Fox baseball notes: Huntley, St. Charles East battling for FVC, DuKane titles, respectively

A little more than a year ago, Huntley's baseball team lost the services of its standout junior catcher Ryan Bakes.

Bakes underwent surgery on his left (non-throwing) shoulder last April, and the Red Raiders played the remainder of the season without one of their top players.

That didn't stop the Red Raiders from capturing the Fox Valley Conference title and their sixth consecutive Class 4A regional championship - an 18-1 victory over Machesney Park Harlem in DeKalb.

Huntley, which finished 31-5, defeated Jacobs, 10-1, in the sectional semifinals before suffering a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to FVC rival McHenry in the sectional finals.

"Obviously, we missed his bat along with his defense behind the plate, but our guys did a nice job of picking up the slack," Red Raiders coach Andy Jakubowski said of Bakes, who batted .469 with 5 home runs, 14 RBI, 16 runs scored and 5 stolen bases in just 32 at-bats prior to the injury.

This season, Bakes is back - and the Red Raiders are reaping the benefits.

Through the team's first 17 games, Bakes is hitting .418 (1 of 5 Huntley starters batting above .400) with 23 hits, including a team-high 7 home runs, 6 doubles and 17 RBI.

Batting from the leadoff spot, Bakes has scored a team-leading 26 runs with a .945 slugging percentage and 1.474 OPS.

"We like to get our best hitters at the top of the order to give them more opportunities as well as scoring early," said Jakubowski.

In March, Bakes hit a solo home run off Dartmouth-bound pitcher Drew Koenen of Maine South during Huntley's 1-0 nonconference victory.

"Ryan is a key component for our offense, along with other guys in the order," added Jakubowski.

Ryan's twin brother, Brayden, an outfielder, bats in the 2-hole for Huntley and is hitting .421 with 6 home runs, 9 doubles, 20 RBI, and 21 runs scored.

Both players are Division I recruits - Ryan committed to South Carolina, and Brayden committed to Indiana.

Through April 24, the Red Raiders are tied with Cary-Grove for the FVC lead at 8-2.

St. Charles East began the week atop the DuKane Conference standings with a 7-0 mark to go with its impressive 12-1 overall record.

Last week, the Saints captured 4 conference victories, highlighted by their 4-3, come-from-behind win over Glenbard North on April 18, and capped by Saturday's 16-6 victory over Wheaton Warrenville South.

In the opener of a 3-game series with Glenbard North, the Saints fell behind 3-0 after 4 innings before rallying with a 2-run fifth and the tying and go-ahead runs in the top of the 7th.

Senior third baseman Jake Zitella smacked a 2-run home run for the Saints, while sophomore Joe Arend went 2 for 3 with an RBI double and walk. Senior left-hander James Brennan came on to get the win, tossing 1 2/3 scoreless innings with 3 strikeouts.

The Saints completed the sweep of Glenbard North with Friday's 6-2 and 8-4 victories.

The latter win came under the lights at Legion Field in Carol Stream and included offensive production from Brennan (2-for-3, 2 RBI, 2 doubles), Zitella (1-for-2, 2 RBI), and junior Sam Frausto (2-for-2, RBI, 2 stolen bases).

Arend earned the win on the mound, allowing a pair of unearned runs on 3 hits with 6 strikeouts in 5 innings before giving way to seniors Alex Bennett and Seth Winkler, who struck out the side in the 7th.

"Joe has answered the call for us on the mound and at the plate," said Saints coach Len Asquini. "There has been no learning curve for him."

Against WW South, Zitella, Winkler (3-for-4, 3 RBI) and Brennan (2-for-4, 3 RBI) all hit home runs, while Arend (3-for-4, 3 RBI) added a double in support of winning pitcher Winkler (4 IP, 5 R, 2 ER, 12 strikeouts).

Winkler, Caden Cotteleer and Cole Ridgway combined for 16 strikeouts.

"We've hit very well and played solid defense," said Asquini. "We're developing our pitching. We've found some ways to win."

While Zitella, Winkler, Brennan and seniors Clay Jensen and Eddie Herrera provide experience, the Saints have also received contributions from senior left fielder Mike Sharko, senior second baseman Nick Miller, and junior shortstop Jake Greenspan.

"We're having fun," said Asquini, whose team opens a 3-game series with Geneva Friday in St. Charles.

St. Charles North is also enjoying its fast start, as the North Stars (12-3, 6-1) rallied from a late 6-4 deficit with an 11-run seventh during Saturday's 15-8 win over Geneva (10-5, 5-1).

"We had a 20-minute snow delay before the seventh inning," said North Stars coach Todd Genke. "I can't remember ever having something like that during a game, but I was proud of how our guys handled adversity.

"We were down 5-1 early but no lead is safe at Geneva. We battled to the 21st out."

The North Stars, who also swept a 3-game series from conference foe Wheaton North last week (by scores of 9-2, 12-8 and 8-3), have received significant contributions from several players, including seniors Anthony Estrada and Will Vaske, and juniors Jackson Spring, Parker Reinke and Mike Buono.

Estrada, one of the team's top pitchers, also plays third base and hits fifth, while Spring, a shortstop, has moved up to the leadoff spot in the batting order.

"We challenged him this year," said Genke, whose teams have had a long history of possessing quality shortstops. "He has done a tremendous job getting on base and has improved defensively."

Reinke, a center fielder, bats behind Spring in the 2-hole.

"We wanted to give Parker more at-bats," said Genke. "He's one of the best outfielders we've had, and he leads the team with 25 RBI. He's a long strider."

Buono has stepped into the big shoes left from graduated catcher Jayden Lobliner (now at Kansas State).

"Catching was one of our bigger question marks before the season," said Genke. "Mike has done a solid job. He's a little small but has an excellent baseball IQ."