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.

Mike Nodzenski Earns Midwest Conference Baseball Performer of the Week

Junior catcher from Grinnell College Mike Nodzenski has earned the Midwest Conference Baseball Performer of the Week award reported May 9th.

Nodzenski set a school record with nine rbi's in a single game and tied another school record with three home runs in a single game in an 18-2 win over Monmouth College.  In game two of the double header Mike tied Grinnell's program record for home runs with his 12th.  For the week Mike hit .625 with 7 home runs, a double and 19 rbi's.

Mike is from Naperville North and lives in Naperville Illinois.

Illinois Wesleyan Earns #1 Seed in CCIW Baseball Tournament

The Illinois Wesleyan Baseball Team earned the #1 seed in the 2011 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) which begins on May 12th.  North Park, which tied with Illinois Wesleyan for the conference title, earned the #2 seed.  The tournament will be held in Bloomington Illinois at Illinois Wesleyan's Jack Horenberger Field.

CCIW Tournament Participants:
1. Illinois Wesleyan
2. North Park
3. Carthage
4. North Central

Tournament Schedule:
May 12th
G1. #4 North Central vs. #1 Illinois Wesleyan @ 3:00 pm
G2. #3 Carthage vs #2 North Park @ 6:00 pm

May 13th
G3. Loser game 1 vs Loser game 2 @ 11:00 am
G4. Winner game 1 vs Winner game 2 @ 2:00 pm
G5. Winner game 3 vs. Loser game 4 @ 5:00 pm

May 14th
G6. Winner game 4 vs Winner game 5 @ 12:00 pm
G7. If Necessary @ 30 minutes after game 6.

Frontier League Draft Results for Illinois Independent Baseball Teams

Below is a list of players drafted by Frontier baseball teams in Illinois for 2011.

Rockford RiverHawks:
RHP Steven Faulkner
RHP Lance Brown
3B/RHP Jordon Yost

Normal CornBelters:
LHP Kolby Moore
SS Jon Reed
RHP Mike Click

Joliet Slammers:
RHP Jason Santana
LHP Kyle Kriech
2B Ben Ferrell

Gateway Grizzlies:
RHP Scott Sobczak
C Eric Bloom
RHP Justin Yackee

Windy City ThunderBolts:
C Larry Pempek
OF Lenell McGee

Southern Illinois Miners:
C Roger Vasquez
1B Anthony Armenio

Quincy University Baseball Clinches Spot in Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament

The Quincy University Hawks baseball team clinched a spot in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Baseball Tournament by sweeping Rockhurst University yesterday 4-0 and 4-2.

Hawk pitcher Mitchell Fairley (Quincy Illinois) improved to 5-3 by going 8 innings, allowing no runs with 8 strikeouts in game one.  Outfielder Mitchell Broughton (Centralia Illinois) with a single up the middle driving in two runs in the top of the seventh. 

In game two Dan Entzeroth (St. Charles MO.) homered, Rich Ruff (Chicago Illinois) picked up his 6th win and Brian Thompson (Monmouth Illinois) picked up his 14th save of the season.

Illinois Wesleyan Baseball Tied for First Place in CCIW

Illinois Wesleyan swept a double header 15-0 and 8-0 over North Central College to put the Titans in a first place tie with Carthage College on top of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.  If Illinois Wesleyan and Carthage tie for first in the CCIW, the two teams will both be co-champions but Illinois Wesleyan would be the host of the conference tournament since they won two out of three from Carthage.

Illinois Wesleyan plays North Central College at North Central today at 2:00 pm and Carthage plays at North Park at noon.

Pete Cappetta (Illinois) Named Big Ten Baseball Player of the Week

University of Illinois Senior Pete Cappetta was named Big Ten Baseball Co-Player of the Week on May 3rd.

Cappetta hit .667 in a three game series against Northwestern with a double, a homer, drove in three and scored five times.  Cappetta went 3-3 with runners in scoring position and had a slugging percentage of 1.000.  The Big Ten Player of the Week Award was the first for Pete. 

Pete is from Montini High School and lives in Lisle Illinois.

Judson Illinois Baseball in Drivers Seat for CCAC Baseball Tournament

The Judson Eagles are the only unbeaten team after games on Wednesday in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament.

Judson defeated St. Francis 10-3 on Wednesday and posted a school record 40th win of the season.  Ben Palmer (Hampshire Illinois) went 6 1/3rd innings recording a career high 11 strikeouts for his 5th win on the season.  DH Nate Rohl (Rockford Illinois) went 3-5 with 2 rbi's, RF Matt McHenry (Blue Springs MO) 2-5 with a double and three rbi's and 2B Brian Brauer (Streamwood Illinois) was 3-5 with 2 runs scored.

Other CCAC Games

Trinity International knocked out #1 seed Robert Morris with a 5-1 victory on Wednesday.  George Heller (Elgin Illinois) held Robert Morris to 5 hits and one earned run and struck out nine.

Olivet Nazarene defeated St. Xaiver 5-1 as Junior Tyler Shore (Elgin Illinois)held St. Xaiver to four hits and one unearned run.  Kevin Lasowski (Shererville IN) drove in the Tigers first three runs going 2-2 on the day.

Illinois High School Baseball Rankings as of May 2nd

Illinois High School baseball rankings from the Prep Baseball Report as of May 2nd.

1.  Mundelein 18-0
2.  Plainfield North 18-0
3.  Lyons Township 19-1
4.  Providence Catholic 18-2
5.  Mt. Carmel 19-2
6.  St. Rita 18-3
7.  St. Laurence 18-5
8.  O'Fallon 18-3
9.  Pleasent Plains 22-1
10. Sacred Heart-Griffin 15-1
11. Teutopolis 14-2
12. Glenbrook North 18-1
13. Normal West 18-4
14. Galesburg 18-3
15. Leyden 18-1
16. Moline 18-2
17. Stevenson 14-2
18. Harrisburg 19-3
19. Simeon 16-2
20. Rock Falls 20-3
21. Glenwood 15-4
22. Streamwood 15-2
23. Nazareth 16-4
24. Lincoln Way-East 14-4
25. St. Charles East

Nate Arenson and Will Hodges Named College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Baseball Players of the Week

North Central pitcher Nate Arenson and Carthage Outfielder Will Hodges earned College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin baseball players of the week on May 3rd.

Arenson, a senior from Naperville North High School, threw a nine inning complete game in North Central's 5-1 win over Augustana last week.  Nate did not allow an earned run, struck out three and walked one.

Hodges, a senior from Oak Park Illinois, went 11-18 with four doubles, a homer and 14 rbi's last week.  Hodges also won the player of the week award on April 5th.

St. Xaiver Baseball Upsets #1 Seed Robert Morris in First Round of CCAC Tourney

Number 6 seeded St. Xaiver University takes down number 1 seeded Robert Morris in the first round of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament 6-4 yesterday.

In the sixth inning, down 4-3, freshman pitcher Dan Maton (Plainfield North) struck out Robert Morris 1B Marty Coyle (South Suburban College) and work out of a jam.  In the bottom half St. Xaiver regained the lead with a walk to Jim Pipolo (Sandburg) followed by a triple from Matt Erickson (Richards) and a single from Tom Simek (St. Laurence) to go up 5-4.

St. Xaiver added an insurance run in the 7th and shut down Robert Morris the rest of the way.  Jim Pipolo (Sandburg) went 3-3 with 4 rbi's and Chris Klein (Huntley) picked up the save.

Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament Set

With the new conference format for 2011 the top three teams from each division will compete in a double elimination tournament starting Tuesday May 3rd at Oil City Stadium in Whiting Indiana.

Robert Morris University wound up with the best record in conference play and qualifies as one of two league teams that will advance to the NAIA National Tournament.  If Robert Morris wins the conference tourney, then the runner up would also advance to the National Tournament.

The top three North Division teams are:
1.  Robert Morris University
2.  Judson University
3.  Trinity University

The top three South Division teams are:
1.  St. Francis
2.  Olivet Nazarene
3.  Saint Xavier

First round match ups are as follows:
Game 1 - Saint Xavier vs. Robert Morris @ 10:00 am
Game 2 - Trinity vs. St. Francis @ 1:00 pm
Game 3 - Olivet Nazarene vs. Judson @ 7:30 pm

Second round:
Game 4 - Loser game 1 vs. Loser game 2 @ 11:00 am
Game 5 - Winner game 1 vs. Loser game 3 @ 3:00 pm
Game 6 - Winner game 2 vs. Winner game 3 @ 7:00 pm

Division III Regional Baseball Rankings for Illinois Teams

The NCAA Division III Baseball Committee released its first regional poll for 2011.  Below are the rankings for the Central Region, which include the only Illinois Teams.

1. Coe College
2. Carthage College
3. Buena Vista
4. Illinois Wesleyan
5. Augustana
6. Washington U.

Southern Illinois Saluki Baseball Shuts out Illini Again

The Southern Illinois Saluki baseball team shut out the University of Illinois for the second time this season with a 9-0 victory Tuesday night at the fourth annual Interstate Baseball Classic at Rent One Park. 

Senior RHP Andrew Bever, a transfer from Kankakee Community College, threw 6 scoreless innings allowing only three hits.  Bever also threw eight scoreless innings against the Illini on April 13th has now thrown 14 scoreless innings against Illinois.

Jordan Silversten (Carmel Catholic, Richmond Illinois) went 3-4 at the plate with a double and 2 rbi's, Brock Harding (Rochester Illinois) was 3-5 including a double and 3 rbi's for Southern Illinois. 

Illinois was held to six hits over nine innings, Davis Hendrickson (Macomb Illinois) had two of them.  Pat Sheehan (Springfield Illinois) had the only extra base hit, a double.

Rockford RiverHawks Baseball to Hold Open Tryout May 4th

The Rockford RiverHawks will hold an open tryout on Wednesday May 4th 2011 at 9:00 am in Loves Park Illinois.  The cost of the tryout is $50.00 and the tryouts will be held at Road Ranger Stadium in Loves Park.

Registration is one hour before the tryout start time.

Ray Gerard Leads Monmouth Baseball Pitching Staff

Although Monmouth College has Ray Gerard listed as a utility player on the roster, Ray has found his main spot to be on the mound by going 4-0 and leading the Scots in ERA (based on more than 10 innings pitched this season).

Gerard, who is a 6'2" sophomore from Bloomington Illinois, is currently 4-0 with a 3.09 ERA in 43 and 2/3rd's innings pitched.  Ray is also on the leader board in several categories in the Division 3 Midwest Conference, third in ERA, third in batting average against at .224, fourth in innings pitched and third in strikeouts with 37.