summer league champions Huskies (6-5, 2-0) have found this spring a bit tougher. Key injuries to Keegan Luxem and Bryl Barnard have slowed Hersey while Brandon Pflomm has just returned from an injury. “To be honest, we are not even meeting expectations,” Hersey coach Wally Brownley said. “We don’t really have anyone exceeding at the moment.” Junior Charlie Arvanitis has stepped up quite nicely hitting .379 while Drew Phillips (.323), Brady Klehr (.304) and Chuck Meister (.303) have also come up big.
Hoffman Estates: The Hawks (6-8, 0-2) won just 9 games last season and are in a solid position to easily surpass that. They won four in a row a week ago before some adversity struck and they dropped four straight. Coach Andrew Wulbecker is upbeat about his team’s play. “We keep reminding our kids that life is sweet when you are surrounded by candy-coated dreams,” Wulbecker said. “But once that candied shell melts away and things get messy we need to give the same attitude and effort when the ball doesn’t roll our way and get back on track.” Brandon Osorio leads the Hawks hitting .514. Josh Shemanskis is batting .375, Eloy Suarez: .371 while Jaden Holmes has stepped up to hit .435. Joey Lizak is Hoffman’s top pitcher going 2-0 in 19.1 innings pitched.
Leyden: The Eagles (5-6, 3-2) are on a three-game winning streak thanks to the play of Hassan Khrawish, who is hitting .364, Nikko Bradle, who is batting .420 and Drelyn Jones, who is at .364. “(We) stand on the verge of success, not merely because of our talent, but because of our dedication to each other and the relentless pursuit of improving,” Leyden coach Ruairi O’Connor said.
Maine East: The Blue Demons (2-7, 0-1) have dropped four of their last five, but are looking to turn things around. They also went on spring trip to Millington, TN where they played some very good competition but went 0-3. “We are starting to play much cleaner baseball on defense and have been playing well offensively,” Maine East coach Ronald Clark said. “If our pitching continues to improve, we will compete well in conference play.” Jalen Moraga leads the Demons hitting .560 with 14 hits and has 8 RBI and 8 runs scored. Sophomore pitcher Efgar Burge is 2-2 with 3.60 ERA with 21.1 innings pitched with 22 strikeouts.
Maine South: The Hawks (3-9, 1-0) have won two in a row and are beginning to show how being battle tested can pay dividends. They played Huntley, York, Conant and Lincoln-Way East during spring break losing all four games but learning along the way according to coach Brian Lorenz. “Everything is a process,” Lorenz said. “Right now, we are not doing the little things to win ball games. Our young players are learning and will be prepared come May.” Chris Gonzalo leads the Hawks batting .333 while sophomore Connor Griffin has pitched 12.2.
Maine West: Although the Warriors are (3-5, 0-1), coach Mike Randazzo feels that the team’s trip to Louisville was a great experience for his team despite going 0-3 there. “We saw some very good competition,” Randazzo said. “This is a very coachable team that continues to make progress and get better each day.” Tommy Delaney leads the team hitting .391. Ethan Cusack is batting .346, Ben Cooper is at .333 with two home runs while Tannor Carson has played extremely well batting .385. Alex Krecu has thrown seven innings and has a 2.00 ERA.
Palatine: The Pirates (3-10. 1-1) have had some difficulty closing out games, especially in their spring trip to Alabama. Palatine led or was tied in three of their four games in the 5th inning and ended up losing all four. “We are learning how to win as a team,” Palatine coach Paul Belo said. “Individually we have to seize moments that can lead to our success. Up to this point we have not done that consistently to win.” Tobias Peterson, who is a junior and hitting .368 with three triples, recently committed to play at Kentucky. Palatine also has a trio of seniors who have committed in Sean Wasserman (Carthage College), Morgan Wachler (Illinois Wesleyan) and Liam Arnold (Wheaton College).
Prospect: The Knights (9-4, 2-0) are off to a good start and had a solid trip to Tampa/St. Pete where they went 3-1. Drew Terpins leads Prospect hitting .593 with 16 hits.Jack Mannion is batting .458 with 13 hits, Alex Tabbert .433 with 13 hits while Laughton Joyce is 2-0 with 19 Ks. “We have had some positive flashes of what we are capable of as a team,” Prospect coach Ross Giusti said. “Defensively we have to be better at a couple of positions but that will improve along the way. We like our pitching right now, but that is still a work in progress.”
Rolling Meadows: The Mustangs (7-3, 1-1) are off to a hot start despite not traveling to a warm area for spring break. Braden Koons, who is hitting.552 with 10 RBI, 4 stolen bases, two triples and a homer, is leading the offense. Ryan Schneider (.429, 12 RBI, 5 doubles) and Cal Paisley (.516, 6 stolen bases and 12 runs) have also been key contributors while Charlie Soukup is 2-0 and has yet to allow an earned run and Cam Wachtel is 2-0 with an ERA of 2.62. “There's a lot of trust between the players and they are constantly working toward daily improvement,” Rolling Meadows coach Matt Rice said. “It's a fun group to be part of.”
St. Viator: The Lions (7-4, 3-1) have been roaring the past week. Heading into Thursday, they have won three straight, all ESCC conference games
Wheeling: The Wildcats (3-7, 0-2) went to Arizona for their spring trip. They lost their first two before bouncing back to win their final two. Since that time, Illinois has not been every good to them, with Wheeling losing their last four. “Offensively, we are seeing the ball well and scoring runs against some of the area's top arms,” Wheeling coach Jason Wieder said. “Defensively, we are looking to be more consistent. Right now, we are making too many costly mistakes that have driven our pitcher's pitch counts up and forced us into our bullpen earlier than we had hoped.” Sophomore Collin Fitzgerald leads the team hitting .500 (11-22) with a team-leading 9 RBI. Zach Zangara is hitting .435 (10-23) and is leading the team in slugging .739 and OPS of 1.239. Sophomore Zach Neukirch (SO) is leading the team in ERA with a 0.60 ERA and 22 strikeouts to 1 walk. He is 1-0 on the year with a pair no decisions that the Wildcats gave away in the closing innings.