THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2008
St. Viator Surging; West Rolls
By DWIGHT ESAU
Journal Sports
It was a very nice week for Maine West in baseball, a fantastic one for surging St. Viator, a not so hot one for Maine South, a so-so one for Niles West, and another great one for Leyden.
Let's start with 'Viator, which is 12-8 now and winners of four straight after a mid-season slump.
The Lions lost a makeup game to Nazareth last Monday, and haven't lost since. On Thursday, Apr. 24, they trotted out robust hitting in a 14-9 win over Hersey. Brett Kay and Sean Folan slammed multiple-run-scoring doubles, Jack Meyer drove in 3 runs, and Phil Bar was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs.
The next day, the Lions won a close one, 3-2, from Maine East, in a game shortened an inning by rain. Mike Bordes got the win in relief. Kay hit a game-tying homer into the teeth of a strong wind.
Finally, on Saturday, the Lions got two outstanding pitching performances from Eric Huber (6-hitter, 4 strikeouts), and Bryce Hensley (2-hitter, 6 Ks) to sweep a doubleheader from St. Joseph, 4-1 and 3-0, respectively.
Huber, Kay, Nick Scala, and Meyer were the big hitters for the Lions.
Over at Maine West, the Warriors improved to 9-3 on the season with Central Suburban League wins over Maine East and Niles West.
Garrett Glover tossed a 3-hitter as the Warriors blasted Maine East, 12-2. Ryan Tuntland, Alex Kopf, and Sean Willett each had 3 hits in a 21-hit barrage for West. Two days later, the Warriors continued their lusty hitting in a 15 -4 romp over formidable Niles West. The game was called after 5 innings. Tuntland tripled and Willett homered as West scored 6 runs in the first inning and 9 in the fourth. Eric Romani scattered 7 hits in the slaughter-rule victory.
Maine South went 1-2 last week to run its season record to 3-8-1. The Hawks let an 8-3 lead slip away against Glenbrook South and dropped a 10-8 decision to the Titans in the Central Suburban-South. Eric Mueller and Eric Virgilio each had 2 hits to lead the Hawk 9-hit attack. Tony Cannizarro was the losing pitcher.
Two days later, the Hawks lost 7-4 to the Titans in a return match. Pierce Hoffman had 2 hits for the Hawks and Ronnie Muck was the losing pitcher.
The Hawks bounced back with a come-from-behind 7-6 win over Glenbrook North this past weekend. Cannizarro was the winning pitcher and Muck got the save with an inning of relief. The Hawk game against Libertyville was called after 4 innings with South ahead, 6-5, and it will not be re-scheduled.
Notre Dame remained at about .500 for the season by winning a pair from St. Patrick and then dropping a doubleheader to Marian Catholic last week in East Suburban Catholic Conference competition.
Leyden had another good week, with two wins and a tie in the West Suburban Gold. In a non-conference game, they played a 2-2 tie with Hinsdale Central and the game was suspended after 7 innings. Then, last weekend, the Eagles won a pair from Proviso East, 11-2 and 13-0. Jonathan Weaver pitched a 2-hitter in game one with 12 strikeouts and no walks in 5 innings. Jack Townley was 4-for-4 with 4 RBIs, and Joe Natale had 2 doules and 2 RBI.
In the nightcap, Ricky Zapata threw a 2-hitter and Jonathan Weaver and Josh Serrano were the big hitters for the Eagles (14-2, 10-1 in the WSG).