Baseball notes: Barrington, Buffalo Grove off to solid starts

Conference games have begun in the Mid Suburban League along with the East Suburban Catholic Conference as nearly a third of the high school baseball season is already gone.

Barrington is 8-4-1 as they look to defend their MSL West title. They are off to a good start, winning their first two conference games. The Broncos are led by Kade Schneider (.432), Bryce Koch (.429), Connor Fitzpatrick (.400) and Julian Ashley-Friedman (.400). Payton Soske is 2-1 with a 1.21 ERA while striking out 22 in 17 innings pitched. Nic Lacson is 2-0 with a 1.36 ERA and has fanned 27 in 20 innings pitched.

Buffalo Grove is 7-4 as the Bison look to make it three in a row MSL titles wins. Mason Hulligan has been outstanding for the Bison, posting an area-best 4-0 record with 30 strikeouts in 20.2 innings and an ERA of 1.30. Payton Diaz has also been dominant, going 2-2 with 28 strikeouts in 21 innings. Michael Wolverton (.458), Brody Mac (.440) and Griffin Kelly (.412) have been huge sparks to the offense. Conant is 8-4 after splitting their first two West contests. The Cougars have been hitting the ball well thanks to Logan Gale (.455), Jake Parpet (.444), Cooper Hanson (.355, 10 RBIs, 2 HRs), Matt Maize (.355) and Isaiah Rhodes (.300, 11 RBIs, 2 HRs). Jackson Breaux is 2-1 with an ERA of 2.00 while Bryce Loeger is 2-0 with an ERA of 0.84 and has 12 strikeouts in 8 innings.

Elk Grove is 4-4 with wins over Wheaton North, Notre Dame, Geneva and Glenbrook South. The Grenadiers are led by Myles Schwartz (.467), Dylan McCorry (.313). Pitching has the been the key to the Grens success as the squad has an ERA of 1.71. Schwartz is 1-0 and has not allowed an earned run in 10 innings. Lucas Rogers is 0-1 with a save and an ERA of .78.

Fremd is 6-4-1 after sweeping crosstown rival Palatine. AJ DelMar (.500), Quinn Nelson (.462), Brayden Mobley (.385), James Philipp (.385) and Yuhki Yamada (.357) are hitting well for a Fremd team that has had success at the plate. Dean Rokkas, Ryan Gleeson and Nelson are each 1-0 and yet to have allowed an earned run.

Hersey is 7-4 but are just hitting .274 as a team. The Huskies should raise that average significantly after scoring 29 runs on Wednesday. Connor Kave (.343), Drew Phillips (.300), Chuck Meister (.310) and Brandon Pflomm (.321) have been the hitting leaders for the Huskies. Jeremy Allen is 2-0 with 16 strikeouts in 13 innings. Matt Lemke is 1-1 with 15 strikeouts and sophomore Keegan Luxem has fanned 17 in 12 innings with just two walks.

Hoffman Estates is 4-8-1 after losing their first two West games. The Hawks are led at the plate by Eloy Suarez (.429), Derek Conjardi (.424) and Branden Osorio (.409). Ethan Dorka has been impressive on the bump with 35 strikeouts in just 15.2 innings pitched while going 1-0 with an ERA of 1.79. He also no-hit Proviso East in late March.

Leyden has been battling its way to a 6-6 mark. The Eagles had a five-game winning streak during Spring break. They have been led offensively by Andrew Mann (.525) , Matthew O'Brien (.423), Jake Sarnecke (.310), James Traficanti (.305) and Hassan Khrawish (.303) and on the mound by Sarnecke.

Maine East is 1-4-1. The Blue Demons are led by Adolfo Lopez (.385), Andrew Isho (.357) and Jalen Moraga (.357). Andrew Isho is 1-0 with a 2.21 ERA and 5 strikeouts while Adolfo Lopez is 0-1 with a save. He also has 15 Ks in 10.2 innings pitched.

Maine South is 4-9-1. The Hawks have won two straight and are hoping they are back in sync. They are getting good pitching from Braden Quinn, Drew Koenen and James Stanisic. But inopportune mistakes in the field and untimely hitting have them scuffling right now.

Maine West is 4-7 and is led by Charlie Purcell. The Northern Illinois commit, who signed his NLI on Wednesday, is hitting .536. Purcell is also 2-0 with an ERA of 1.50 and has 19 strikeouts in 9 innings pitched.

Palatine is 4-6 after losing its first two conference games. The Pirates have been getting some solid hitting from Aiden Wimer (.459), who committed to Wisconsin-Whitewater on Wednesday, Nate Branch (.393), Carter Monroe (.361) and Morgan Wachler (.360).

Prospect is 8-7 after splitting their opening series with Buffalo Grove. The Knights are led at the plate by Drew Terpins, Alex Tabbert, Jack Friar and Gavin Flanagan. Matt Szyska has been a solid starter while Justin Bjorgio has been tough out of the pen.

Rolling Meadows is 7-3 with two of those losses by just one run. Meadows has already surpassed its win total for every season since 2018. Danny Quick (.545), Braden Koon (.471) and Jake Repak (.423) are leaders at the plate for Meadows. Charlie Soukup is 2-0 with a 0.67 ERA including 9 k, in 10.1 innings and Braden Koons (1-0, 2.58 era, 15 k, 8.1 innings, 1 save) are the Mustangs' pitching leaders.

St. Viator, which is the defending ESCC champion, is already taking huge steps to defend that title. The Lions, who are 9-3, are coming off a three-game sweep of Notre Dame. The Lions continue to get strong hitting from Zan Von Schlegell, Michael Nix, Dylan Harer and Bryan Hatch,

Schaumburg is off to one of their best starts in 20 years. The Saxons are 9-1 after losing their first game on Monday. Raffi Torosian (.476), Erick Colon (.391) and Colin Adams (.364) are getting things done at the plate. Brayden Mazzacano has been outstanding on the hill. He did not allow an earned run in his first two starts and is 2-0. In 18 innings, he has also struck out 39. He thew a no hitter against Belvidere and the only baserunner he allowed was picked off.

Wheeling is 13-3 and is in first place all alone in the MSL East. The Wildcats are playing their best baseball since the last time the Wildcats won a regional which was in 2005. Pitching has been one of the major keys to their resurgence. AJ Marchetti is 3-0 with 17 IP and 23 strikeouts with an ERA of 1.65. Caleb Martinez is 2-1 with 24 strikeouts in 17 innings and an ERA of .82. Gavin Stanke is 1-0 with 3 saves and 16 strikeouts in 9.2 innings and has not allowed an earned run. Sophomore Grant Scheuerman (.462) leads the team in hitting with Zach Zangara (.400) also a key.

Giusti notches another win:

With his team's victory over Buffalo Grove, Prospect head coach Russ Giusti picked up his 501st career victory. In his 25th year as head coach for the Knights, he is the winningest baseball coach in school history. Giusti is third all time in MSL victories behind Schaumburg's Paul Groot (595) and Barrington's Kirby Smith (543).