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Baseball: Scouting the postseason in the Fox Valley

The 2017 Class 4A baseball state champion hailed from the Fox Valley Conference.

Will No. 1 seed Huntley, among eight FVC teams assigned to the McHenry sectional, follow Crystal Lake South's blueprint and compete for a state title?

Elsewhere, nine Upstate Eight Conference teams are assigned to the wide-open Bartlett sectional. Will one advance to a supersectional at Boomers Stadium and play for a trip to the Final Four in Joliet?

We start getting answers on Monday, when the IHSA baseball tournaments begin in Classes 4A and 3A.

McHenry sectional: Huntley (26-6) seeks a third straight regional title and a second sectional title in three years. The two-time Fox Valley Conference champs are the top seed in subsectional B, followed by Hononegah, Rockford East (21-3) and Harlem (15-13-1).

Barrington (20-7-2) is the top seed in subsectional A, ahead of McHenry (24-10), Grant (16-7) and Jacobs (18-12-1). The Broncos won the Mid-Suburban League West Division, led by Michigan-bound second baseman Clark Elliot.

Huntley enters the playoffs with a 1.97 team ERA, paced by senior Kyle Morgan (8-2). The left-hander has 63 strikeouts and 11 walks in 54 innings and owns a 0.78 ERA.

The Red Raiders open the playoffs Wednesday against the winner of Monday's play-in game between Rockford Jefferson (2-16) and Belvidere North.

Harlem plays No. 5 Hampshire (13-21) in the other semifinal on Thursday. Huntley won 3 regular-season games against the Whip-Purs.

"I don't know much about Belvidere North and Jefferson so we'll go watch them Monday," Huntley coach Andy Jakubowski said. "We played Harlem in the regional championship game last year and won 1-0. And Hampshire is much improved. They have some quality arms and can swing it. If we're fortunate to win and make it to a regional championship, it will be a tough game no matter what opponent we play."

Regional host Cary-Grove (18-11-1) hopes to make some noise with a pitching staff reinforced by Texas Christian commit Quinn Priester. He threw 4 scoreless innings Thursday in his first non-relief appearance this season. The junior's innings were limited this spring as he returned from elbow tendinitis. Priester, Eastern Illinois-bound slugger Ryan Ignoffo and the fifth-seeded Trojans open Thursday against Grant at 4 p.m.

Wednesday's semifinal pits McHenry against the winner of Monday's play-in game between Elgin (7-25) and host Dundee-Crown (7-26). The play-in could feature a matchup between NIU-bound Erik Hedmark of Dundee-Crown and Elgin junior Kyle Coates, who struck out 10 in Tuesday's 2-1 victory over Larkin.

Barrington would meet Jacobs in Saturday's regional final if seeds hold at Crystal Lake South. The Broncos play Wednesday against the winner of Monday's game between No. 8 Larkin (9-17) and No. 7 CL South (12-17-1).

Jacobs plays No. 6 Crystal Lake Central (16-17) in a Thursday semifinal.

Host Hononegah is the top seed at Rockford Guilford. The Indians would face Rockford East or Guilford if they reach the regional final.

Bartlett sectional: The Bartlett sectional landscape shifted in the weeks leading up to the playoffs.

St. Charles North (23-6-1) was named the No. 1 sectional seed on May 8, but No. 5 St. Charles East (22-9-1) just completed a 3-game sweep of the North Stars to win the Upstate Eight River, which exemplifies just how wide open the tournament should be.

No regional is more unpredictable than the 6-team bracket at St. Charles East. The host Saints, whose 9-game winning streak was snapped Saturday by Neuqua Valley, open the postseason Thursday against the winner of Monday's contest between No. 21 West Chicago (5-22) and No. 12 South Elgin (13-8-1). South Elgin won 2 of 3 vs. West Chicago this season.

St. Charles East defeated South Elgin 15-13 on April 30. Both teams issued 6 walks. The Saints led 11-0 at one point, but the Storm scored 13 runs in the final three innings and had the winning run at the plate when East's Drew Conn ended the game with a strikeout.

"That was a tale of two games. We did not take care of business," South Elgin coach Jim Kating said. "We did not throw strikes in that game. That's been our Achilles' heel this year. When our pitchers come out and throw strikes, we can make plays and play good defense and we're a tough team to beat. When we don't throw strikes and we walk people, it's hard to win."

Senior Nate Gomez could be a factor on the mound against St. Charles East. Named honorary captain of the Daily Herald All-Area Baseball Team/Fox Valley last year, Gomez pitched Thursday for the first time this season. Against Bartlett, he allowed an earned run on 3 hits and 2 walks and struck out 2 in 2 relief innings.

"Even without Gomez pitching South Elgin is a threat, no question about it," St. Charles East coach Len Asquini said. "With him on the mound, if he's fresh and he's the same Nate Gomez he was the last time anyone saw him? That's trouble."

The other side of the bracket is equally challenging. No. 4 Batavia (18-11) plays Tuesday against the winner of Monday's tilt between No. 20 Schaumburg (6-20) and No. 13 Marmion Academy (13-17).

The Cadets feature Minnesota-bound catcher Chase Stanke and top pitcher Brandon McPherson, who has defeated some of the best teams in the Chicago Catholic League Blue. Stanke did not play last week due to injury. His status for Monday is to be determined, Marmion coach Frank Chapman said Saturday. Longtime pals Stanke and McPherson helped Marmion finish third in Class 3A last year.

"We think we have the type of team to compete with anybody," Chapman said after a recent win over Loyola Academy. "Our guys are used to playing against and competing with some of the best 4A competition in the state."

Additional regionals within the Bartlett sectional take place at Elk Grove, Hoffman Estates and Willowbrook.

St. Charles North (23-6) opens the postseason at Hoffman Estates on Wednesday. The North Stars meet the winner of a Monday game between No. 18 Hoffman Estates (8-18) and No. 16 Glenbard North (8-24). The other semifinal pits No. 8 Lake Park (19-14) against No. 9 Geneva (18-11-1). The Vikings have won 6 of their last 7 games.

No. 3 Wheaton North (22-11) is the top seed at Willowbrook. The Falcons play Wednesday against the winner of Monday's game between No. 17 Bartlett (11-18) and No. 14 Conant (15-13-1).

York (20-11) is the top seed at Elk Grove. The Dukes play Wednesday against the winner of Monday's game: No. 19 Elk Grove (9-18-1) vs. No. 15 Streamwood (12-17).

At Hinsdale South: West Aurora (22-7) is the only Fox Valley area team assigned to the Hinsdale South sectional.

The Blackhawks get tested right off the bat. They begin the postseason Thursday with a semifinal against regional host Yorkville (21-10). The Foxes finished ahead of Kaneland atop the Northern Illinois Big XII East.

The other semifinal features mighty Neuqua Valley (28-3), the No. 1 sectional seed, against the winner of Monday's game between No. 17 Downers Grove North (10-19) and No. 16 Wheaton Warrenville South (13-18).

Class 3A

Kaneland, Aurora Central Catholic and Burlington Central will compete in the 21-team Sterling sectional, which is split into two sub-sectionals. Regionals sites are Kaneland, Genoa-Kingston, Rock Falls and Rockford Boylan

At Kaneland: Saturday's regional final would pit No. 1 Kaneland against No. 4 Aurora Central Catholic if seeds hold. Each has work to do first.

Kaneland (19-8) plays Wednesday against the winner of Monday's contest between IMSA and No. 8 Wheaton Academy (14-15).

ACC (18-14) debuts Thursday against the winner of a Monday game between No. 11 Plano (5-28) and No. 6 St. Francis (11-13), which plays in the highly competitive Chicago Catholic League Blue Division

"Their record doesn't show how good they are," said Kaneland coach Brian Aversa, whose Knights lost 3-2 to the Spartans on May 4. "I think it's a competitive regional. Obviously, ACC has played well this year, St. Francis beat us and Wheaton Academy is strong as well. It's a balanced regional. None of us are world beaters. Anyone can beat anyone on any given day so you have to play your best baseball at the right time."

The Knights are led by Luke Gomes and Robbie Dudzinski. Gomes is the sparkplug at the top of the order. He is batting .418 (38-for-91) with 8 doubles, 5 triples and 4 home runs. He leads Kaneland with 34 runs scored and has stolen 13 bases in 15 tries. Dudzinski bats .385 (30-for-80) and is 4-2 on the mound with 56 strikeouts and a 2.33 ERA in 42 innings.

At Genoa-Kingston: Burlington Central (21-9) is the No. 2 seed in subsectional B behind Stillman Valley (26-7). The Rockets open the playoffs Wednesday against the winner of Monday's play-in game between No. 8 Marengo (8-19) and No. 7 Sycamore.

Central defeated Sycamore 8-7 in the third game of the season on March 22. The Rockets swept 3 conference games from Marengo by scores of 5-4 on April 2, 12-2 on April 13 and 15-2 on May 5.

If the Rockets advance to Saturday's regional final, they would face the winner of Thursday's semifinal between No. 3 Freeport (15-11) and No. 5 Genoa-Kingston. The regional champion would advance to a Sterling sectional semifinal on Wednesday, May 30 against the winner of the Kaneland regional.

"It's really going to come down to what we do on the mound," Central coach Kyle Nelson said. "We've been pretty solid defensively all year and we've been solid at the plate of late. When we've seen better pitching we've made contact and we've been driving the baseball. But day-to-day effort on the mound and how many strikes we are able to throw will determine how far we're going to go."

Central's rotation is headed by senior Kyle Hresil (5-2). The left-hander's 5-inning no-hitter against Harvard on Wednesday lowered his earned-run average to 2.35 in 44⅔ innings. Junior Danny Kinney is 3-3 with a 2.53 ERA and junior reliever Tyler Perez is 2-2 with 2 saves.

Brad Dinges' return from injury gives the Rockets a lift heading into the postseason. The senior right-hander is 2-3 in 6 starts with a 3.33 ERA in 21 innings. Dinges has not allowed a run in 2 starts since his return.

Central's offense is driven by junior Colton Wallace and senior Ryan Knowlton. Wallace is batting a team-best .439 (47-for-107) with 14 doubles and 29 RBI. Knowlton bats .402 (35-for-86) with 13 doubles, 14 home runs and 30 RBI.

  Larkin and pitcher Kobe Mounivong will open the postseason on Monday against defending Class 4A state champ Crystal Lake South. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
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