According to Neuqua Valley coach Robin Renner, the University of Arizona intends to honor the scholarship it awarded pitcher Ian Krol. The lefthander, who was suspended for his senior season after his second violation of the District 204 athletic code of conduct, is expected to be an early-round pick in the June amateur draft.
Baseball: April 2009 Archives
Benet was clinging to an 11-10 lead against Neuqua Valley on Wednesday in Lisle. Seemingly throughout, one team would look dominant one inning and helpless the next.
The Redwings wanted this game bad enough that they brought in Creighton signee John Boyle with a runner on second base and one out in the seventh inning. On the day he was scheduled to do bullpen work on the side, Boyle struck out Jordan Williamson looking and then forced Mike Gerber to ground out, notching the save.
"Basically, in a game like this, (we) would maybe throw him an inning and it worked out," Benet coach Jeff Bonebrake said afterward. "We tried to go as long as we could without him. He came in and got some good work in."
Game over.
Four area teams had baseball games washed away on Tuesday. Here are the updates:
--Naperville Central and Naperville North will each have home games on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The Redhawks will face Glenbard North, while the Huskies take on Wheaton North, which is ranked second in the latest Chicago Sun-Times poll.
--Waubonsie Valley will host a doubleheader against Streamwood on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.
--Neuqua Valley will travel to St. Charles North on May 13 to make up Tuesday's Upstate Eight Conference game.
The Sunday column looked at Benet seniors Alex Staehely and John Boyle, who have committed to Creighton. For more on the future of this program, check out Tom Shatel in the Omaha World-Herald. The Bluejays have major plans in the works.
Waubonsie Valley hasn't picked up where it left off. The Warriors advanced to the semifinals of the state summer tournament, but they've opened this season 0-4.
After Wednesday's 9-4 loss at Naperville North, Waubonsie coach Dan Fezzuoglio was a little curt, but at the same time emphatic that good things will happen.
"We have hit the ball pretty well," Fezzuoglio said. "We hit the ball well today against one of the better kids in the area (Jake Naumann) and that's encouraging."
Waubonsie can also begin to start over in a sense with Thursday's Upstate Eight Conference opener against St. Charles East. At least it doesn't play in the DuPage Valley Conference. Waubonsie's losses thus far have come against North, Naperville Central, Wheaton North and West Chicago.
"I'd rather be working the kinks out (now) instead (of) the end of the year," Fezzuoglio said. "We could see Central again or North again. We know we're a quality team and we're gonna be there."
--Neuqua Valley continues to care of things on the field, but it still dropped out of the Chicago Sun-Times baseball rankings. The Wildcats (3-1) are on the fringe of the top 10, listed under others to watch.
--St. Rita, which is ranked No. 7 by Sean Duncan, had such a fast start that SouthtownStar columnist Pat Disabato was wondering about an unbeaten season. Only two other Illinois baseball teams have done so, but it won't be the Mustangs this season - the other day Whitney Young upset the top-ranked preseason team. In what should be a good dress rehearsal for the postseason, Benet is scheduled to travel to St. Rita on May 25.
--Duncan previously released his top-100 players list, and it included the following area players: John Boyle, Benet senior pitcher; Pat Kaminska, Naperville Central senior pitcher; Mike McKinley, Neuqua senior pitcher; Jake Naumann, Naperville North senior pitcher; and Alex Staehely, Benet senior shortstop.
Here's one way to stretch your entertainment dollar in the middle of a recession. Even if you're priced out of big-league games, U.S. Cellular Field will open its doors on April 15 for Notre Dame and Northwestern.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at whitesox.com or the stadium's box office. Proceeds from the game will benefit Chicago White Sox Charities. The club hosted a similar event last year when Notre Dame took on Northern Illinois to support a scholarship fund at the DeKalb university.
There will still be several local connections. Scott Lawler, a Naperville Central graduate, is the Fighting Irish associate head coach. Sophomore Mick Doyle, the infielder out of Benet, has started 17 games this season for Notre Dame and is hitting .271.
Geoff Rowan, less than a year removed from his senior season at Neuqua Valley, is trying to find his role at Northwestern. Rowan has made three appearances out of the bullpen and seen time at catcher, his listed position on the team's roster.
