Baseball: St. Edward wins regional semifinal
No. 4 St. Edward 6, No. 6 West Carroll 4: At Oregon, Ben Boydston beat the throw home on Sebastian Oquendo's bases-loaded groundball to first base as St. Edward walked off a playoff winner. Mike Lopez got the win in relief of Drew Tilche, who allowed 4 earned runs on 7 hits and 5 walks and struck out 12 in 7⅓ innings. St. Edward (16-16) advances to the Class 2A regional final against Byron on Saturday at 10 a.m.
No. 1 Aurora Christian 17, No. 7 Walther Christian 2: At Westmont, Sam Tickel went 3-for-3 with 4 RBI and every player in the starting lineup had a hit as the reigning Class 1A state champions rolled in their return to Class 2A. Hunter Thompson (6-4) struck out 8 in 4 innings to earn the win for Aurora Christian (15-9-1). The Eagles advance to face the winner of Thursday's semifinal between No. 4 Westmont and No. 5 IC Catholic Prep in the regional title game on Saturday at 11 a.m.
No 2 Aurora Central Catholic 15, No. 9 Guerin 1: At St. Joseph, Alex Rakas hit a home run and drove in 3 runs, Tommy Musuras doubled and knocked in 4 and Jeff Albert went 3-for-3 with 2 RBI to lead a 12-hit attack for the Chargers in a Class 2A regional semifinal win. Nathan Sundberg pitched 3 innings for the win. ACC (23-11) advances to the regional final on Saturday at 11 a.m. against the winner of Lisle vs. St. Joseph.
No. 1 Harvest Christian Academy 7, No. 10 Parkview Christian Academy 1: Sam Bonick threw a 90-pitch 5-hitter to advance the Lions to a Class 1A regional final against Newark at Judson University on Saturday at 10 a.m. Sophomore Matt Ellett drove in 2 runs for Harvest Christian (19-3).
No. 2 Elgin Academy 16, No. 8 Hinckley-Big Rock 1: Ethan Hill hit a home run and drove in 3 to lead an 18-hit barrage in a Class 1A regional semifinal at H-BR. The Hilltoppers advance to face Somonauk in the regional final on Saturday at 11 a.m. C.J. Carani struck out 6 in 4 innings for Elgin Academy (21-5).
Prairie Ridge 9, Cary-Grove 0: Prairie Ridge scored 5 fifth-inning runs to break open a critical Fox Valley Conference game. The victory drew PR (24-9, 17-6) within a game of idle league-leader Huntley with one game remaining. Jack Wenninger (6-2) took the loss. He allowed 7 earned runs on 7 hits and 2 walks in 4⅔ innings. The Wolves must complete the sweep of the Trojans to gain a title share. Quinn Priester (6-1) is scheduled to pitch Thursday for Cary-Grove (19-12, 13-10).
Huntley 2, Burlington Central 0: A.J. Henkle and Michael Talesky hit solo home runs and Jimmy Fairley struck out eight in 5 scoreless innings to lead the Red Raiders in a nonconference battle between conference champs. Davis Pasco earned a 1-inning save for Huntley (25-8, 18-6). Rockets starting pitcher Andrew Knowlton held the Red Raiders to 2 earned runs on 8 hits in 7 innings. He struck out five and walked none for Central (18-12).