Baseball notes: Fremd’s pitching, hitting both sparkling in perfect start
Will Graba and Fremd have been perfect.
Graba tossed a perfect game against Hoffman Estates last Wednesday. Graba (4-0) needed just 56 pitches and struck out 9 in the Vikings’ 5-inning, 10-0 victory over the Hawks.
That, coupled with Monday’s win over Conant and a 5-2 win over Prospect on Tuesday, put Fremd at 4-0 in MSL West play and 12-0-1 overall for the season.
The Vikings have six hitters over the .300 mark: Caleb Yoon (.444), Johnny O’Brien (.394), Cooper Nelson (.344, 6 SB), Vinny Panzino (.333), Chase Nelson (.321, 9 SB) and Tyler Schader (.320).
Pitching has also been a strength with Jack Crihfield (2-0, 16 IP, 30 K), Myles Minier (2-0, 1.944 ERA) and Robby Seifert (2-0, 9.1 IP, 16 K, .750 ERA).
Barrington: The Broncos (11-4-1, 4-0) are back and running, winning 6 of their last 7 games. Two of those wins came in a series against Schaumburg where Jackson Cavaliero (.310) was 2-for-3 with a homer and 4 RBI. Will Renshaw (2-0, .955 ERA), Jack Postma (1-2, 2.88 ERA), Dylan Ignacek (10.1 IP, 14K) and Hunter Gaul combined to fan 17 and allow three runs and six hits in the series. Jackson Roberts (.405), Peter Ensign (.375) and Aiden Gryzlo (.381) are the offensive leaders.
Buffalo Grove: The Bison (5-11-2) broke a modest 3-game losing streak Monday and have gone .500 in their last six games. Griffin Kelly (.397, 23 H, 3 doubles, 4 HRs, 14 RBI) has been the leading hitter and poked a pair of homers on Monday. Cole Diaz (.286) has also been a key contributor offensively. Kelly (38.1 IP, 63 K, 1.82 ERA) is also the top hurler for the Bison. Joe Hanson (16.1 IP, 1-0, 20 K, 1.28 ERA) and Drew Carrison (26.2 IP, 34 K) have also been strong on the mound.
Conant: The Cougars (7-9, 0-4) have run into a rough patch, losing their last 7 games, including all four conference games. Alex Martinez, (.395, 4 HRs, 17 RBI) has been strong offensively for Conant while Franklin Kirchner (2-0, 25.2 IP, 59 K) has had success on the mound.
Elk Grove: The Grenadiers (3-11, 1-2) look to have turned things around, picking up a pair of wins last week. Cooper Casterton (.429) began conference play on a tear, going 7-for-7. Myles Schwartz (.389), Isaac Santowski (.370) and Ethan Otano (.317) also have been the leaders offensively. Schwartz and Santowski have been solid on the mound in conference action.
Hersey: The Huskies (13-2-1, 3-1) split with Prospect last week as they continue to play well. Diego Garcia (.438), Mikey Sokan (.413) and Charlie Arvananties (.404) are each hitting over .400 while Chuck Meister and Drew Thomas each have two homers. Riley Blackwell is 4-0 with a save while Bennet McNeill is 3-0 with an ERA of 0.34. Keegan Luxem has 34 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings.
Hoffman Estates: After winning three straight early in April, the Hawks have now lost five in a row.
Leyden: The Eagles (8-5, 3-1) have won four of their last five and are near the top the West Suburban Gold. Elias Carrillo (20 IP, 29 K) and Jonathan Rosas (14.1 IP, 29K) pitched back-to-back shutouts against Proviso East last week. Sammy Calderon (.441, 1.16 OPS), Hassan Khrawish (.400, .993 OPS), Maddox Jasinski (.343, 15 walks) and Angel Gutierrez (.314) are the hitting leaders.
Maine East: The Blue Devils (2-10, 0-4) have struggled this month, losing their last seven.
Maine South: Luka Stojakovic is red hot for the Hawks (9-8, 2-1). He went on an 8-for-8 streak as his batting average climbed to .396. Constantine Coins (.367) is also hitting well while Cole Mutchler (4-1, 22 strikeouts) and Nick Conway (2-2, 1.419 ERA) lead the staff. Maine South is 2-0 in the Stevie Bajenski Tournament with a win over Marist.
Maine West: The Warriors (4-11, 1-3) are hoping to get on track this week after losing two of three to Niles West in CSL North action. Perish Smith (.500, 5 2B), Julian Delao (.429) and Joey Bruno (.348) lead the offense while Julian Delao (15 Ks, 0.91 ERA), Ryan Duffy (13 IP,19 K) and Konrad Dudzik (21 IP, 22 K) lead from the bump.
Palatine: The Pirates (12-6, 3-1) have had a number of players this season with three hits in one game. Jett Greiwe, Toby Peterson (.373, 4 HR), Joe Riley (.383) and Ian Sherman (.370) have accomplished that feat. Two of Peterson’s three hits were home runs. Peter Mulhern (35 IP, 47 K, 2.00 ERA), Toby Peterson (23.2 IP, 50 Ks, 2.66 ERA, 4-1) and Brandon Ziebell (21.1 IP, 17 K) have all been solid on the mound.
Prospect: The Knights (9-5-1, 2-1) have used multihit games by their top four hitters to get off to a great start this season. Matt Jackson (.488,15 RBI) has 6 multihit games, John Bazula (.482, 13 RBI, 8 doubles) has 8, Jack Davis (.421, 16 RBI) has 11 and Louie Caldrone (.415, 10 SB), has 7. Dominic Graf (5-1, 18K) has been solid in relief while Matt Jackson (2-0, 17K) has been tough as a starter.
Rolling Meadows: The Mustangs (14-4, 2-2) continue to be running hard. Ryan Schneider (.510). Callum Paisley (.406), Luke Schneider (.365) — who had a 5-RBI game against Glenbard West — and Joe Brigham (.346) have led an offense averaging 8.2 runs per game. Cam Wachtel (2-0, 25.1 IP, 21 K, 2.21 ERA), Charlie Hoeper (3-0, 21.1 IP, 35 K, 2.30 ERA) and Tino Savino (3-0, 19 IP, 27 K, 1.11 ERA) have been the leaders on the mound.
Schaumburg: The Saxons (6-10, 1-2) broke a 5-game losing streak last Friday with their 5-4 win over Buffalo Grove. Hayden Adamowicz leads the team with a .385 batting average and 4 home runs, while Garrick Gelarden has an ERA of 2.12.
Wheeling: The Wildcats (10-8, 1-3) have been battlers. All four of their conference games have come down to the final inning. Tyler Zangara (.375) was a huge asset in the lone win of those games, going 3-for-4 with 2 RBI and 2 doubles. Reid Gerjerts (.352, 15 RBI, 13 runs) and Zach Neukrich (.333, 19 RBI) also have hit well. Grant Scheuerman leads the team with 22 runs and is 18-for-18 in stolen bases. Dylan Baloun is 3-1 with a 2.03 ERA and has a save. Coach Jason Wieder reached 150 wins on April 5.