THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2008
Several Teams Get Hot At Right Time
By DWIGHT ESAU
Journal Sports
Maine West, Maine South, and Leyden are three-red-hot baseball teams as high school baseball's post-season state tournament approaches.
Leyden's Eagles and West's Warriors have been hot most of the season, but Maine South is making the biggest comeback right now after a mediocre start.
The Hawks won three out of four games last weekend as they improved their season mark to 9-12-1 and climbed above the .500 mark in the Central Suburban-South with an 8-7 record.
South won two pitcher's duels and one wild slugfest last week. Nick DePaul tossed a 2-hit shutout at Evanston for a 1-0 victory. The Hawks scored the only run of the game on Pierce Hoffman's single, a walk to Tommy Muck, and an error on a bunt by Brian O'Toole in the bottom of the 7th inning.
In another nailbiter, the Hawks defeated Deerfield, 2-1, for coach Bill Milano's 300th career win in 14 seasons at Nazareth and Maine South. Tony Cannizzaro was the winning pitcher with a complete-game 4-hitter. Ron Muck homered and Doug Tanaka drove in another run.
DePaul was the big hitter in a 9-8 Hawk win over Waukegan. South scored 4 runs in the sixth to come from behind an 8-4 deficit. In South's other game last week, they lost to Loyola, 10-0. "That was our one bad game in the last two weeks," Milano said.
Maine West ran its win streak to four with a 2-1 win over Evanston and a 17-2 romp over Niles North. West now is 14-5 on the season and 9-4 in the CSL-North. Against Evanston, Eric Romani got the win in relief and Mike Santa Maria got the save. Tommy Ross had 2 hits for West.
Against Niles North, Lucas Udischas homered and doubled, Santa Maria had 3 hits, and freshman Connor Skoczynski doubled twice in West's 17-hit attack. James Ward gave up 2 hits in the 5-inning victory.
Leyden, meanwhile, was at the brink of the West Suburban-Gold championship yesterday (Tuesday) in the finale of a three-game series against Willowbrook. A win would give the Eagles the title. The Eagles split a doubleheader with Willowbrook on Saturday, winning 9-0 behind the pitching of Sam Cochiaro and the hitting of Jack Townley, Cam Stephens, and Jeremy Stawychny, but Willowbrook came back to win the second game, 3-2.
The Eagles fell to Downers Grove South, the other WSG conference contender, 8-2, last week to prolong this three-team donnybrook for the championship.
St. Viator had another mixed weekend. The Lions swept Marian Catholic, 4-3 and 10-7, behind the pitching of Brendan King and Bryce Hensley. In game one, King scattered 6 hits and Brett Kay, who had singled, scored the winning run on a big play at home after a Marian fielder's choice.
In game two, Phil Bar homered twice and Jack Meyer once to lead the Lion offense.
St. Viator improved to 17-10 and 8-7 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference.
On Monday, Notre Dame slowed Viator's late-season surge with a 4-1 victory.
Eric Huber was the losing pitcher, and A.J. Fedoruk was the winning pitcher for the Dons.