Lake County baseball notes: Conference races heating up in North Suburban, Northern Lake; Mundelein’s Bemrich no-hits Stevenson

The Mundelein baseball team has turned some North Suburban Conference heads early on.

The Mustangs (9-4 overall) were off to a hot 5-0 start in conference play, which included a sweep of Stevenson and a win Monday against defending circuit champion and Class 4A state-champion Libertyville before dropping a 4-3 game to the Wildcats on Tuesday.

In the Stevenson series, Will Bemrich threw a complete-game no-hitter, while Miller Rastelli threw a 6-inning complete game in the Game 2 victory.

Logan Young and Johnny Weiss both had 2 hits (each had a home run) in the Monday Libertyville win. Weiss came into the game in relief and pitched the final 3 innings to earn the win.

Through the team’s first 13 games, Maddox Solum is hitting .436 with a .549 on-base percentage (17 hits), while Ryan Wolverton is hitting .395 with 15 hits and 16 RBI.

Coach Randy Lerner added Young has been consistently getting the barrel to the ball, as evidenced by his .382 batting average and 1.023 OPS. “Logan has been called on to catch a bunch and has done a great job taking care of his pitchers and leading our defense,” he said.

Antioch update: After starting the season 0-4, the Sequoits were 6-3 during a recent 9-game stretch.

“We are slowly starting to find our groove,” said Antioch coach Frank Fracek, whose team started the week 6-7 overall and 1-0 in Northern Lake County Conference play after a win against Wauconda.

Fracek noted Hunter Feldkamp, Alex Nielsen and Zach Rubin have all taken the next step in the offense, leading Antioch at the top. On the mound, the Sequoits have been getting consistent performances from Teagan Mogle and Liam Haren, Fracek pointed out. Fracek added Alex Herstowski has been solid at shortstop “and continues to improve in all aspects of the game,” he said.

Feldkamp had 4 homers through Antioch’s first 13 games “and is driving in runs anytime guys are on base for him,” Fracek said. “The guys hitting in front of him have been terrific in getting on base and setting up for him. Hunter has been a monster this year and is backing his terrific junior season with a great start this year.”

Fracek added that Elliott Freeman has emerged from behind the plate “as a really solid piece in our lineup,” he said. “His improvements in the field and offensively have allowed us to use Alex Nielsen elsewhere in the field.”

Grant update: The Bulldogs (5-9 overall) started the week 3-0 in Northern Lake County Conference play. Reece Timm is one of Grant’s offensive leaders, hitting .400 with 3 doubles and a .500 on-base percentage.

Grayslake Central update: The Rams continue to roll, checking in at 11-1 overall and leading the Northern Lake County Conference at 6-0 through early week.

Of recent note, junior Jackson Tarpey hit his first career home run and had 4 RBI in a 14-1 win over Round Lake. Fellow junior Logan Marshall struck out nine over 4 innings to pick up his first varsity win.

Beckham Stone is hitting .500 with 22 RBI through 12 games, while fellow seniors Jack Velez and Carson Woods are both hitting over.430. Coach Troy Whalen pointed out the Rams have a .367 team batting average.

Velez, Whalen noted, has been a steady contributor. “Not only is Jack a team captain, but he is playing third base at an elite level while hitting over .430 in the middle of the order,” he said. “He is our glue guy.”

On the mound, senior Luke Eckenstahler and Marshall are off to 2-0 starts. The Rams have had 7 different pitchers pick up a win so far.

“We are off to a strong start, but now we are getting into the teeth of the schedule both in conference and with upcoming nonconference opponents such as Cary-Grove, Lake Forest and Libertyville,” Whalen said. “We will have a better idea of what this team is capable of after the next 2 weeks on the schedule.”

Lakes update: Eagles coach Brett Hill noted Jake Kane has been the catalyst at the top of the lineup, getting on base 60 percent of the time and playing great defense and second base. To be specific, Kane started the week hitting .476 with a .607 on-base percentage to go with 10 runs scored.

Also helping Lakes are Ryan Stolarick (.455 batting, 6 RBI), Hunter Bergdahl (.400, 7 runs scored, 8 RBI), John Zutkis (.385, 7 runs scored, 6 RBI) and Carson Norris (.385, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homer, 12 runs scored).

“Our group has competed well all year,” said Hill, whose team was 8-2-1 overall and 3-1 in Northern Lake County play to start the week.

Lake Zurich update: Carson Hamblin continues to have the hot bat for the Bears (7-5, 2-3 North Suburban). Hamblin is hitting .500 (17 for 34) with a 1.366 OPS to go with 5 doubles, a homer, 8 RBI, 13 runs scored, 7 walks and 8 steals.

Nick Verden had a 0.00 ERA in 9 2/3 innings of work earlier this week with 14 strikeouts and 1 walk. Rylan Lamp had a 1.20 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings.

Stevenson update: Patriots coach Chris D’Amato said junior Brody Aaron has solidified the top of the order, hitting .341 with 1 home run while also holding down the second-base position.

In the recent Waukegan series, Frank Costabile and Aaron each hit a homer for Stevenson (11-7, 3-3 North Suburban), which has recorded recent wins against Libertyville and Loyola Academy.

Vernon Hills update: The Cougars (8-4-1 to start the week) got off to a hot Central Suburban North start with a 3-0 mark, which included a sweep of Maine West.

Colin McMurray went 4-for-4 in one of the Maine West games, while also drawing a walk and stealing 2 bases on his birthday.

To start the week, Connor Brockway was hitting .326 with 3 homers, 17 RBI and 14 hits. Robert Miller was 3-1 with a 0.75 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings of work.

Cougars coach Pasquale Atteo also has been thrilled with the mound work of Ethan Haenle. He leads the team in innings pitched at 19 1/3. “Ethan has pitched in some big games,” Atteo said. “He pitches to contact and throws strikes.”

Also helping offensively is Ryan Mick, who was hitting .355 with 13 RBI to start the week. Mick belted a grand slam this past Saturday.

Warren Township update: The Blue Devils recently won a pair of North Suburban Conference games against Waukegan.

In a 15-0 win in 4 innings, Ethan Gross went 2-for-2 with a double, while Oliver Rojewski was 2-for-3 with 3 RBI. Colin Dreckmann went 1-for-3 with a triple and 3 RBI. Connor Nissen was the winning pitcher. He struck out five.

In a 20-0 win against Waukegan in 4 innings, Braylan McCarthy went 2-for-4 with a home run and 5 RBI and also was the winning pitcher. Peyton Balanag was 2-for-3 with a double and 2 RBI. Ben Bolgrien was 2-for-2, while Rojewski was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI.

Dreckmann and Gross both went 1-for-3 in a 3-1 NSC loss to Lake Forest, while Jameson O’Neill was 1-for-2 with a walk. Warren was 7-5 through its first 12 games.

Wauconda update: Brothers Jackson and Brody Rudolph had 35 hits between them in Wauconda’s first 12 games.

Jackson Rudolph was hitting .500 with 17 hits in those first 12 games, while Brody Rudolph was at .462 with 18 hits.

“Jackson and Brody have been consistent and impressive all year so far,” Bulldogs coach Shawn Rudolph said.

In Monday’s game against Antioch, Jaxson Miglans struck out six in 5 2/3 innings of work. Brody Rudolph went 3-for-5, while Luke Sickmeir was 3-for-5.

In addition to the Rudolphs, Jack Thorstenson is hitting .353 with 12 hits, while Lucas Swanson is at .333 with 14 hits and Sickmeir is at .318 with 14 hits for the Bulldogs (7-5, 2-3 Northern Lake County).

Speaking of Swanson, he hit two 3-run home runs in a recent 2-game span.

“Lucas and his big hits, the 3-run home runs, have been timely, for sure,” Shawn Rudolph said. “Everyone is sharing the love and taking their turns being the guys making the plays for us.”