Wrap: Panthers make selves at home
Glenbard North's baseball team finally played its first home game on Wednesday.
Perhaps not coincidentally, the Panthers also notched their first win of the young season.
A 7-3 victory over visiting Naperville Central in Carol Stream evened the three-game DuPage Valley Conference series at one win apiece, with the rubber game slated for today in Naperville.
"It was good to get out there and finally get a win -- it was a good team effort," said Panthers senior catcher Alex Mullendore. "The pitching was great, and we finally backed them up with some hits. Especially with our season opener at home, we wanted to play well."
After struggling just to get in games so far, Glenbard North (1-3, 1-1) put together its sharpest effort to date. Mike Zoellner pitched 4 solid innings to pick up the win, and Zac Zaranko faced the minimum nine batters in 3 innings to earn the save.
The bats, meanwhile, started to heat up.
Glenbard North claimed the lead three times, only to see the Redhawks (5-3, 1-1) rally twice to tie it. Two errors and RBI singles by Dave Belford and Steve Friedberg in the bottom of the fourth inning put the Panthers ahead to stay at 6-3. A pair of sixth-inning errors allowed Austin Safranski to score another insurance run.
Hounded by those 4 errors, Naperville Central allowed 3 critical unearned runs.
"They executed better," said Redhawks coach Bill Seiple. "We didn't play real well, but hopefully we can learn from it. Our young guys need to play through situations like this."
Safranski doubled home 2 runs to open the scoring in the bottom of the second inning, but John Holm did the same for the Redhawks in the third to tie the game.
Mullendore's solo homer in the bottom of the third put the Panthers back on top 3-2. Matt Soria tied the game in the fourth inning when he bunted for a single, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on an errant throw.
Like earlier in the game, though, the Panthers answered with their 3-run bottom of the fourth.
The top four hitters in Glenbard North's lineup -- Safranski, Belford, Tyler Doll and Mullendore -- each had 2 hits.
"We did a lot of good things today just in terms of putting pressure on them," said Panthers coach Mike Franzen. "Traditionally it seems like it's always been the other way around. You feel like you're always looking over your shoulder, cause here they come."
-- Kevin Schmit
Wheaton North 9, West Aurora 4, 11 innings:ŒWednesday's DuPage Valley Conference game between Wheaton North and West Aurora was the longest of the season for both teams, 11 innings played in almost three hours.
After the game was knotted at 4 for four innings, the Falcons erupted for 5 runs in the 11th inning for a 9-4 win in Aurora.
" 'Marathon' is the best way to describe the game," Wheaton North coach Dan Schoessling said. "We had a lot of different contributions there. I don't know how many guys ended up playing, but it was probably more than we've had all year. … We took good at-bats there for a few innings, and it finally broke through there in the 11th."
"It ended in an unfortunate way," West Aurora coach John Reeves added. "The score, when you look in the paper, is going to look a lot different than the game actually was. It was a pretty tight ballgame up to the very end."
Every player in Wheaton North's lineup got a chance to hit in the 11th inning. Pinch runner Nick Ernst scored the first run from third after Jack DeAno was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. With Tony Fearon and Brett Kirchofer also on base after back-to-back walks, Matt Palackdharry's hit went to the outfield, where a pair of West Aurora outfielders collided when each tried to make the catch.
As a result of that error, all three Wheaton North base runners scored. Palackdharry followed with the Falcons' fifth run of the inning after Ryan Javech's RBI triple.
"I didn't do anything special, I just put the ball in play," Palackdharry said.
-- Christine Bolin
Neuqua Valley 9, Lake Park 5:ŒJason David always said he'd play baseball again.
Last July, while leaving a Neuqua Valley summer game, David was struck by a speeding car. His back, neck, collarbone and nine ribs were broken.
But here is David this spring, healthy and back playing baseball. On Wednesday he picked up his first win of the year, throwing five strong innings to beat Lake Park 9-5 in Roselle.
"I'm just happy to be playing. I love baseball," David said. "It's all I want to do right now, and I'm thankful to be doing it."
David got off to an inauspicious start Wednesday.
Lake Park's first five batters reached base in the first inning, and the Lancers tied Neuqua Valley 2-2 before David got an out.
David allowed 3 runs in the first, then blanked Lake Park the next four innings, striking out five.
He gave up a leadoff single in the second but struck out the next two batters and battery mate Geoff Rowan threw out a runner at second to snuff out the threat.
"After the first inning I was thinking we were going to be lucky to get three innings out of him," Neuqua Valley coach Robin Renner said, "but he sucked it up and got us through five."
Renner said the slow start may have resulted from an incomplete warmup. David threw 25 pitches before the game; Renner would prefer 30-40.
"He was awful in the first inning," Renner said, "but by the third or fourth inning he was really good. I think that warmup had a little bit to do with it, and then he started throwing his changeup for strikes. He had them off-balance."
Neuqua Valley (5-2, 2-0 Upstate Eight Conference), trailing 3-2 after an inning, got the lead back for good in the second.
Kyle Kalkofen reached on an infield single to lead off and Ken Vrtis walked. Both moved up on a balk and scored on wild pitches.
Lake Park wild pitches in the third and fourth innings allowed Neuqua Valley to tack on 2 more runs to make it 6-3.
"I've never seen a game with so many wild pitches. I think I counted nine," Lake Park coach Dan Colucci said. "I told the kids we died a slow death today. They nickeled and dimed us every inning."
Jordan Williamson and Travis Weldon had run-scoring singles in the fifth. Williamson went 2-for-3, walked twice and scored 2 runs. Brian McNabb went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI and scored a run.
For Lake Park (4-2, 1-1) Mike Ostrowski went 3-for-3 with 2 RBI. Ryan Wegner and Matt Kennedy both had 2 hits and scored 2 runs.
-- Joshua Welge
Naperville North 2, West Chicago 0:ŒAaron Augustyniak (3-1) pitched a 3-hitter with 6 strikeouts and a walk as the visiting Huskies (8-2, 2-0) stayed unbeaten in the DuPage Valley Conference. Jordan Tassio scored the only run Naperville North needed in the fourth inning when he doubled and later scored on a sacrifice fly. Trevor Bodie (1-1) struck out six and scattered 6 hits for West Chicago (2-6, 0-2).
Waubonsie Valley 4, South Elgin 3:ŒChris Galovic's 2-run double sparked a 3-run first-inning burst by the host Warriors (3-6, 2-1) in their Upstate Eight Conference victory. Zac Volland and Trevor Romeo each had 2 hits. Adam LeRoy (1-2) pitched 6 innings to earn the win.
Hinsdale South 3, Willowbrook 2:ŒThe Hornets (3-4, 3-2) swept the West Suburban Gold series behind winning pitcher Connor Duckhorn (1-1) and Joe Begel, who picked up the save with a scoreless seventh inning. Gary Mayberry's 2-run double in the second inning put Hinsdale South on top to stay. Mayberry and Alex Perez each had 2 hits. Andy Bejlovec (2-2) went the distance for Willowbrook (6-4, 2-3).
Timothy Christian 9, Luther North 4:ŒThe visiting Trojans (2-2, 2-0) scored 6 runs in the top of the seventh inning to rally for their Private School League victory. Mike Marshall's triple put Timothy Christian ahead 5-4. Taylor Slager (1-0) was the complete-game winning pitcher.
Softball
Glenbard North 1, Elmwood Park 0:ŒAlyssa Jasinski scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Panthers (5-2) the victory.
Winner Hannah Santora (5-0) scattered 8 hits, struck out eight and didn't walk anyone.
Benet 9, Naperville North 1:ŒLaura Canulli went 3 for 4, including a 2-run homer, and scored 3 runs for the Redwings (5-4), who handed Naperville North (7-1) its first loss.
Meghan Eastman twirled a 3-hitter to earn the victory.
Glenbard East 12, St. Francis 1:ŒAlyssa Gianatasio went 3 for 4 with a home run, 2 RBI and 2 runs, while Nikki Fairbairn doubled twice and knocked in a pair for the Rams (3-5).
Abby Petersdorf earned the victory. She scattered 6 hits and struck out four without issuing a walk.
Glenbard South 13, Willowbrook 0:ŒKristin Grossman hit a 3-run homer and Jill Trzaska and Robin Borowski added 2-run shots for the Raiders (5-1).
Lizzy Kelly picked up her first victory with three innings of relief.
WW South 7, Hinsdale South 0:ŒMeghan Murphy contributed a 2-run double and Meaghan Sullivan went 2 for 3 for the Tigers (5-4).
Reliever Virginia McAndrews earned the victory with four innings of work.
Timothy Christian 7-6, Luther North 4-0:ŒJana Strodtman won both games of the Private School League doubleheader for the Trojans (3-2, 2-0).
Strodtman hit a 2-run homer in the first game. Lauren Hansberger tripled, homered and drove in 3 runs in Game 2.
Streamwood 3, Neuqua Valley 2:ŒJenna Marsalli's 2-run homer in the top of the sixth inning gave Neuqua Valley (1-5, 1-3) the lead, but Streamwood pulled out the Upstate Eight Conference game with 3 runs in the bottom of the seventh.
Boys track
Einbecker goes long: In a home meet with South Elgin and Larkin, Waubonsie Valley senior Brett Einbecker threw the discus 191 feet, 8 inches. The mark shattered his school record by more than 8 feet. It ranks sixth in the nation this season and fifth all-time in Illinois. Einbecker's backup throws went 188-10 and 187-10. He won shot put at 56-11.