Wrap: Neuqua Valley rally falls short vs. Saxons

After the spring his team has endured, Schaumburg baseball coach Paul Groot wasn't sour about a last-minute road trip Friday.

A rain-soaked field in Schaumburg was unplayable, so the Schaumburg Flyers Baseball Classic game with Neuqua Valley was moved to Naperville hours before first pitch Friday afternoon.

No problem for the Saxons, who beat the defending Class AA champion on its home field 11-7. Schaumburg plays either Jacobs or Wheaton Warrenville South at 4 p.m. today at Alexian Field.

"I had to round up everybody about 2 p.m. today to tell them the game was on," Groot said, "but our kids were ready to play. We've been inside for six weeks -- we haven't even had a practice on our field. Our kids were chomping at the bit to play."

Saxons pitcher Andy Brandt (1-0) was in control for six innings, scattering 8 hits and allowing 3 runs with 3 strikeouts and just 1 walk.

"That's my thing, throwing strikes," Brandt said. "I put it where I want it to be."

Brandt wasn't overpowering, but he did strand 8 Neuqua Valley baserunners and picked off another.

"He threw his second and third pitch for a strike," Neuqua Valley coach Robin Renner said. "In high school if you do that you don't have to throw hard."

Neuqua Valley starter Jason David (0-1) held Schaumburg hitless with just an unearned run through three innings. But the Saxons (2-0) busted out in the fourth.

Mike Mistrata poked an opposite-field single to left to lead off, and George Kalousek drilled a homer over the fence in center field to make it 3-0.

Dave Compitello later ripped a 2-strike RBI single to center, and Steve Mahler finished off the inning with a 2-out, 2-run double over the third base bag to make it 6-0.

"It was huge, getting out in front on a good club," Groot said. "We knew we'd have our hands full coming over here."

Neuqua Valley (2-2) got on the board in the fifth on an RBI groundout by Jordan Williamson and Chris Kruppe's run-scoring single.

Down 11-3 heading into the seventh, the Wildcats rallied for 4 runs and had the tying run in the on-deck circle before Schaumburg's Kyle Pusateri relieved to retire the final two outs.

Kruppe and Hunter Pruitt each had 2 hits for Neuqua Valley, which is in the midst of a grueling stretch of baseball. After the Schaumburg tournament this weekend, the Wildcats play five conference games in five days starting Monday.

"At this point we don't have the competitive spirit that we need," Renner said. "They don't quite have that fire in their eyes yet. When these guys figure it out, I think they'll be pretty good."

-- Joshua Welge

Downers Grove South 14, Addison Trail 0: Sometimes the baseball appears no larger than a pea.

Other times it looks so big and appetizing. Like Anthony Fiorenzi is seeing it now.

Fiorenzi went 3-for-3 with an RBI double and a 2-run home run in Downers Grove South's 14-0 West Suburban Gold victory over Addison Trail in Addison.

The senior third baseman led a 12-hit Mustangs attack that included Jared Culver's 2-run double and Lenny Kapovich's 3-run home run.

Fiorenzi collected his third straight game-winning hit -- though after two late-inning jobs his first-inning single to score leadoff man Joey White came without drama.

"I'm just seeing pitches pretty well," Fiorenzi said. "I don't know, it's like a balloon out there right now."

Addison Trail (0-7, 0-2) saw its balloon pop in the second inning.

Down 2-0 after an inning in which two double-play chances were squandered and Fiorenzi's catchable fly fell untouched, Downers South (5-2, 2-0) scored 5 unearned runs with two outs.

A bouncer up the middle that should have been gloved wasn't. Sean Enright, Culver and Fiorenzi followed with run-scoring hits, Fiorenzi driving his home run to the opposite field over the 355-foot sign in right-center.

"We just made good on their mistakes," said first-year Mustangs coach Darren Orel. "They gave us quite a few extra outs, and so with those extra opportunities today we took advantage of it -- something that we really haven't done consistently."

That's all Downers South needed, though Fiorenzi and Chandler Whitmer added RBI doubles in a 4-run fourth and Kapovich cracked his 3-run homer in the fifth.

In four innings winning pitcher Joe Luft (2-0) allowed only Nick Karakosta's first-inning single and Jim Merritello's fourth-inning double. Walker Topps came on in the fifth to retire Addison Trail on six pitches.

Blazers coach Paul Parpet had one senior in his lineup, second baseman Bill Brannon, and five sophomores including starting pitcher Kevin Babica (0-2).

With youth like that games like Friday's will happen.

"It could have been 2-0, what's the difference?" Parpet asked. "We didn't score. We just have to look ahead and get Willowbrook tomorrow."

Babica is on board with that fresh attitude.

"Every single game that we play we know we can win the game," said the right-handed hurler. "After a loss we might be down for awhile, but we know we got 'em the next day."

-- David Oberhelman

Waubonsie Valley 8, St. Charles East 8, suspended due to darkness:ΠAfter so many lead changes, surely one of them had to stick.

Or maybe not.

Nine innings of effort couldn't finish Friday's Upstate Eight Conference baseball game between Waubonsie Valley and St. Charles East in Aurora.

Suspended due to darkness with the score tied 8-8, the teams will conclude the game on a date to be determined in Aurora with St. Charles East batting in the top of the 10th inning.

"It's definitely tough to see them come back, but today we didn't give up," said Waubonsie Valley's Adam LeRoy. "Even though we didn't pull out a win, it's still all right."

Both sides had sources of frustration and pride.

St. Charles East (2-3, 1-0) trailed three times before taking a 6-5 lead in the top of the sixth on Dan White's bases-loaded walk. White also singled home the tying run in the third and doubled home the go-ahead run in the fifth inning.

"It was an exciting game," White said. "We played hard, they played hard. It was a good team game."

The Saints' lead grew to 8-5 in the seventh when Steve Schenck singled home 2 runs.

Then it was Waubonsie Valley's turn to rally. Three errors opened the door for the Warriors (1-5, 0-1). LeRoy ultimately tied the game 8-8 with an RBI double, but the Warriors had the winning run picked off at third base on a busted squeeze play.

"To the credit of both teams, they really battled today," said Saints coach Mark Foulkes. "And when you felt a little safe, it was a tie game or you were down a run again."

Waubonsie Valley built leads of 2-0 and 3-2, and faced its first deficit of 4-3 after White's RBI double in the fifth inning. LeRoy singled home 2 runs in the bottom of the fifth to put the Warriors back on top 5-4.

Four walks led to 2 runs and a 6-5 lead for St. Charles East in the sixth inning. Mike Hoscheit and Tom Lollino, who drove in 2 runs, each had 2 hits for the Saints.

Johnny Strauss had a pair of hits for the Warriors while Galovic and LeRoy each had 2 hits and 3 RBI.

After starter Russell Schofield and three relievers took the mound for the Warriors, Andrew Pasztor stands as the pitcher of record. Chris Burgess, who relieved Saints starter Andy Grunewald, pitched 4 innings of relief and is also a pitcher of record.

"It's been a real tough start for us," said Warriors coach Dan Fezzuoglio. "But after battling back we feel pretty good coming out of here with a tie and a chance to win it."

-- Kevin Schmit

Naperville North 4, Benet 3:ŒDerek Locascio's two-out single drove in the winning run for the visiting Huskies (5-2) in the top of the seventh inning. Devon Moon went 2-for-3 for Naperville North as Aaron Augustyniak (2-1) won on the mound. Alex Staehely went 3-for-4 for Benet.

Wheaton North 11, Glenbard West 6:ŒAn 8-run fourth inning led the visiting Falcons (4-1) to the nonconference victory. Travis Otto (1-0) pitched 5 innings to earn the win. Ryan Javech went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI.

Glenbard East 12, St. Joseph 4:ŒEric Zwintscher's 2-run double and Steve Dujka's 2-run triple highlighted an 8-run third-inning for the visiting Rams (2-5). Andrew Edwards (1-0) was the winning pitcher.

Willowbrook 10, Lane Tech 6:ŒThe host Warriors (4-2) trailed 4-2 and 6-5 before pulling ahead to stay with a 4-run bottom of the fifth inning. Peter Bonner, Jordan Grevis and Andy Wilhoit all had 2 hits and 2 RBI. Dave McKendrick (1-0) won in relief and Dean Whiteside picked up the save.

Softball

Glenbard North 10-2, York 1-3:ŒGlenbard North (3-1) received a pair of 2-run home runs from Elisabeth Walter, a 3-run homer from Bri DiGioia and a solo shot from Jenny Blasius in the opener.

In Game 2 York (3-2) rallied for 3 runs in the fifth inning to hand the Panthers their first loss. Winning pitcher Amelia Kaderabek scattered 6 hits and notched 7 strikeouts.

Benet 6, Glenbard East 2:ŒMikayla Panko belted a 3-run homer and collected 4 RBI to lead the Redwings (2-3) to victory.

Meghan Keating earned the victory with relief help from Meghan Eastman.

Brittany Cardott accounted for Glenbard East's runs with a 2-run double.

Glenbard East 12, Willowbrook 1:ŒPlaying its second game of the day, Glenbard East (1-3) sent out 15 hits, including 4 home runs, to earn its first victory of the season.

Alyssa Gianatasio went 4 for 5 with 2 homers, a double, 6 RBI and 4 runs for the Rams. Meghan Shannon was 4 for 4 with a home run, while Paige Gerstner went 3 for 4 with a double and homer.

WW South 8, Oswego 0:ŒJulianne LaFleur fired a 1-hitter and struck out 11 to win her first decision for the Tigers (3-4).

Timmie Rappe went 3 for 4, Sarah Skurla was 2 for 3 and Ashley DiLeonardi tripled for the winners.

Lisle 6, Reed-Custer 4:ŒThe Lions (1-2) came up with 3 runs in the top of the seventh inning to pull out the Interstate Eight Conference crossover.

Winning pitcher BreAnne Prindeville went 2 for 3 and collected 3 RBI, while teammate Jackie Todd registered 2 hits and an RBI.

St. Edward 9, Driscoll 3:ŒSt. Edward (4-0, 1-0) broke open the Suburban Catholic Conference opener with a 4-run fifth inning to go up 7-0 en route to keeping its record perfect.

Maggie Writt doubled twice in the loss for Driscoll (5-2, 0-1).

Neuqua Valley 10, East Aurora 0:ŒHailey Jackson and Lindsay Colvin combined on a no-hitter in the five-inning win for the Wildcats (1-4, 1-2) in the Upstate Eight Conference.

Colleen Hohman was 3 for 4 with a 2-run home run. Jenna Marsalli went 3 for 3 with a triple, 2 RBI and 2 runs.

Girls soccer

St. Charles East 1, Naperville Central 0:ŒAs the ball bounced inside Naperville Central's goal and as St. Charles East raced away to celebrate, there was one lingering question on everyone's mind.

Who scored?

A few facts were certainly known. The ball came in from the right from Shaylee Pedersen. A Naperville Central defender tried to get a leg on the ball. Jaime Rust and Hannah Ketterling were both inside the 6-yard box and both had their feet near the ball, which then ended in the net.

The mini-mystery took until the post-match to sort out. The answer to the goal-scoring riddle was Rust, whose goal with 4:18 left gave the Saints a 1-0 win.

"It was just a good ball in by (Pedersen)," Rust said. "I just got a touch on it. It was a 50-50 ball in the box. It was a good effort by all of our players attacking the ball and we didn't leave it in the box."

The result leaves the champion of this year's St. Charles East Invitational up for grabs, and it may not be decided when today's matches conclude. Game times are different than those printed in preseason schedules. Naperville Central plays Schaumburg at 4 p.m. while St. Charles East meets Geneva at 6 p.m.

Geneva has 10 points and has played 2 games. Naperville Central and St. Charles East each have 8 points, but the Redhawks have played twice while the Saints have played once, thanks to the cancellation of Thursday's game with Schaumburg.

But the main thing for both teams was that a full game got played. In St. Charles East's case, the contest was the second of a cancellation-plagued season. The opening minutes were excessively rocky, though you could almost hear the team putting pieces into place as the match progressed.

Naperville Central (3-3) came out with the cohesion of a team that had played five times previously. And the best chances prior to Rust's goal fell to the Redhawks. That left Saints goalie Zoie Samaan a very busy young woman.

St. Charles East (2-0) saw its defense stretched, especially by Casey Short, who had most of the best chances of the game.

"Only soccer can be 1-0 and still be fun," Naperville Central coach Ed Watson said. "It was a fun game. We just have to be more aggressive in front of the goal."

Morgan Alberts deflected a ball goal-ward for Naperville Central with two minutes left, but the ball went very narrowly wide.

"She wasn't doing anything more than directing it on-frame," Watson said. "If it goes in, it's 1-1 and it's still not the result we're looking for. But it beats the result we ended up with."

-- Darryl Mellema

Boys basketball

Chicago High School Classic:ŒThe Chicago High School Classic All-Star game was an event that reminded five area players how much they love basketball.

Stevenson's Kevin Stineman, Jacobs' John Moran, Driscoll's Jake Lindfors, Fenton's Gozie Umeadi and Bartlett's Kamil Janton all represented the North squad, which fell to the South 118-108 at Niles North High School.

"Coming out here definitely makes me miss it," said Lindfors, the Albany-bound center who led all local players with 11 points and 8 rebounds. "Luckily, we all get another chance to play before we all go on to play at the next level."

"It's been tough not having (basketball at Jacobs) the last 3-4 weeks," Moran added. "So this was fun to come out here with all these great players. It's a good note to leave high school basketball on."

Moran represented well, as the Northern Iowa-bound guard finished with 10 points, 2 assists, 3 steals and 3 rebounds. He also finished second in the 3-point contest behind AAU teammate Chris Parrish from Riverside-Brookfield.

Glenbard West's John Shurna was also on the North roster but was unable to attend the event. He originally was supposed to be one of the players participating in the dunk contest. Umeadi was one of the seven dunkers but did not advance to the next round. Home crowd favorite Josh Evans won the contest.

"That was really fun," said Umeadi, who finished with 6 points, including a pair of dunks. "Everyone in that contest can jump, but it was hard to make dunks. But it was a great dunk contest and great all-star game. It was something I really liked being a part of."

Although Umeadi did not finish with the dunk title crown, he did earn the Shaun P. Napatal Academic Achievement award for his excellence in the classroom.

"It was nice they gave this to me," Umeadi said. "I didn't expect this at all."

The 6-foot-9 Janton, who will be playing at Eastern Michigan, finished with 6 points, 4 rebounds and 1 block. He was one of several players to visit Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago with Umeadi, Richards' Tommie Thomas and Whitney Young's A.J. Rompza on April 1.

"It's nice to give back to the community," Janton said. "It was a good experience."

Stineman was present, but did not play. The SIU-Edwardsville-bound guard is recovering from a torn miniscus he had scoped after the season ended. Still, he managed to have a great time.

"I had a lot of fun watching all my friends," Stineman said. "It was fun to see everyone you read about in the paper."

-- Christine Bolin