Scouting the 3-4A postseason in the Fox Valley
Class 4A
Larkin sectional
Cary-Grove regional: Top seed Cary-Grove (22-11) won a share of its third straight title in the Fox Valley Conference. Junior ace Kevin Weber is 8-0. Chris Waylock, Eric Chandler and Stu Gaulke were key cogs in the Trojans' fourth-place finish at state last year. Cary-Grove swept No. 2 seed McHenry (20-12) last week. Hoffman Estates (13-20) plays McHenry in Thursday's semifinal. C-G plays Wednesday against the winner of Monday's play-in between Rolling Meadows and Conant.
Dundee-Crown regional: Top seed South Elgin (18-13) seeks its first postseason victory in the program's fourth season. Junior John Menken leads the Storm in batting average (.403) and RBI (23). They play Wednesday against the winner of Monday's play in between Elgin (5-28) and Dundee-Crown (11-21-1). D-C recently lost 12 straight but sprung upsets last week against FVC co-champs Huntley and Cary-Grove. No. 2 Streamwood (22-13) tied the school record for wins in a season. Junior pitcher Blake Hunter is 8-1. The Sabres play No. 3 Schaumburg (9-18) Thursday.
Jacobs regional: No. 1 Huntley (24-9) gained a share of its first title in the Fox Valley Conference. Freshman Bryce Only has 7 home runs. The Red Raiders seek their second straight regional championship. They play Wednesday against the winner of Monday's play-in between Rockford Jefferson and Larkin (9-23). No. 2 Crystal Lake South (20-14) faces No. 3 Jacobs (18-15-1) in a semifinal Wednesday. The teams split 2 games this season. Jacobs senior Ben Albano set a new Fox Valley area record with his 16th home run Saturday. He has 63 RBI.
Harlem regional: Boylan (22-6) is the top seed, but No. 2 Hononegah went 17-1 in league games to win its second straight NIC-10 title.
St. Charles East sectional
Willowbrook regional: No. 14 Bartlett (11-20) plays Monday against No. 19 Glenbard East. Bradley recruit Greg Partyka leads the Hawks in batting average (.464), home runs (8) and RBI (34). The winner faces No. 3 Willowbrook (23-10) Wednesday.
Class 3A
DeKalb sectional
Hampshire regional: Eyes statewide will be on Illinois' toughest 3A regional. Burlington Central (30-2) had its 25-game winning streak snapped at Libertyville Saturday. Catcher Austin Jarvis leads the Rockets in batting average (.542), home runs (14) and RBI (71). The Rockets play Wednesday against the winner of Monday's play-in between Western Sun Conference tri-champion Kaneland (22-12) and No. 5 Hampshire (15-17). The Rockets have beaten both teams this season. Thursday's semifinal pits 2008 Class 4A state champion Prairie Ridge (24-10), the No. 2 seed, against No. 3 Crystal Lake Central (21-13) and Oklahoma recruit Connor Sadzek. The Wolves swept 2 regular-season games from CL Central by a combined score of 15-2.