2011 Illinois High School 1A Baseball Final Four

The final four Illinois class 1A baseball teams will battle at O'Brien Field in Peoria this Friday and Saturday.

At 10:00 am Carrollton will play Tremont and following that game Goreville will play Lanark (Eastland). 

The winners will play in the IHSA 1A Championship game on Saturday after the third and fourth place game which starts at 10:00 am.

Western Illinois baseball's Lilja, Jordan and Koszulinski Named to 2011 All-League Second Team

Western Illinois baseball players Tom Lilja, Bryan Jordan and John Koszulinski have alll been named to the 2011 All-League Team in the Summit League.

Junior first baseman Tom Lilja (Mokena Illinois) hit .275 with 11 home runs and 42 rbi's for the Leathernecks this season. Senior second baseman Bryan Jordan (Cincinnati Ohio) hit .290 with with 9 doubles and two home runs in 2011.  Senior catcher John Koszulinski (Frankfort Illinois) finished his senior year hitting .274 with 3 home runs, 7 double and 28 rbi's.

University of Illinois Chicago Baseball has Flame Put Out in Tourney

Youngstown State scored five runs in the second, three more in the third and three in the ninth to eliminate the University of Illinois Chicago 12-7 from the Horizon League baseball tournament.

Jason Ganek (Mt. Prospect Illinois) led the flames going 3-5 with a double, an rbi and scored twice.

Illinois Wins Big Ten Conference Baseball Tournament

The University of Illinois baseball defeated Michigan State 9-1 tonight to capture the 2011 Big Ten Baseball Tournament title.

Illinois was up 8-0 in the fifth before Michigan State scored their only run of the game.  Corey Kimes (Ottawa Illinois) went the distance striking out 7 and walking none.  Matt Dittman (Libertyville Illinois) hit a grand slam in the third putting the Illini up 5-0. 

Heartland Baseball Moves on to the NJCAA Division 2 World Series

After a loss in the second round of the Region 24 Baseball Tournament, the Heartland Community College baseball team worked its way through the losers bracket with five straight wins to earn a berth in the NJCAA D-II World Series.

The Hawks will face UConn-Avery Point Community College at 7:30 pm on Saturday at David Allen Memorial Park in Enid Oklahoma.  The official bracket can be viewed by clicking on the link below.

NJCAA D-II World Series

Illinois High School Baseball Class 1A Sectional Results

A recap of where the 1A teams are at in the chase for the 2011 Spring Illinois High School Baseball Championship.

Virgina Sectional Championship Saturday 5/28:
Jacksonville (Routt) vs. Hartsburg (H.-Emden)

Carlinville Sectional Friday 5/27:
White Hall vs. Carrolton
Okawville vs. Nokomis

Bloomington Sectional Friday 5/27:
Tremont vs. Oneida
Mackinaw vs. Kenwanee

Danville Sectional Friday 5/27:
Macon vs. Argenta
Danville (Schlarman) vs. Tuscola

Bridgeport Sectional Friday 5/27:
Dieterich vs. Louisville (North Clay) - winner plays Woodlawn on 5/28

Goreville Sectional Saturday May 28:
Junction vs. Goreville

Granville Sectional Friday 5/27:
Granville vs. North Shore Country Day
Gilman vs. Streator (Woodland)

Lena Sectional Saturday 5/28:
Lanark vs. Freeport (Aquin)

Illinois Baseball Players in the 2011 MLB Draft Top 200

Listed below are baseball players from Illinois listed in the Baseball America 2011 Draft top 200. 

#50 Tony Zych, Louisville, St. Rita High School, Monee Illinois

#80 Charlie Tilson, New Trier High School, Winnetka Illinois

#87 Kyle Gaedele, Valparaiso University, Rolling Meadows High School, Arlington Heights Illinois

#134 Nick Burdi, Downers Grove South High School

#171 Ian Gardek, Angelina Texas Junior College, Crystal Lake South High School

#172 Nick Martini, Kansas State University, Prairie Ridge High School, Crystal Lake Illinois

#181 Johnny Ruettiger, Arizona State University, Joliet Catholic Academy, Joliet Illinois

Jeff Holm Named Big Ten Baseball Player of the Year

Michigan State first baseman Jeff Holm became the second Spartan in history to win the Big Ten Baseball Player of the Year award.  Holm ranked second in the conference with a .379 batting average, first in rbi's with 61, second in home runs with 7 and ranked among the leaders in slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored and hits.

Jeff is from St. Charles North high school and lives in St. Charles Illinois.

Update on Illinois Baseball Players with the Kane County Cougars

The Kane County Cougars are currently 19-27 on the season in the Class A Midwest League sitting at 12 1/2 games out of first. 

RHP Greg Billo, Palos Heights Illinois, has 2 wins and 1 loss with a 1.34 ERA in 40 and 1/3rd innings pitched for the Cougars.

RHP Nick Wooley, Edwardsville Illinois, was released by the Cougars on May 16th.

LHP Jon Keck, Joliet Illinois, is 0-1 with a 4.22 ERA in 21 and 1/3 innings pitched.

Illinois High School Baseball Rankings as of May 23rd

Illinois high school baseball rankings from the Prep Baseball Report as of May 23rd.

1.  Providence Catholic 30-3
2.  Lyon Township 30-3
3.  St. Laurence 26-6
4.  Plainfield North  29-2
5.  Sacred Heart Griffin  26-1
6.  Glenbrook North 28-3
7.  Mount Carmel 27-6
8.  Stevenson 26-4
9.  St. Rita 27-6
10. O'Fallon 28-5
11. Teutopolis 28-2
12. Lincoln-Way North 27-3
13. Nazareth Academy 29-5
14. Moline 29-4
15. Harrisburg 27-4

Joliet Junior College Baseball Eliminated from NJCAA World Series

The Joliet Junior College Baseball team was eliminated from the division III NJCAA World Series in Tyler Texas yesterday losing 5-3 to Eastfield College out of Texas.


The Wolves won their opening round game 7-4 over Westmoreland PA on Saturday, lost their second on Sunday 7-3 to Gloucester N.J. and were eliminated on Monday by Eastfield.

Clay Murphy Named MVC Baseball Pitcher of the Week

Missouri State senior RHP Clay Murphy was named the Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week on Sunday.

Murphy struck out 10 in 8 innings, did not allow a run, struck out 10 and only let up 3 hits in the Bears 4-3 win over 22nd ranked Oklahoma State last week.  Murphy took a no hitter into the fifth and did not allow a base runner past first until the seventh.

Clay is from Shawnee High and lives in Wolf Lake Illinois.

Walther Lutheran Baseball Advances to Benedictine Sectional

It took nine innings to advance to the IHSA 2A Benedictine Sectional with a 6-5 victory over Immaculate Conception.  Joe Lomnicki singled in pinch runner Mike Trotti for the game winner.  Dan LoDulce hit a three run homer in the first and pitched the final six innings to earn the win for the Broncos.

Aurora Christian Wins IHSA Regional on Walk Off Home Run

The Aurora Christian Eagles baseball team advances to the Benedictine Sectional with a walk off home run from from Josh Haugen.  Aurora Christian lost to Lisle 5 to 4 earlier this season and lost in regional to Lisle last year 11-1.

Bobby Kuntzendorf got the win on the mound for the Eagles giving up two runs on five hits, four walks and a hit batsman on 123 pitches.

University of Illinois Chicago Baseball Shares Horizon League Regular Season Title

With the University of Illinois Chicago baseball team sweep of a doubleheader against Youngstown State and with Wright State's loss to Butler,  the Flames fight back to share the 2011 Horizon League regular season championship with Wright State. 

UIC earned the Horizon League tournament number 2 seed and will play on Thursday May 26th at 3:05 pm eastern time.  The Flames opponent will be determined by the highest seed winner of the games played on May 25th.  This years Horizon League Baseball Tournament will be held at Nischwitz Stadium in Dayton Ohio.

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NJCAA Division II Region IV Illinois Baseball Tourney Update

Elgin Community College stays in the winners bracket defeating Black Hawk College 5-2 yesterday and moves on to play Madison College today.

Black Hawk College will play Kankakee Community College in an elimination game prior to Elgin vs. Madison.  The winner of Black Hawk vs Kankakee will play the loser of Elgin vs Madison also today.

Illinois Wesleyan Last Illinois Team Left in Division III Baseball Tournament

The Illinois Wesleyan Titans are fighting to stay alive in the Central Regional of the NCAA Division III Baseball National Tournament. 

Illinois Wesleyan, last years National Champion, moved into the losers bracket after a 7-1 loss to Buena Vista yesterday.  The Titans will now play Ripon at 10:00 am today looking to stay alive in the tourney.

The only other Illinois Division III team, Aurora University, fell out of the National Tourney with an 8-3 loss to St. Thomas yesterday.

Quincy University Baseball Earns Berth into Midwest Region of the 2011 NCAA Division II National Tournament

Quincy University baseball earns a National Tournament berth by defeating Northern Kentucky 8-2 in the championship game of the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

First year head baseball coach Josh Rabe leads the Hawks to their first Conference Championship in 11 years.  The last time Qunicy was in the National Tournament Rabe was playing for the Hawks.

Quincy again will square off against Northern Kentucky on May 19th at 8:00 pm in the Midwest Regional at the Corn Crib in Normal Illinois.

Joliet Junior College Baseball Moves on to the NJCAA Division III World Series

Joliet Junior College is headed to the NJCAA Division III World Series and fighting for their 3rd National Championship in Tyler Texas this weekend.

Joliet earned their bid by defeating Waubonsee Community College 11-10 on May 15th.  The Wolves (39-21) will face Westmoreland County Community College PA at 12:00 pm on May 21st. 

John A. Logan and South Suburban Baseball Earn Trip to District Championships

John A. Logan College and South Suburban College both move on to the 2011 Division I District Baseball Championship for the Northern Region held at John A. Logan College May 20th - May 22nd.

John A. Logan College earned their berth by defeating Wabash Valley twice, 14-8 and 2-1.  South Suburban also went down to the final game defeating Kishwaukee College 4-1.

Aurora University Baseball Wins Northern Athletics Conference Tournament

The Aurora University Baseball Spartans needed to win one game against Concordia University Chicago in the NAC tournament on Sunday afternoon and did so defeating Concordia 11-3 and capturing the conference tourney for the second year in a row.  Aurora now advances to the Midwest Regional in Whitewater Wisconsin as the #6 seed in the Division III National Tournament.

Anthony Buonamici (Bolingbrook Illinois) went 5 and 2/3rds innings, to pick up the win and Nick Czaja (Aurora Illinois) picked up the save throwing the final 3 and 1/3 innings.  Mike Foley (Mokena Illinois) went 3-4 with a triple and three rbi's for the Spartans.

Mike Napoleon and Leroy Franklin reach 700 wins

Congratulations to both New Trier Head Baseball Coach Mike Napoleon and Simeon Head Baseball Coach Leroy Franklin for reaching the 700 win milestone.

University of Illinois Chicago's Jason Ganek Named to Two-Way Basebal Player of the Year Watch List

Senior two-way player Jason Ganek from the University of Illinois Chicago baseball team has been named one of 25 players around the country to the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Watch List.  The list is comprised of players who make the most impact both on the mound and at the plate.

At the plate Ganek ranks among the leaders in the Horizon League being fourth in home runs, eight in slugging percentage, and ninth in rbi's.  Ganek leads UIC with 76 total bases, tied for the team lead with 12 doubles and is second on the team with 46 hits.  On the mound Jason sits at fourth in the Horizon League with an ERA of 3.86.

Ganek is the only Horizon League player to be named to the Olerud Watch List.

Jason is from Hersey High School and lives in Mount Prospect Illinois.

Quincy Meets Lewis in Great Lakes Valley Conference Baseball Tournament

Quincy and Lewis will battle in the first round of the 2011 Great Lakes Valley Conference Baseball Tournament at noon on Thursday at GSC Ballpark in Sauget Illinois.

The GLVC Tourney is broken up into two brackets, one being played at GSC Ballpark in Sauget Illinois and the other being played at the University of St. Louis Missouri baseball field.  The entire bracket can be found by following the link below.

2011 GLVC Baseball Tournament

St. Francis and Robert Morris in Opening Round of NAIA Baseball National Championship

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced the pairings and site selections for the 2011 NAIA Baseball Championship Opening Round.  St. Francis and Robert Morris will participate in a five-team double-elimination opening round tournament May 12th - May 16th hosted by St. Francis at Silver Cross Field in Joliet Illinois.

A total of 45 NAIA teams will compete for a spot to move onto the NAIA World Series in Lewiston Idaho from May 27th through June 3rd.

The Joliet Illinois bracket and seeds are as follows:

1. Oklahoma Baptist
2. Biola (CA)
3. St. Francis Illinois
4. Robert Morris Illinois
5. Jamestown (ND)

Robert Morris will play Jamestown at 11:00 am and St. Francis opens against Biola at 3:00 pm on May 12th at Silver Cross.