Baseball notes: Geneva, Lake Park off to sizzling starts
The high school baseball season is still early but there are plenty of reasons for added optimism these days at Geneva.
Led by senior infielder Nate Stempowski, who is batting .486 with 2 home runs, 6 doubles, 19 runs scored and a team-high 22 RBI, the Vikings entered the week with an 11-0-1 record following Saturday’s 3-2, come-from-behind, nonconference victory over Oswego East.
Keep in mind that Geneva finished with a 14-20 record last spring.
Stempowski became the Vikings’ first player since 1992 to hit for the cycle (single, double, triple, home run) in Geneva’s season-opening win over South Elgin last month.
The Vikings’ 12-game unbeaten streak ended following Monday’s 4-1 loss to Lake Park despite a complete-game effort from senior southpaw Bryce Breon, who allowed 8 hits while walking 2 and fanning 3.
Stempowski drove in Geneva’s lone run with a sacrifice fly in the first.
“We have had a great start,” said Vikings coach Brad Wendell. “It’s a senior-heavy group with Nate (Stempowski) leading the way. They’re a bunch of great competitors who play hard for each other.
“Offensively, Nate has really stood out, but our top five in the order have really done well, too. Kollin Mickelsen, Joey Cosentino, Sam Seykora, and Bryce Breon are all hitting .350 or higher. Our bottom half has also put together some quality at-bats. This has led to a lot of big innings and runs in several games. Of late, we have had to grind it out a bit.”
Mickelsen (.476), who leads the team with 20 hits, went 5 for 9 with 4 runs scored as the Vikings began DuKane Conference play with a pair of wins over Wheaton Warrenville South last week.
Cosentino (.429) enjoyed a superb series, going 7 for 11 with 8 RBI, while Breon went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI and smacked a 2-run home run in the Vikings’ victories over the Tigers.
“Different guys have stepped up in key situations,” said Wendell. “Josh Feucht, who started at third base because Chase Sorrentino was pitching against Oswego East, had one of our two hits with a sacrifice fly with two strikes in the sixth to push across the eventual game-winning run. He also made several solid defensive plays.”
On the mound, the Vikings have received significant contributions from starters Seth Kisner, Breon, and Feucht and reliever Shane Webb.
“Their ability to throw strikes has kept us in every game,” said the coach. “All three starters have WHIPS around 1.20. Shane has already earned three saves and has a team-best .118 BAA (batting average against).”
As of now, there is no makeup date following last week’s 6-6 draw with WW South (called after 9 innings due to darkness). It may only be made up if it has a bearing on the conference standings.
Lake Park is another team off and racing this season.
The Lancers, who swept Batavia and outscored the Bulldogs by a staggering 41-8 margin in the 3-game series, continued their momentum with an 8-6 win over Oak Park-River Forest last Friday and an 11-6 nonconference victory over Hersey last Saturday.
Through their first 12 games, the senior-dominated Lancers have been paced by third baseman Jayden Patel (.526, 2 HR, 7 stolen bases, team-high 20 hits, 7 doubles, 20 RBI), outfielders Spencer Hoarle (.526, .640 on-base percentage, team-high 20 runs scored, 13 stolen bases) and James Kelley (.500), shortstop/leadoff hitter Derek Ittner (.608 on-base percentage, 18 hits, 19 runs, 14 RBI, 8 stolen bases, 4 triples), second baseman Ryan Colucci (2 home runs, 11 RBI), and third baseman/designated hitter Christian Deshazer (2 home runs).
Colucci belted a go-ahead, 3-run home run in the fifth inning during last week’s 11-5, come-from-behind series-ending victory over Batavia.
On the mound, left-hander Dylan Bergman, who blanked the Bulldogs through 4 innings last week, owns a 0.68 ERA, while right-hander Joe Cicero has a 1.91 ERA.
Lake Park improved to 12-1 overall, 4-0 in DuKane Conference play with Monday’s 4-1 road win over Geneva.
Senior right-hander Sebastian Alvarez tossed a 4-hit complete game with 8 strikeouts.
Trailing 1-0 after 1 inning, the Lancers took the lead for good on Jason Keefe’s 2-run home run in the second. Jack Saylor added some insurance with a 2-run single in the seventh.
Coached by IHSBCA Hall of Famer Dan Colucci, Lake Park, which finished 23-14 last season, has been a perennial powerhouse of late.
Since 2018, the Lancers own a 17-4 postseason record with 4 Class 4A regional, 2 sectional, and a pair of supersectional titles, highlighted by a state runner-up showing in 2021 and a 3rd-place state finish in 2018.
Huntley (13-1) continued its early-season run with Monday’s 6-2 victory over Prairie Ridge.
Coach Andy Jakubowski’s Red Raiders currently lead the Fox Valley Conference with a 6-0 mark, 1 ½ games better than second-place Burlington Central (5-2). Jacobs (4-2) and Hampshire (3-2) are also in the mix.
An offensive juggernaut a year ago, the Red Raiders have won most of their games with superb pitching and strong defense this spring.
Wright State-bound senior Malachi Paplanus leads the pitching staff, bolstered by junior right-handers A.J. Putty and Mason Leske, and sophomore Josh Rudnick.
Huntley has allowed just 30 runs in its first 14 games and has outscored FVC foes 43-14 in 6 contests.
Offensively, the Red Raiders have been paced by seniors Haiden Janke, Kyle Larson, Quinn Drews, juniors Ryan Dabe, TJ Jakubowski, Putty, and sophomore Drew Borkowski.
Wheaton Academy extended its winning streak to 12 with Monday’s 6-3 victory over St. Edward.
Will Osterholm pitched 4 scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits while striking out 6, as the Warriors (12-1) improved to 3-0 in Chicagoland Christian Conference play.
Gunnar Fitzpatrick went 3 for 4, while Dom Murrell was 1-3 for 3 with a walk, 2 runs scored and a pair of stolen bases.
On April 9, the Warriors downed Timothy Christian 9-1 behind senior ace Eric DeCosta’s 5 scoreless frames with 8 strikeouts. DeCosta helped his cause with a double and single. Will Clegg and Murrell each had 3 hits, while Gino Spinelli added a pair of hits.