By Drake Skleba
For the Bugle
TEAM OF THE WEEK- JOLIET CATHOLIC ACADEMY (16-4, 4-1)– The Hilltoppers were edged out by the Joliet West Tigers for the Week 4 Voyager Media Publications Team of the Week Award. After going 4-1 with huge wins over nationally-ranked powers Cincinnati Moeller and Portage North Michigan at the Prep Baseball Report Indy Classic last week, the Hilltoppers could have been named Week 4 Team of the Week.
After disposing of St. Viator 9-3 and Notre Dame 12-3 in a pair of East Suburban Catholic Conference crossover battles in the ultra-strong ESCC, the Hilltoppers, who have won six straight, are the Voyager Media Publications Week 5 Team of the Week.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK Jared Cushing Joliet Catholic Cushing, one of the best defensive shortstops in Illinois, continues to obliterate the baseball in 2019. Five more hits and five more RBI for Hilltopper shortstop. Cushing has 19 RBI in his last 11 games.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK- Griffin Lapp Plainfield South– The Plainfield South former closer who set a Cougar school record for saves (9) in 2018, fired a 67-pitch shutout at Romeoville. Lapp, who is 4-0, has two shutouts and has not allowed a run in his 21.2 innings pitched this season.
Terrific Ten Area Baseball Rankings
1 Joliet Catholic 16-4 Winners of six in a row, Week 5 Team of the Week.
2 Lockport 18-3 Fall 15-7 to Lincoln-Way East (15-3), Rematch Monday.
3 Plainfield South 16-3 SPC leaders fall at Kaneland.
4 Maine South 13-7 Bobby Rinaldi and Mike Altman lead Hawks to 4-0 week.
5.Plainfield North 6-7-1 Look out for the Class 4A defending state champs.
6.Plainfield East 12-6 Split with rival Wildcats.
7 Plainfield Central 13-7 Split with rival Bengals, Plainfield South next.
8 Joliet West 11-9 Tigers fall to Oswego East and Plainfield South.
9 Benet Academy 9-9 Redwings beat CCL Marmion and ESCC St. Pat’s.
- Notre Dame 6-6 Dons fall to No.1 on Saturday.
On the Bubble: Downers Grove South (7-8), Joliet Central (8-9)
CENTRAL SUBURBAN NORTH
MAINE EAST (1-9, 1-3)
4-2 CSL North loss to Vernon Hills – Patrick Miller ha two hits for the Blue Demons, while Chris Miller and Nigo Poggas, drove home the two Maine East runs.
16-0 CSL loss to Evanston– Patrick Miller had a hit for the Blue Demons.
5-1 CSL loss to Vernon Hills–
CENTRAL SUBURBAN SOUTH
NILES WEST (11-7, 1-4)
5-2 CSL South loss to Maine South- Brad Pawlow led the Wolves with two hits.
3-2 CSL loss to Deerfield
4-3 CSL South loss to Maine South- The Wolves gave up a 3-2 lead in Park Ridge, in walk-off fashion on Thursday for their third consecutive heart-breaking loss this week. Kyle Gibson and Brad Pawlow drove home Wolves’ runs, while Alex Cherian led the Wolves’ attack with three hits.
12-2 win over Von Steuben- Ethan Calderon struck out 11 in his four-hitter against the guests from Chicago. Jack Lochner led the Wolves attack with three hits and three RBI.
MAINE SOUTH (13-7, 3-1)
5-2 CSL South win over Niles West- Ysen Useni fired a four-hitter at the Wolves with six strikeouts to pick up the win on the mound. Mike Altman had a hit and 2RBI while Timmy O’Brien added two hits and an RBI, for the victorious Hawks.
16-3 CSL win over Vernon Hills- Bobby Rinaldi led the Hawks attack with three RBI. Ben Sacor and Gabe McCall added a pair of hits, each while Aiden Teahan drove home a pair of Hawk runs.
4-3 CSL South win over Niles West– The Hawks walked-off past the Wolves in the bottom of the seventh inning, sending Hawk fans pouring onto Dee Road in celebration. Zander Buchan drove home two runs, while Bobby Inserra pitched a scoreless sixth and seventh innings to pick up the win in relief. Inserra also chipped in with a pair of hits.
8-6 win over Elk Grove Bobby Rinaldi continued his torrid hitting with two hits and three RBI. Mike Altman also drove home three Hawk runs. Timmy O’Brien chipped in with two more hits.
EAST SUBURBAN CATHOLIC NORTH
NOTRE DAME (6-6, 3-2)
9-0 ESCC win over MCC– Nick Liozzi fired a six-hit shutout with eight punch-outs against the Hurricanes. Three Matt’s Salmonson, Tinco and Murphy led the assault on the Hurricane pitchers. Salmonson continued to crush the baseball, driving home three more Don runs.
Tinco had two hits and also had three RBI while Murphy chipped in with two hits.
12-3 ESCC crossover loss to Joliet Catholic- (See Game Story)
EAST SUBURBAN CATHOLIC SOUTH
JOLIET CATHOLIC (16-4, 4-1)
9-3 ESCC win over St. Viator– Week 4 Player of the Week SS Jared Cushing had three more hits. Red-Hot Tony Fleischauer had two hits and two RBI. Chris Knapczyk added two hits and two RBI while Greg Ziegler chipped in with a pair of ribbies.
12-3 ESCC crossover win over Notre Dame- (See Game Story)
BENET ACADEMY (9-9. 2-2 SOUTH)
T 9-4 ESCC loss to Marist– Jared Novak led the Redwings with a pair of hits.
8-1 win over Marmion Connor Hincks led the 11-hit Redwing attack with three hits. Collin Gorz added a pair of hits and two RBI while Aaron Staehely chipped in with a pair of RBI.
12-11 ESCC crossover win over St. Pat’s Jared Wright and Ben Novak each had three hits to lead the Redwings’ 10-hit attack. Novak, drove home two runs as the Redwings scored seven runs in the top of the first inning and held on to beat the Shamrocks.
INTERSTATE 8 NORTH
LISLE (12-7, 3-2)
4-2 I-8 North loss to Coal City– Red-hot Jay McGrath had two more hits and Sam Russo drove home a Lion run.
7-0 I-8 loss to Coal City– AJ Casmer and Zach Webber each had a hit for the Lions.
TH at Streator
Lions win Lisle Invitational! 2 Lion shutouts!
Lisle 6-3 win over Holy Trinity AJ Casmer and Tony Raineri each had three hits and drove home two RBI. Zach Webber and Cal Payne combined for a three-hitter.
Lisle 1-0 win over Latin Jay McGrath drove home the only run he would need in the third inning and Connor Nigro did the rest, firing a five-inning no-hitter at the Romans.
Lisle 1-0 win over Peru St. Bede Damian Guerrero did it all for the Lions against their guests from Peru, Illinois. Gurrero drove home the only run he would need in the top of the fifth and then concluded the five-inning, one hit shutout, for the Lions.
WESTMONT (13-6, 2-2)
8-2 I-8 North win over Sandwich– Joey Dobrovolney improves to 4-0 on the mound, going the distance, scattering eight hits and striking out six. Matt O’Leary continued to crush the baseball with two doubles among his three hits and an RBI. Troy Schlicher chipped in with a single and an RBI
10-0 I-8 North win over Sandwich– Zach Fischer (3-1) fired a four-hit shutout at the Indians. Caden Anderson went deep for the Sentinels with a pair of RBI. Alex Marotta doubled and drove home a run.
7-0 win over Chicago Health Institute
10-6 loss to Reed Custer- Adam O’Leary and Troy Schlicher each had two hits and an RBI in the 8-1 loss to the Comets.
SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE
JOLIET WEST (11-9, 3-3)
10-7 SPC loss to Oswego East- (See Game Story)
4-1 SPC loss to Plainfield South (See Game Story)
F PLAINFIELD SOUTH (See Game Story)
11-0 win over Shepard- Cannon Karczewski ( 3 IP, 5K) and Brice Waller, combined on a two-hit shutout over the Astros. Lucas Brady had two hits and RBI to lead the Tiger attack. Tyler Pransky continued his torrid hitting,with two more hits.
PLAINFIELD SOUTH
7-0 SPC win over Romeoville- Griffin Lapp (4-0) extended his scoreless innings streak to 21.2 innings after firing a one-hit shutout at the Spartans. Lapp dispatched the Spartans on only 67 pitches. Dylan Miller blasted a three-run bomb, while Zach Pawlak plated a pair. Sophomore Tyler “Puma Phommachanhom led the Cougars’ attack with three hits.
4-1 SPC win over Joliet West (See Game Story)
14-8 loss to Kaneland– Justin McGuigan went 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and drove home a Cougar run. Tony Mosher singled, doubled and drove home three Cougar runs while Griffin Lapp had a pair of singles and an RBI.
PLAINFIELD CENTRAL
8-1 SPC loss to Plainfield North- Jac Lindish had two hits and drove home the lone Wildcat run while Charlie Bischoff chipped in with two hits.
12-8 SPC loss to Plainfield East Jake Donahue had a three-hit afternoon for the Wildcats.
Anthony Noble chipped in with a pair of RBI.
PLAINFIELD EAST
13-3 SPC win over Plainfield East- Jac Lindish drove home five as the Wildcats scorched the Bengals on Fort Beggs Drive. Charlie Bischoff added two hits and two RBI while Sean Blanchard and Andrew Noble chipped in with two hits each. Sam Pileggi blanked the Bengals for 4.2 innings to pick up the win on the mound.
15-1 win over Yorkville– Jake Donahue drove home four, to lead the Wildcats to the non-conference win over the Foxes. The ‘Cats scored nine times in the first inning to end this one. Ryan Dalton went 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI. Alex Schoenly allowed a run in his four solid innings on the mound, to improve to 3-0 for 2019.
MINOOKA (6-9-1, 2-4)
6-0 SPC loss to Oswego
5-0 SPC win over Joliet Central Senior Dean Procarione struck out 16 and fired a one-hit shutout at the Steelmen. Pedro Martinez had two hits and drove home the only run Procarione would need. Colin Olkiewicz added a hit and an RBI for the Indians. Zach Stoner chipped in with two hits and Nate Cochran also had an Indian RBI.
2-1 SPC loss to Joliet Central Pedro Martinez drove home the lone Indian run.
PLAINFIELD EAST (12-6, 3-3)
1-1 SPC tie with Joliet Central in 11 innings (See Story)
2-1 SPC win in 13 innings- Caden Anderson sent Bengal fans partying onto Plainfield-Naperville Road after his walk-off single won the 13-inning marathon.
12-8 SPC win over Plainfield Central Sean Rivera led the Bengals with a four-hit, two RBI day, Jack Crowder added three hits and a pair of ribbies.
13-3 SPC loss to Plainfield Central- Sean Rivera continued his hot-hitting driving home a run for the Bengals.
14-5 win over Ridgewood– A nine-run Bengal second inning put this one away. Andrew Hill went 2-for-2 with 2 ribbies while Aidan Flynn chipped in with two hits and an RBI.
PLAINFIELD NORTH (6-7-1, 3-2)
8-1 SPC win over Plainfield Central– Patrick Miller wallops grand-slam and finishes with five ribbies. Charlie Hutson goes deep again and Eben Heine (1-2) wins his first game of 2019.
1-0 SPC win over Oswego The Class 4A defending state champs were led by Dylan Szajkovics (3-0). Szajkhovics fired a six-hit shutout at the Panthers with 13 punch-outs.
10-2 win over Stagg- Josh Fleming pitched and hit the Tigers past Stagg. Fleming struck out 10 Chargers in his four shutout innings on the mound to improve to 3-0 on the season. Fleming helped himself out at the plate with a pair of doubles and three RBI. Brandon Hutson continued his hot hitting with a perfect 2-for-2 day at the plate, with an RBI. Garret Cook had three more hits while Pat Miller chipped in with two hits.
JOLIET CENTRAL (8-9, 2-4)
1-1 SPC tie with Plainfield East in 11 innings (See Story)
2-1 SPC loss to Plainfield East in 13 innings.
5-0 SPC loss to Minooka– The Steelmen just had one hit.
2-1 SPC win over Minooka- Noah Riley fired a four hitter at the Indians while Carlos Lopez drove home both Steelmen runs. Alex Gregurich, Jared King and Ethan Darling, all had hits for Central.
4-2 win over Bolingbrook- Ethan Darling drove home a run for the victorious Steelmen.
ROMEOVILLE (5-10-1, 2-3)
7-0 SPC loss to Plainfield South Mike Bunch and Anthony Perez had the two Spartan hits.
3-2 SPC win over Oswego East Spartan ace Ulysses Munoz fired a three-hitter at the hard-hitting Wolves, knocking Oswego East out of first place in the SPC. Anthony Perez had two hits for the Spartans. Dylan Scafuri drove home a run as well as Julian Jimenez, who drove home the eventual Spartan game-winner in the fourth inning.
9-2 loss to Stevenson
SOUTHWEST SUBURBAN BLUE
LOCKPORT (18-3, 2-1)
10-2 win over Andrew– Jake Kampf and Alex Martinez each had two hits and drove home a pair of Porter runs. Josh Bentley chipped in with a single and two RBI. Justin Gasper fired 3.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts and Nolan Vicek (3-0) picked up the win.
15-7 SWSC Blue loss to Lincoln-Way East- The Porters committed seven errors in the opening game of their crucial SWSC Blue series, leading to 10 unearned Griffin runs. Nolan Weis had three hits, including a double for the Porters. Jon Weis added a single and two RBI for Lockport. The two clubs will meet once again at historic Ed Flink Field on Monday at 4:30 p.m.
BOLINGBROOK (8-14, 0-3)
16-1 loss to Nazareth
3-2 SWSC Blue loss to Sandburg– Sophomore Dave Underdonk led the Raider attack with two hits and an RBI. Matt Dinkel kept the Raiders in the game, slamming the door on the Eagles with 3.1 shutout innings of relief.
4-2 loss to Joliet Central- Erik Haislip drove home a Raider run while Jake Zito, Ben Mottow and Nick Kurras, all had hits for “The Brook”.
WEST SUBURBAN GOLD
DOWNERS GROVE SOUTH (7-8, 5-1)
11-6 WSC Gold win over Addison Trail– Kyle Vogt, Jake Pileggi and Jack Blazevich, all had two hits and drove home two Mustang runs, each to keep the Mustangs a game behind WSC Gold leader Willowbrook.
3-2 WSC loss to Lyons Township – Mike Hoes and Joe Cosenza drove home the Mustang runs. Jack Blazevich and Tony Stellato each had one hit.
WEST SUBURBAN SILVER
DOWNERS GROVE NORTH (4-14, 3-5)
15-4 WSC Silver loss to Hinsdale Central
7-3 WSC Silver loss to Hinsdale Central Scott Jakobsze drove home a Trojan run.
7-6 WSC loss to Addison Trail- Dave Marshall had two hits and two RBI to lead the Trojans.