St. Charles teams are both off to sizzling starts
We've still got to wait just over a month - until May 4 - before the St. Charles North-St. Charles East baseball rivalry resumes, but the early part of the season tells us it's going to be another can't-miss series.
While that probably is true every year, this year's matchup could go a long way to deciding not only city bragging rights but the top spot in the Upstate Eight Conference. The teams are a combined 10-1 against several quality opponents.
While St. Charles East is off to an impressive 5-1 start under new coach Dave Haskins - the latest a snappy 2-1 win over Glenbard North on Thursday - St. Charles North won five straight games on its annual trip to the Miners Spring Classic in Marion, Illinois.
St. Charles North (5-0) capped its 4-0 record in the tournament with a 9-2 win over New Trier on Thursday. The North Stars also defeated Grayslake North, Warren and Vernon Hills, and defeated Marion on Wednesday in a non-tournament game.
Several players stepped up all week. Ryan Hudspeth picked up the win in the opening 8-4 victory against Grayslake North followed by Jared Shurtleff allowing just 1 hit in an 8-1 win over Warren. Mike Budka went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI in that game, Matt Stevens also was 3-4, Chase Williams went 2-for-4 with 3 RBI and Andrew Elliot added 2 hits and 2 RBI.
In the title game win over New Trier, Kevin Borst fanned seven in 6 innings, allowing just 3 hits and 1 earned run. John Brodner went 2-for-2 with 2 RBI, Ryan Richardson added 2 hits and 2 runs and Williams drove in 3 runs with his 2 hits.
The North Stars play their home opener Monday against Plainfield Central.
Toughest critic: Geneva coach Matt Hahn is always looking for ways to improve. It hit him this off-season that one area he could do a better job at was utilizing his bench in the early part of the schedule.
"As a coach you self-evaluate year to year," Hahn said. "I think that's one of the things I haven't been as good at early in the season is trying to get different guys different at-bats rather than just going with this is our lineup. That's what we were trying to do."
Geneva is 4-2 so far with both losses coming to DuPage Valley Conference teams, Wheaton North and West Chicago.
The Vikings will get a chance to beat a DVC school Saturday when they host West Aurora. The Blackhawks are 1-6 with their only win over a Larkin team that Geneva beat Thursday.
You can be sure Hahn will continue giving all his players a chance to earn playing time.
"This time of year you are trying to figure out what you've got," Hahn said. "You are trying to put the puzzle together. You have juniors who are used to playing as freshmen and sophomores and seniors who want to play too. You are trying to figure out that puzzle."
Junior first baseman Brad Bernhard is one of those players trying to earn more at-bats.
"There's a lot of competition in practice each day," Bernhard said. "It's a really talented group of seniors. It's a lot of fun playing with them."
Senior ace pitcher Riley Perry wants to see those juniors continue to push the seniors.
"We have a lot of guys coming back and juniors coming up are doing all right," Perry said "They are filling in the spots."
Bad luck: Batavia knew coming into this year it would have to replace nearly everyone from its 30-7 sectional champions last spring.
But it got even harder for the Bulldogs when they found out they also lost one of the two returnees they figured to have, junior shortstop Jesse Coffey.
On Monday, Coffey had surgery on his right shoulder to repair a torn labrum. He had the same surgeon who performed the surgery on Jesse's older brother Jordan's shoulder last year.
The surgeon said the damage was extensive, the labrum was torn completely off the bone at one point, and required both anchors (staples) and sutures to repair.
The schedule is for Coffey to be recovered and playing basketball again by summer, then be back for his senior year of baseball.
Speaking of the Coffey family, Jordan's college team, Taylor University, is 20-7 and ranked No. 23 in the NAIA national rankings. Coffey is hitting .328 and is 2-0 on the mound with a 2.50 ERA.
And in one last bit of Batavia news, Bulldogs coach Matt Holm is two wins away from 300 in his career after a 10-7 loss Thursday at Sandwich.
Slow start: Following a first-round loss to Bartlett in last year's regionals despite a 22-3 regular season, Marmion coach Dave Rakow went about improving the Cadets' nonconference schedule this spring.
It sure shows, with games already against Wheaton Warrenville South, Kaneland, Geneva and Batavia.
The tougher schedule has shown in the team's record, which dropped to 1-4 after a loss to Batavia Wednesday giving the Cadets as many losses in five games as they had all last year.
What concerned Rakow the most was not so much the losses or the physical mistakes as much as the team's intensity.
"I told the guys it's a crucial point in the season now and we need to make a decision on the type of team we want to be," Rakow said after the loss to Geneva. "Go out there with a sense of urgency and make plays or sit back like we are now. It kind of looks like we are scared, like we are waiting for something to happen."
Rakow was pleased with how the Cadets (2-4) bounced back in a loss to Batavia the next day, then they ended their losing streak by scoring 2 runs in the seventh inning of a 5-3 win over East Aurora Friday. Travis Siwiec (1-0) picked up the win, with Bobby Winkel driving in a pair of runs and Tim Tarter delivering a key triple.