Lisle 4, Timothy Christian 1
The second season couldn't start soon enough for Lisle's baseball team.
The Lions broke out of their late slump in a big way with Wednesday's 4-1 victory over Timothy Christian in the Class 2A Aurora Christian regional semifinals played at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove.
Lisle (14-13), the second seed in the Driscoll sectional, advances to Saturday's regional final to play today's winner between Aurora Christian and St. Edward.
With sophomore ace Jon Surber (5-2) dealing on the mound, the Lions eased the sting of their recent four-game losing streak.
"My defense was backing me up and I had all my pitches working," said Surber, who struck out 11 and scattered 4 hits in 6 innings. "We're trying to get on a roll right now when it counts. I think everyone had a little bit more adrenaline and played a little bit harder."
All the runs were scored in the second inning, starting with an unearned run by Timothy Christian (6-18) in the top half. Josh Hjelmgren walked and later scored on a passed ball.
Of the six runners stranded by the Trojans in the game, five were left in scoring position, including three at third base. As the case has been throughout the season, the key hit proved elusive.
"We couldn't get the big hit," said Trojans coach Jim Snoeyink. "We had a lot of runners and hit the ball hard, but that's the way it goes in baseball. I thought we played well."
Lisle answered with all its runs in the bottom of the second. The first four batters reached base, highlighted by a 2-run triple by Jordan Jayne. Ryne McGovern followed with a groundball to third, but the Trojans failed to execute a rundown between third and home.
Three batters later Jay Osika made them pay with a 2-run single and a 4-1 lead.
After that inning the pitchers pretty much took control. While Surber surged through the next four innings, Timothy Christian's Nate Tameling (3-4) also pitched well. The sophomore struck out five in 6 innings.
Osika, who had a pair of hits along with Surber, sent the Trojans down in order in the seventh inning to notch his first save.
"It's nice to see our guys getting hits in those big spots," said Lisle coach Pete Meyer. "You've got to take advantage of your opportunities against good teams. We capitalized, we played good defense and Jon was just lights out on the mound."
-- Kevin Schmit
Driscoll 11, Luther North 1:ŒThe Highlanders (21-8) won the Class 2A Driscoll regional semifinal game in five innings as Anthony Campanella improved to 6-4 on the mound.
Neuqua Valley 9, Bartlett 4:ŒThe Wildcats (26-5, 20-2) clinched the outright Upstate Eight Conference title behind Jason David's ninth and 10th home runs. Chris Kruppe also homered while Mike McKinley (7-1) pitched 5 innings to notch the win.
Benet 7, Marian Catholic 6:ŒThe Redwings (20-11, 14-4) held off a late Marian Catholic rally to win in the East Suburban Catholic Conference. Pat Gelwicks' solo homer in the sixth inning proved to be the difference. Gelwicks, Bryan Roberts and Mike Chmielewski each had 2 hits. Mike Gassett (2-0) was the complete-game winning pitcher.
Lake Park 11-5, Elgin 1-2:ŒAfter winning a suspended game from Tuesday, the Lancers (16-13, 12-11) also won the second Upstate Eight Conference game. Mike Kotas (3-1) and Ryan Overton (2-3) were the winning pitchers. Brian Norwood went 3-for-4 in the suspended game while Brian Serrano drove in 2 runs in the second game.
Larkin 8-2, Waubonsie Valley 3-3:ŒAfter dropping the suspended Upstate Eight Conference game, the Warriors (13-17, 10-13) bounced back to win the second game behind a pair of hits by Chris Galovic and Dan Walker. Pat Murphy (4-3) was the complete-game winning pitcher.
Downers South 8, Hinsdale South 6:ŒCompleting a suspended game from Tuesday, the Mustangs (25-7, 14-4) clinched a share of their fourth straight West Suburban Gold title as Jared Culver blasted a 2-run homer in the top of the eighth inning. Pat Lahey (6-1) pitched 2 innings of relief to pick up the win.
Addison Trail 3, Proviso East 1:ŒMike Colatorti hit a walk-off 2-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to give the Blazers (5-25, 3-15) the West Suburban Gold win. Kevin Babica went the distance on the mound.
Rochelle 5, Glenbard South 4:ŒThe Raiders (17-13, 11-8) lost the Western Sun Conference game despite 3 home runs by Joe Biagini -- giving him 11 on the season.
Softball
Naperville Central 6, West Aurora 0: Natalie Wunderlich (16-5) struck out 13 batters in throwing her seventh shutout of the season for the Redhawks (18-6, 10-4 DuPage Valley Conference), who clinched second place in the DVC. Erin Graham went 2-for-4, Lizzy Ploen drove in 2 runs and Stephanie Lynch, Holly Lind and Jori Gonzalez each had an RBI.
Glenbard West 1, Lyons Township 0: Briana Wyatt cracked a game-winning home run in the bottom of the eighth for the Hilltoppers (17-6, 8-3 West Suburban Silver). Lauren Albrecht (10-2) notched the shutout.
Lake Park 5, Waubonsie Valley 0: Missy Mazur (17-4) fired a no-hitter, striking out eight, and went 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored for the Lancers (21-4, 14-2 Upstate Eight Conference). Alexis Munaco added a solo home run.
Neuqua Valley 4, Larkin 3: Jenna Marsalli hit her 11th homer of the year, a solo shot, and Colleen Hohman and Megan Rice also went deep for the Wildcats (17-11, 13-6 Upstate Eight). Hohman struck out 11 on the mound.
Driscoll 19, Willows Academy 1: The Highlanders banged out 14 hits, including triples by Maggie Writt and Tarah McShane, to advance to Saturday's final of the Class 2A Driscoll regional. Driscoll (12-15) will play top seed St. Edward.
Lisle 23, Providence-St. Mel 0: Alison Petkovsek and Stephanie Petkovsek each had 2 hits and drove in 3 runs for the Lions (5-19), who advanced to Saturday's final of the Class 2A Timothy Christian regional where they will face the host Trojans.
Glenbard North 4, Naperville North 2: Hannah Santora (14-6) struck out a season-high 16 and Bri DiGioia broke a 2-2 tie with a leadoff homer in the top of the eighth for the Panthers (16-10, 8-6 DVC). Shannon Hood hit a solo homer for Glenbard North in the seventh, but Naperville North tied it with a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh.
Glenbard East 4, Wheaton North 1: Paige Gerstner belted a 2-run home run for the Rams (14-16-2, 7-7 DVC).
Downers Grove North 7, Hinsdale Central 2: Lauren McNulty hit her seventh homer of the season and Kendall Ryndak (6-5) struck out 12 for the Trojans.
Addison Trail 14, Proviso East 0: Gina Pizzoferrato struck out nine in a 2-hit shutout, and Gina Cacioppo and Katie Klco each had 3 hits and 2 RBI for the Blazers.
Montini 3, St. Francis 1: Jessica Smith went 2-for-3 and scored a run for the Broncos (11-10, 6-5 Suburban Catholic Conference). Katy Shellstrom (4-2) allowed just 1 hit.
Hinsdale South 10, Leyden 0: Michelle Bolos went 4-for-4 with 3 RBI and Kristy Brewer 3-for-3 with 2 runs scored and an RBI for the Hornets.
Geneva 10, Fenton 0: The Bison (19-12) lost a nonconference matchup to the Vikings, but with a loss by Riverside-Brookfield, Fenton clinched its first Metro Suburban Conference championship in 31 years.
Boys volleyball
St. Francis d. Lyons Twp. 25-21, 25-21: On the heels of St. Francis' win over No. 1 ranked Providence, the Spartans on Wednesday defeated No. 6 Lyons. The No. 2 team in the Daily Herald Top 20, St. Francis (31-3) was led by Joey Murnane with 9 kills, and Mike Segneri with 20 assists. Jay Hayes had 8 digs and Jeff Dixon and Jake Rio had 5 and 4 kills, respectively.
Girls soccer
St. Charles East 2, Glenbard East 0:ŒAll the attacking weight St. Charles East applied to Glenbard East's defense hardly cracked the Rams defense in the first half of Wednesday's regional opener at St. Charles East's Norris Stadium.
That said, the Saints managed to score in a tough first half. But imagine their happiness when they moved right from the second half kickoff and scored 15 seconds into the second half.
St. Charles East (11-7-1) won Wednesday's contest 2-0 and advanced to Friday's title game, where the Saints face Wheaton Warrenville South.
Glenbard East (5-12-2) tried to mount attacks and had a few efforts at goal. But for the most part, the chances fell to St. Charles East. Mostly, however, the match was a rugged midfield battle.
"I told the kids before the game that it's the 12 (seed) playing the 5 and you're playing St. Charles East, with all of their tradition and history that's on their field," Glenbard East coach Gregg Koeller said. "I said 'All I want is 80 minutes.' I said that if they did that, they'd be very satisfied walking off the field. They did that."
Koeller, the only girls soccer coach in Rams history, is retiring after 20 seasons at the head program.
"My kids are at an age, 9 and 12, where I need to be with them now," Koeller said. "I've seen some wonderful kids play over the last 20 years. I need to watch my kids for awhile now. If this has to be my last game with the program, the kids showed well."
-- Darryl Mellema
WW South 5, Glenbard North 0:ŒIt took just over 40 minutes for Wheaton Warrenville South to score against Glenbard North. But once the Tigers found the back of the net, they revisited that spot repeatedly.
WW South (18-1-1) recovered from a 0-0 halftime and delivered a decisive 5-0 defeat on the Panthers (2-12-7).
Taylor Nieling took an Alli Bellmer pass and scored on the Tigers first attack of the second half. Bellmer scored 1 minute later with what proved to be the match-killing goal.
Lauren Livingston converted a Jill Langlas pass 11 minutes into the half while Janyce Kesselmyer scored twice in the final 15 minutes to seal the victory for WW South.
-- Darryl Mellema