DeRue comes through for College of Lake County
Former Lakes High School pitcher Chris DeRue completed the regular season in stellar fashion for his College of Lake County baseball team.
DeRue threw a complete-game shutout to lower his ERA 0.28, ranking him first in the nation for NJCAA D-2 schools.
DeRue has a 4-0 record with 45 strikeouts in 32 innings while allowing only 5 walks and 1 earned run. He leads his team in wins, strikeouts, appearances, saves (2) and ERA.
DeRue was named to the Skyway all-conference team and is nominated for the all-regional team.
Women’s softball
North Park freshman first baseman Nicole Kruckman (Libertyville) was named a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Softball player of the week.
Kruckman batted .500 (15-of-30) with 6 runs, 5 RBI and her first home run as the Vikings went 7-3 including 3-1 against conference opponents. She combined to go 4-for-7 with 2 runs and a RBI during a 6-1, 3-2 sweep of North Central. It was the Vikings’ first sweep of the Cardinals in program history.
Kruckman was also 2-for-3 with a run and three RBI in a 6-3 win over Elmhurst in game two of a doubleheader.
Ÿ Minnesota State University Moorhead softball coach Kelsey Fehl has announced that Warren senior Jill Fox has signed a letter of intent to continue her academic and athletic career at MSUM.
The 5-foot-2 shortstop hit .375 with 24 RBI as a junior. She had a .548 on-base percentage and a .461 slugging percentage.
Fox also has earned all-conference, all-area and all-state honors during her career. She holds the school record for doubles in a game and assists in a season. She is a two-time varsity captain.
In addition, Fox also played for the Warren Wave club team, which won the ASA Nationals in 2010. She now is a member of the Lake County Liberty.
“Jill is a talented player who has potential to be a very solid contributor in our program,” Fehl said. “She is a very productive player offensively and is very skilled defensively.”
Ÿ Warren’s Amy Ricci, a two-year varsity player, has committed to Wisconsin-Whitewater while three-year varsity player Megan Sowa is headed to Drake where she plans to major in secondary education.
Michael Rogers commits
Libertyville junior pitcher Michael Rogers will continue his baseball career at Augustana.
The 6-foot-5 left-handed pitcher is a two-year letter winner for coach Jim Schurr at Libertyville.
As a junior, he went 1-0 with four saves and a 2.56 ERA for a 24-12 Wildcats club.
This year, at the Big League Dugout National Invitational Tournament in Scottsdale, Ariz., Rogers held eventual champion Scottsdale Horizon without an earned run in a complete-game victory and was named to the all-tournament team.
Rogers, who competes during the summer with the Kenosha Indians, has also seen time in the outfield and at first base.
He was selected to play at the Stevenson Showcase in June of 2012.
Rogers also lettered in coach Scott Bogumil’s Wildcat basketball program.
Ÿ Five seniors on the coach Paul Belo’s Palatine baseball team have made college commitments.
They are second baseman Neal Ori (Carroll College), shortstop Jarrod Juskiewicz (Illinois Weslyan), outfielder Matt Hogan (College of Dubuque), outfielder Anthony Fortunato (Carthage) and catcher Greg Grana (North Park).
Ÿ Senior Jake Andrews, a right-handed pitcherfor Elk Grove coach Terry Beyna, has committed to play for Benedictine University in Lisle.
Women’s track
Augustana senior Sarahbeth Jones (Warren) was double winners at the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin track and field championships at Millikin University.
Jones, named the Track Athlete of the Meet, added a 5000-meter title to her 10,000-meter championship. Jones set a meet record of 17:28.01 in the 5000.
Women’s track
Notre Dame senior Rebecca Tracy (Barrington) finished first in the 800 meters with a personal best time of 2:05.31 at the Stanford Invitational.
Ÿ Indiana State senior Kalli Dalton (Conant) finished 16th in the 3000 steeplechase (10:51.77) at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa.
Illinois sophomore Britten Petry (Schaumburg) finished fourth in the 3000 steeplechase with a personal best 10:54.10 at the Jesse Owens Classic in Columbus, Ohio.
Dana and Lauren Goggins commit
Buffalo Grove seniors, twin sisters Dana and Lauren Goggins, have committed to play tennis at Augustana for coach Jon Miedema. Dana and Lauren were four-year letter winners for coach Kevin Schrammel.
They qualified for state four times in doubles. They earned All-Mid-Suburban League honors four times and received all-state recognition three times.
As seniors, the Goggins went 29-6 and were Mid-Suburban League champions at first doubles. They finished third at the Stevenson sectional and earned a top 16 finish at state.
The Goggins finished in the top 32 at state as both sophomores and juniors. They finished second at sectionals in their sophomore season and third as juniors.
Ÿ Please email Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com or FAX to (847) 427-1173.