Baseball/Fox Valley roundup

The Elgin Community College baseball team took the next step toward a trip to Enid, Okla., on Saturday.

The Spartans (40-14) used a 5-run seventh inning to tie the game at 11-11 then went on to beat Morton 13-12 and earn a sectional championship within the NJCAA Region IV tournament.

The Spartans will now compete in the Region IV tournament at McHenry County College beginning Thursday.

Brady Renner knocked in 3 runs for the Spartans in Saturday’s win, including the game-winning RBI. Tom Roth and Craig Lipp each recorded 3 hits and 2 RBI while Justin Kalusa, Renner, and Sam Wineberg added 2 hits apiece.

Brett Loeding (3-1) earned the victory on the mound as he threw 1 inning of relief in which he struck out 2 and surrendered 1 hit.

Jacobs 10, Grayslake Central 0 (6 innings): Henry Giegeous (3-3) threw a complete game, 1-hitter while striking out 11 as he led the Golden Eagles (11-15, 9-10) to a Fox Valley Conference victory. Mark Self ignited the offense with a 3-run home run while Zac Camacho hit a 2-run home run. Nate Anderson was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI while Kenn Finn went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI.

Burlington Central 17, Libertyville 16: The Rockets (18-7) needed all 7 innings to defeat Libertyville pushing the game-winning run across in walk-off fashion as Joey Lange doubled and scored via an error. Tanner Scott belted 2 home runs and totaled 4 RBI to lead the Rockets while Ray Hunnicutt (3-for-4, double, RBI), Sam Klein (2-for-4, 2 RBI), Blake Alexander, and Luke Fleming also went yard. Bryan Leist turned in a perfect 4-for-4 performance from the plate with 3 runs scored. Lange (6-1) also earned the victory on the mound.

Westminster Christian 7, Chicago Christian 3: Ryan Perez (7 strikeouts) and winning pitcher Kevin Elder (8 strikeouts) combined to throw a 1-hitter as they led the Warriors to nonconference victory. Frank Oliver (2-for-3, double, home run) and Will Woodhouse (double, 3 RBI) led the Warriors at the plate while Andrew Mason knocked in 1 run on 2 hits.

Crystal Lake South 3, Prairie Ridge 2 (9 innings): Max Meitzler hit a walk-off double to score Nick Martin, who led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a single, to lead the Gators (17-8, 13-7) to a Fox Valley Conference victory. Robbie Lemke and Martin each recorded multihit games with 2 hits apiece. Martin (6-2) also earned the victory on the mound as he allowed just 1 hit and 3 strikeouts in 3 innings of work.

Streamwood 10, Whitney Young 2: The Sabres (24-4) made history as their 24 wins in a season is a record high that beats last year’s record of 23 wins in a season. Streamwood tallied 7 hits and took advantage of a couple errors as they easily defeated Whitney Young in nonconference action. Nate Pearson drove in 2 runs and recorded 2 doubles while Tim Cohen was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Dom Tatone (2-0) earned the victory on the mound as he scattered 7 hits and struck out 7 in 7 innings of work.

Cary-Grove 12, Woodstock 0 (5 innings): Michael Vilardo belted his 12th home run of the year to lead the Trojans past Fox Valley Conference foe Woodstock. Nick Taylor (triple) and Matt Byrne (double) also provided extra base hits. Ryan Kaveney (2-0) threw all 5 innings as he gave up just 2 hits and struck out 8 for the win.

South Elgin drops two: The Storm (18-8, 11-8-1) could not get the key hits when they needed to as they dropped Game 1 to Metea Valley 3-1 and Game 2, 10-2 in Upstate Eight Conference action. Nathan Halas was the lone Storm player to record a multihit game with 2 hits. Marty Knuth (4-2) suffered the tough-luck loss as he struck out 4 and surrendered just 2 hits in 5 innings. In Game 2, the Storm defense allowed 4 unearned runs and managed only 6 hits offensively. Nathan Garris (2-for-3, double, run) paced the Storm at the plate while Mitchell Bland added a 1-for-2 effort with a run scored. Kenny Lowden (1-2) threw 4 innings as he took the loss.

Hampshire falls twice: The Whip-Purs (12-11) were plagued by a couple of costly errors that caused them to fall 2-1 in Game 1 and then 6-1 in Game 2. Danny Grzywa was the lone Whip-Pur with 2 hits while Dan Guerrero drove in the only run. Matt Calvello (2-3) took the loss despite allowing just 1 earned run on 5 hits. In Game 2, Aurora Christian put up a 5-spot in the third inning that the Whips could not recover from. Guerrero (2-for-3, double) once again drove in Hampshire’s lone run. Jeremy Gogoel (1-1) suffered the loss.

Bartlett sweeps doubleheader: The Hawks (12-15, 8-11) sneaked out of Game 1 with a 5-4 victory before easily handling East Aurora in Game 2 of this Upstate Eight Conference doubleheader 16-2 in 5 innings. Brett Barger (2-2) provided a solid performance on the mound in Game 1 as he allowed just 5 hits and struck out 3 in 5 innings of work while Dan Schlitter picked up the save. Dan Gallanis belted a 2-run home run for 1 of his 2 hits in the game while Ryan Yore also contributed at the plate with 3 hits. In Game 2, the Hawks’ bats came to life as 11 different players each recorded a hit, led by John Fleming, David Mutter, Yore, and Ryan Roszkowiak with 2 hits each. Colin Nowak (2-2) earned the victory as he allowed just 1 hit in 3 innings while striking out 3.

Elgin drops doubleheader: The Maroons (2-25-1, 2-19-1) were unable to get the offense rolling in this Upstate Eight Conference doubleheader against St. Charles North as they fell 10-0 in 5 innings of Game 1, and 13-3 in 5 innings of Game 2. DJ Riggio (0-5) suffered the loss in Game 1 as he threw 3 innings. In Game 2, Alex Doty (1-4) took the loss as he struck out 3 in 2 innings. Shaiquelle Hayes recorded the Maroons’ lone extra-base hit with a double.

Larkin falls twice: The Royals (9-20, 3-18) only managed 8 hits over the 2 games as they fell in Upstate Eight Conference play to Batavia 6-2 and 9-0. Drew Shore (1-6) suffered the loss in Game 1 as he threw 6 innings and struck out 4. Trevor Whitehead (2-for-4), Victor Saldana (2-for-3, RBI), and Niko Morado (1-for-3, RBI) all contributed offensively. In Game 2, Rene Bolivar (1-1) took the loss in 3 innings of work. Whitehead and Miguel Villafane connected on the only 2 hits of the game for the Royals.

Courtney LaFerle contributed to this report