By Drake Skleba
For the Bugle
Team of the Week Joliet West Tigers The surprising Southwest Prairie Conference leaders blasted perennial SPC title contender Oswego East 10-6 and then swept away the defending Class 4A State Champions from Plainfield North, 3-0 and 7-6, in eight innings. The 7-6 win on Friday was of the walk-off variety, on a two-run double by Joliet West senior, Mark Garcia Jr.
On Saturday, the Tigers completed their Team of the Week run with a 4-2 win over Glenbard East.
Player of the Week Jared Cushing Joliet Catholic The slick-fielding senior shortstop could have won this award last week, driving home eight Hilltopper runs. After falling to Marian Catholic on Monday, Cushing led the Hilltopper’s to a four game sweep of Marian Catholic, national powers Cincinnati Moeller, Portage North, Michigan and back in the ESCC MCC. For the 4-1 Hilltoppers, Cushing went 8-for-14 with six more Hilltopper RBI’s and 14 total RBI’s in the last two weeks.
Pitcher of the Week Gavin Schmitt Plainfield East All Gavin Schmitt did was throw a no-hitter, with 14 punch-outs in the Bengals 8-0 Southwest Prairie Conference victory over Joliet Central on Thursday. Schmitt fired 16 first-pitch strikes to get ahead of the Steelmen all day. After losing their first two Southwest Prairie Conference contests to Oswego East, Schmitt’s performance most likely kept the Bengals SPC championship dreams alive.
Terrific Ten Baseball Rankings
1 Lockport 17-2 Porters back in Terrific Ten Penthouse
2 Joliet Catholic 14-4 Hilltoppers feel they should be No.1
3 Plainfield South 13-2 Costly loss to Minooka
4 Joliet West 10-6 Red-hot Tigers Week 4 Team of the Week
5 Plainfield Central 10-5 Bobby “Boog-a loo” swinging hot bat
6 Plainfield East 9-5 Pitcher of Week Gavin Schmitt no-no
7 Notre Dame 5-5 Dons knocked out of first in ESCC North
8 Minooka 5-7-1 Indians blank previously No. 1 Cougars
9 Maine South 9-7 Hawks CSL South contender.
10 Niles West 10-4 Myles Derbigny leads Wolves’ attack
On the Bubble Joliet Central 6-7, Benet 7-8, DG South 6-7
Central Suburban North
Maine East (1-6, 1-1)
8-7 CSL Win over Niles North-Trailing 7-0 in the bottom of the fifth, the Blue Demons scored three times in the fifth and four times,in the sixth, to send the CSL crossover to extra-innings. In the bottom of the eighth, Ankido Ishak’s walk-off gave the Blue Demons their first win of the season. Chris Miller drove home three runs while Mason Ishii drove home two Demon runs. Joe Gaiser chipped in with three hits.
3-2 CSL loss to Niles West- Chris Miller drove home both Blue Demon runs.
Central Suburban South
Niles West (10-4, 1-1)
7-2 CSL loss to Glenbrook North– Myles Derbigny RBI,
3-2 CSL win over Maine East Kyle Gibson pitched and hit his way past Maine East. Gibson fired a two-hitter at the Demons, with 11 strikeouts and added two hits at the plate. Alex Cheiran added three hits and drove in a Wolves’ run.
14-2 win over Rockford Guilford Brad Pawlow fired a six-hit shutout at the Vikings. Pawlow helped himself by driving in a pair of runs. Myles Derbigny had three hits and drove home four RBI. Ethan Carey chipped in with a pair of RBI.
16-9 loss to Rochelle
Maine South (9-6. 1-1)
12-1 CSL win over Maine West– Timmy O’Brien had three hits and drove home two Hawk runs. Tyler Houck and Ben Sacor each had a pair of hits and a pair of RBI’s, while Ysen Useni,allowed a run in his four solid innings of work on the mound for the win.
5-4 CSL loss to Highland Park Tyler Houck added two more hits and Ben Sacor drove home a Hawk run.
11-1 win over Conant- Tyler Houck led the Hawks with two hits and two RBI’s. Bobby Rinaldi and Ethan Quinn each drove home two Hawk runs.
East Suburban Catholic North
Notre Dame (5-3, 2-0)
8-7 ESCC North win over St. Patrick- Trailing 7-6 in the bottom of the seventh, the Dons tied the game on a Bryan Broecker hit and then Dylan Coleman’s walk-off which sent Don fans dancing onto Dempster. Broecker led the Dons with two RBI’s. Matt Salmonson chipped in with two hits.
5-2 ESCC North win over St. Patrick- Dylan Coleman had two more hits and an RBI. Matt Salmonson (WP) and Bryan Broecker (SV) combined on a seven-hitter on the mound and Broecker picked up two more hits at the plate.
23-14 loss to Libertyville- Matt Salmonson drove home four more Don runs in the slugfest loss to the Wildcats. Matt Murphy chipped in with three hits.
7-0 ESCC loss to Marist
East Suburban Catholic South
Benet Academy (7-8, 1-1)
7-6 ESCC win over MCC– Collin Gorz led the Redwing attack with three RBI’s, while Ben Wright added a pair of RBI’s. Aaron Staehely and Charlie Romensko each chipped in with a pair of hits.
10-0 loss to Neuqua Valley Redwings just two hits against Wildcats.
14-7 loss to St. Viator (See game story)
Joliet Catholic (12-4, 1-1)
6-4 ESCC South loss to Marian Catholic– (See game story)
6-2 ESCC South win over Marian Catholic-Tony Fleischauer drives home three more Hilltopper runs. Chris Knapczyk gets three hits and Jared Cushing adds a pair of hits and two RBI’s for the Hill.
10-7 win over Moeller (OH) In the Prep Baseball Report’s Indy Classic the Hilltopper’s outslug, Cincinnati’s Bishop Moeller behind the red-hot duo of Tony Fleischauer and Jared Cushing, who each had three more hits. Mike Gurka drove home two Hilltopper runs. Zach Hise strikes out 10 Crusaders in his 4.2 innings stint on the mound.
3-1 win (10 Innings over Portage North (MI) In their second game of the day in the PBR INDY Classic, the Hilltoppers were led by the now white-hot duo of Jared Cushing and Tony Fleischauer. Cushing added two hits and two RBI’s to his white-hot week at the plate. Cushing drove home eight Hilltopper runs in Week 3.
Two-time Voyager Media Pitcher of the Week, Zach Vera is human after all. Vera (3-1), allowed one run earned in his seven innings of work for a no-decision against Portage North. For Vera, in his last three starts, 21 innings pitched with one earned run with an 2-0 and a 0.33 ERA. Greg Ziegler fired three scoreless innings, striking out three to pick up the win.
15-0 ESCC win over MCC- Mike Gurka fires a one-hitter at the Hurricanes. Dan Wuestenfeld leads the Hilltopper attack with four hits and four RBI. Chris Knapczyk added a pair of hits and RBI while Greg Ziegler chips in with two RBI,
Interstate 8 North
Lisle (9-5, 3-1)
5-2 I-8 North win over Plano AJ Casmer (2-1) scattered seven hits with six strikeouts in his complete-game performance against the Reapers. Tony Raineri had two hits and drove home two Lion runs.
5-0 I-8 North win over Plano Jay McGrath (3-0) fired a two-hit shutout with six strikeouts for the I-8 sweep of the Reapers. McGrath helped himself at the plate with two hits and three RBI’s. Damian Guerrero added two hits and an RBI and AJ Casmer chipped in with two hits.
6-1 I-8 win over Peotone Damian Guerrero (1-2) fired a four-hit shutout at the Blue Devils with four strikeouts. Dylan Laue provided almost all of the Lion offense, with two hits and five big RBI’s. Sam Russo chipped in with two hits and an RBI.
7-4 I-8 loss to Wilmington Tony Raineri had two hits and drove home two Lion runs.
Westmont (9-5, 0-1)
5-3 win over Kirkland-Hiawatha- Joey Dobrovolny fired a six-hitter with a dozen punch-outs for the Sentinels. Dobrovolny also drove home a run at the plate. Troy Schlicher had two hits and drove home a Sentinel run. The win was the 300th win in Sentinel head coach DJ Cocks career.
10-3 win over U-High –Matt O’Leary went 4-for-4 with a triple and an RBI. Alex Marotta went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Marotta now is the 16th player in Westmont High School baseball history to have 100 career hits.
SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE
Joliet West (11-6, 3-0)
3-0 SPC win over Plainfield North Nathan Seeman (WP) and Jake Maroncelli (SV) combined for a four-hit shutout of the defending Class 4A State Champs from North. Mark Garcia, Jr. had two hits and drove home the only run the Tigers would need. Mason Kasprisin and Casey Chignoli drove home the other Joliet West Tiger runs.
2-1 loss to Bolingbrook Cannon Karczewski fires five scoreless innings and Tyler Pranski drives home lone Tiger run.
10-6 SPC win over Oswego East
7-6 SPC win over Plainfield North- With the Tigers trailing at 6-5 in the bottom of the eighth inning, West’s Mark Garcia Jr. sent Tiger Nation dancing onto Oneida Street after his boomingdouble gave the Tigers the walk-off win and sweep of the defending Class 4A State Champions, Plainfield North.
4-2 win over Glenbard East SPC leaders only had five hits. Cannon Karczewski drove home a Tiger run. Jared Greskoviak and Brice Waller (WP) throw five -hitter at the Rams.
Plainfield South (13-2, 2-1)
2-0 SPC win over Minooka Griffin Lapp (3-0) fired a six hit shutout, with six strikeouts at the Indians. Connor Blake had two hits and an RBI. Alex Lekovish drove home the other Cougar run.
9-0 SPC loss to Minooka Zach Pawlak had two of the three Cougar hits.
3-2 SPC win over Romeoville Cougars trailed 2-0 after four innings, before rallying past the Spartans. Griffin Lapp, Tony Mosher and Tylor Phommahanchon, drove home the three Cougar runs.
8-3 win over Glenbrook North- Connor Blake homers, singles and on base four times to lead Cougs’ attack. Justin McGuigan (3-1) picks up the win on the mound.
Plainfield Central (9-5, 1-2)
10-4 SPC win over Oswego Bobby “Boog-a-loo” Boekeloo’s hot bat, led the Wildcats past the Panthers. Boekeloo had two hits and drove home four Wildcat runs. Brandon Micetich added a pair of RBI’s. Brandon Noble picked up the win on the mound for the ‘Cats.
4-3 SPC loss to Oswego Charlie Bischoff drove home a Wildcat run.
5-2 SPC loss to Plainfield North
14-2 win over Elk Grove Jake Donahue’s four-hit four RBI day at the plate led the Wildcats past the Grenadiers. Brandon Micetich had a hit and two RBI while Charlie Bischoff chipped in with two hits. Winning pitcher Alex Schoenly struck out seven and fired a two-hitter on the mound.
Plainfield East (8-5, 1-2)
8-6 SPC loss to Oswego East Jake Crowder had two hits and drove home three Bengal runs. Sean Blanchard drove home the other three Bengal runs in defeat.
9-5 SPC loss to Oswego East
8-0 SPC win over Joliet Central Gavin Schmitt, struck out 14 of the 21 Steelmen hitters he would face in his no-hitter on Friday over Joliet Central Caleb Anderson took care of all the help Schmitt would need by ripping three hits and picking up three RBI’s. Jake Crowder added a pair of hits and two RBI.
8-7 ( 9 innings) win over St. Charles East – In Saturday afternoon’s non-conference game in Kane County, it took nine innings before the Bengals outlasted the Fighting Saints. Andrew Hill and Aidan Flynn each had three RBI’s, to spearhead the Bengal attack. Sean Blanchard chipped in with a pair of hits and an RBI. Ed Stryzezewski slammed the door on the Saints, allowing just one run in his 4 .2 stellar innings of relief, to pick up the win.
Joliet Central (6-7, 1-2)
5-0 SPC win over Romeoville Robert Farrell fired a two-hitter at the Spartans with 12 punch-outs. Ethan Darley had three hits and Robert Farrell, Alex Gregurich and Nick Kasper all had RBI for the Steelmen.
11-8 SPC loss to Romeoville
8-0 SPC loss to Plainfield East Steelmen no-hit by Pitcher of the Week Gavin Schmitt.
5-1 win over Kankakee Alex Rocha led the Steelmen assault on the Kays with two hits and three RBI’s. Robert Ferrell and Carlos Lopez drove home the other two Steelmen runs.
Minooka (5-7-1, 1-2)
2-0 SPC loss to Plainfield South Colin Olkiewicz led the Indian attack with two hits.
9-0 SPC win over Plainfield South Dean Procarione struck out eight and fired 5. 2 shutout innings against the hard-hitting Cougars. Sam Budaris had two Indian RBI while Andrew Mysliwiec and Pedro Martinez each plated an Indian run.
8-5 SPC loss to Oswego
Plainfield North (3-7-1, 1-2)
3-0 SPC loss to Joliet West-
5-2 SPC win over Plainfield Central Dylan Szajkovics fired a four-hitter with six strikeouts at Central. Cam Kissel had two hits and drove home a Tiger run. Eben Heine drove home a pair of runs and Brandon Hutson chipped in with two hits.
7-6 in eight inning SPC loss to Joliet West- Garret Cook continued his hot-hitting with two more hits and an RBI. Eben Heine doubled home a run for the Tigers.
Romeoville (4-9-1, 1-2)
5-0 SPC loss to Joliet Central Spartans could only muster two hits off of Steelemen ace, Robert Farrell.
11-9 SPC win over Joliet Central AJ Cappalletti has two hits and drives home three for the Spartans. Kevin Murphy adds two hits and two RBI’s while Luis Delgado gets three hits. Garrett Shahan chips in with a pair of RBI’s.
3-2 SPC loss to Plainfield South Mike Bunch picked up a couple of hits for the Spartans. Hard-luck Spartan pitcher Ulysses Munoz pitched well allowing just three runs in his six solid innings on the mound.
7-1 win over Reavis Garrett Shahan fired a three-hitter with four strikeouts at the Rams. Griffin Springer and Luis Delgado each drove home a pair of Spartan runs.
SOUTHWEST SUBURBAN BLUE
Lockport (17-2, 2-0)
22-0 SWSC win over Thornridge Five Porter pitchers combined for a one-hit shutout of the Falcons. Jack Verba doubled, homered and drove home four Porter runs. Anthony Blazekovich had a pair of triples and three RBI’s. Blazekovich also pitched a scoreless inning and struck out two.
8-0 SWSC Blue win over Bolingbrook Seven Porter pitchers combine on five-hit shutout; Nolan Weis doubled and drove in three Porter runs. Jake Kampf had an RBI single and sac-fly
14-0 SWSC Blue win over Bolingbrook Five Porter pitchers combined for a two-hitter. Nick Schindler had singled, tripled and drove home four Porter runs. Jackson Mladic drove home three more runs while Jon Weis added a pair of singles and drove in three runs.
Bolingbrook (7-11, 0-2)
16-0 SWSC win over Thornton Sam Harvey fired a two-hit shutout with nine strike-outs for the Raiders. Eric Haislip had three RBI’s while Joe Zito and Josh Madsen each plated a pair of Raider runs.
2-1 win over Joliet West Trailing 1-0 as the non-conference affair with the Tigers, the game went to the bottom of the seventh. Joe Zito tied the game and then Matt Dinkel sent Raider fans dancing onto Jefferson after his walk-off hit gave the Raiders the 2-1 victory. Erik Haislip went the distance for “The Brook” firing a four-hitter, on the mound.
8-0 SWSC Blue loss to Lockport Dan Underdonk led the Raiders with a pair of singles.
14-0 SWSC Blue loss to Lockport Raiders pick up just one hit.
7-2 win over Shepard Sam Harvey picked up the win on the mound allowing a run in five innings, with nine strikeouts. Hunter Hrycyk led the Raider attack with two hits and two RBI’s. Joe Zito chipped in with a hit and a ribbie.
WEST SUBURBAN GOLD
Downers Grove South (6-7, 4-1)
11-0 WSC Gold win over Proviso East– 5-inning Tommy Rutter no-hitter, Nine strikeouts, Mike Hoes Jake Pileggi 2 RBI’s each.
19-0 WSC Gold win over Proviso East 5-inning Joe Galvin no-hitter, six strikeouts.
19-0 WSC Gold Win over Proviso East Joe Topp, four other Mustang pitchers combine for no-hitter, Jake Pileggi 2 hits, 2 RBI Third consecutive no-hitter. Fourth consecutive shutout for Mustang pitching staff.
9-4 loss to York – Chris Gory drove home a pair of Mustang runs.
WEST SUBURBAN SILVER
Downers Grove North (4-10, 3-3)
11-1 WSC Silver loss to Oak Park
13-1 WSC Silver loss to Oak Park Cam Demos drove home the lone Trojan run. Trey Kaiser and Brycen Eisenhut hit successfully once.
9-1 WSC Silver loss to Oak Park