Tyler Brown and Alex Kazmierski Earn SLIAC Baseball Players of the Week

Two Illinois baseball players earn the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week awards.

Tyler Brown, Spalding University, earned Pitcher of the Week throwing a complete game shutout over Eureka last week.  Brown earned his sixth win by striking out eight and allowing only five hits in seven innings.  Tyler is from Joliet West HS and lives in Joliet Illinois.

Alex Kazmierski, Webster University, went 8-18 (.444) last week with five rbi's, stole 4 bases and three doubles.  Kazmierski attended Carl Sandburg and lives in Orange Illinois.

Sanchez and Kuligowski Named College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Baseball Players of the Week

North Park University Viking baseball players Tony Sanchez and Steve Kuligowski earned the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Baseball Players of the Week honors for the week ending March 25th.

Senior catcher Tony Sanchez earned Hitter of the Week hitting .500 with 7 hits in 14 at bats, seven rbi's, a homer and a double.  Tony is from Plainfield South HS and lives in Plainfield Illinois.

Senior pitcher Steve Kuligowski captured the Pitcher of the Week by going 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA last week.  Steve pitched 13 and 1/3rd innings giving up only one earned run and striking out 12 on the week.

Sam Travis and Brandon Magallones Win Big Ten Baseball Players of the Week

Two Providence Catholic alums, Sam Travis and Brandon Magallones, earn Big Ten Baseball Players of the week honors.

Indiana first baseman Sam Travis earned Player of the Week and Co-Freshman of the Week honors for hitting .727 and extending his hitting streak to 11 games in a three game series against Penn State.  Sam also had three rbi's and two doubles in the series and an on base percentage of .750.  Sam is from Orland Park Illinois.

Northwestern freshman pitcher Brandon Magallones won the Co-Pitcher and the Co-Freshman of the Week throwing seven shutout innings in a 3-0 shutout over Iowa.  Brandon had nine strikeouts and allowed one walk and five hits.  Magallones is from Manhattan Illinois.

Grizzlies add Pat Arnold to Pitching Staff

The Gateway Grizzlies announced the signing of right-handed pitcher Pat Arnold to their pitching staff for the 2012 season.

Arnold was released from the Washington Nationals farm system after spending the last five seasons with the Nats.  Arnold's career stats with Washington are 11-16 with a 4.68 ERA. 

The Gateway Grizzlies are a member of the Independent Frontier League and play their home baseball games in Sauget Illinois.

York's Greg Castello Throws No-No Agains Waubonsie Valley

York High School senior Greg Castello threw only 69 pitches in a 4-0 no hit victory over Waubonsie Valley.  If a fielding error in the first inning does not happen, Castello owns a perfect game.  Only two balls made it into the outfield and after 69 total pitches, Castello gets his first no hitter.

York got on the board in the third inning when Jake Rzeszutko doubled in two and Anthony Santos singled in another.  The fourth and final run scored on a groundout.  York improved to 3-0 on the season.

Juhl, Golz and Rahn Named College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin baseball Players of the Week

The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin named three baseball players Players of the Week for last week. 

Jeremy Juhl, Augustana Illinois, was named Hitter of the Week by hitting .588 with 10 hits, 8 rbi's and two doubles last week.  Jeremy is from Glenbard East HS and lives in Lombard Illinois.

Also named Hitter of the Week was Drew Golz from Wheaton College.  Golz hit .667 with two homers, four rbi's and a slugging percentage of 1.333 last week.  Drew is from Oak Park River Forest HS and lives in River Forest Illinois.

Evan Rahn from Wheaton College earned the Pitcher of the Week award by throwing a shutout for eight innings against Dominican last week.  Evan struck out six and allowed only four hits.  Evan is from Bettendorf Iowa.

UIC Baseball's Brian Evak Named Horizon League Pitcher of the Week

University of Illinois Chicago's Brian Evak was named the Horizon League Baseball Pitcher of the Week on March 12th.

Evak earned the honors by throwing five scoreless innings against Northwestern allowing 4 hits and striking out six.  Brian is a Freshman from Plainfield North HS and lives in Plainfield Illinois.

Greg Ball and Jared Massengill named SLIAC Baseball Players of the Week

Greg Ball and Jared Massengill were named St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference baseball players of the week for the week ending March 18th.

Ball earned Diamond Sports Baseball Pitcher of the week throwing two complete games and recorded both victories of the week for Principia.  Ball struck out 12 and gave up 3 earned runs in the two games.  Greg is a Senior at Principia.

Greenville College's Massengill was named Diamond Sports Baseball Hitter of the Week.  The Panther shortstop went 10-22 hitting .455 with three doubles and a home run.  Jared is from Neoga, Illinois. 

SLIAC Standings
Spalding 10-3-1
MacMurray 6-2
Principia 6-4
Webster 7-6
Fontbonne 3-6
Westminster 4-8
Blackburn 4-10
Greenville 2-10
Eureka 1-6

Illinois High School Baseball Preseason Ranking from the SunTimes

Here are the preseason top 25 Illinois High School baseball teams according to the Chicago SunTimes.

1. Providence Catholic
2. Lyons Township
3. St. Laurence
4. Joliet Catholic
5. Mt. Carmel
6. Simeon
7. Marian Catholic
8. St. Rita
9. Glenbrook South
10. New Trier
11. Oak Park River Forest
12. Lincoln Way North
13. Oak Forest
14. Glenbrook North
15. Herscher
16. Prairie Ridge
17. Huntley
18. Naperville Central
19. Neuqua Valley
20. Mundelein
21. Downers Grove South
22. Sandburg
23. Plainfield North
24. Maine South
25. Stevenson

Elmhurst College Baseball's Zach Hofer Earns NCBWA Divison III Hitter of the Week

Elmhurst College Senior infielder/pitcher Zach Hofer was named the National College Baseball Writers Association Division III Baseball hitter of the week after hitting .588.  Hofer went 10-17 with two homers, 15 rbi's and five doubles.

Hofer earned the NCBWA honors along with earning the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Hitter of the week.  Zach is the first Elmhurst College Bluejay in school history to win the NCBWA award.

Hofer is from Jacobs HS and lives in Algonquin Illinois.

Top Performances by Illinois Players in the Missouri Valley Conference Last Week

Top performances from Illinois baseball players last week in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Illinois State senior outfielder Ty Wiesemeyer had nine hits in a three game series against Southeast Missouri State last week.  Ty had three doubles and six rbi's along with scoring four times.  Wiesmeyer is from Troy Illinois.

Sophomore infielder Donny Duschinsky from Southern Illinois Carbondale went 8-16 at the plate last week.  Duschinsky drove in eight runs, hit a grand slam, a double and a triple.  Donny is from Elk Grove Illinois.

LHP Joe Bircher from Bradley University in Peoria Illinois earned a 6-2 win last week going seven innings and striking out 10. 

Junior RHP Chris Razo from Illinois State got his first Division I victory last week throwin five innings allowing one run on 3 hits with six K's.

Missouri State RHP Clay Murphy threw 6 2/3rd's innings striking out four and not allowing an earned in MSU's victory over Oklahoma State last week.  Murphy is from Wolf Lake Illinois. 

Olivet Nazarene Improves to 5-1-1 Sweeping Hannibal LaGrange

The Olivet Nazarene baseball program moved to 5-1-1 in 2012 sweeping Hannibal LaGrange College yesterday in Winter Haven Florida.

In game one Olivet scored three runs in the top of the sixth to take the lead for good winning 5-4.  Jonathan Fightmaster (Bourbonnais, Illinois) pitched 5 2/3rd's innings giving up one earned run on six hits to earn his second win on the season.  Nick Jones singled in two runs in the sixth going 1-2 with 2 rbi's.

In game two Ben Heller struck out 13 batters and allowing only 3 hits over 6 innings to earn the win.  At the plate Daniel Hall went 2-3 with 2 rbi's and Nick Jones was 2-2 with an rbi.

Principia Illinois College Baseball No-Hits St. Louis Christian

Not only is Principia College of Elsah Illinois off to a 3-0 start but three Panther pitchers no-hit St. Louis Christian yesterday.

Luke Ball, Greg Ball and Robbie Nickell combined to throw the no-no as Principia went on to win 10-0.

Luke Ball earned the victory going five innings and striking out seven.  Greg Ball pitched one inning and Robbie Nickell pitched the last two innings striking out three.

Alan Cheatham went 2-5 with 3 rbi's, Spencer Clevenger, Kit Banko and Alistair Brockmeyer went 2-3.

Principia is now 3-0 on the season and play Robert Morris on Thursday March 8th.

Chris Sujka Wins Big Ten Baseball Co-Freshman of the Week Honors

Indiana University outfielder Chris Sujka earned his first Big Ten Baseball award - Co-Freshman of the Week.

Chris hit .500 going 6-12 in a three game series with Tulane.  Sujka hit two doubles, a homer and driving in four runs in the series.  Chris wound up the series with a .917 slugging percentage.

Sujka is from Mount Carmel HS and lives in Oak Forest Illinois.

Illinois NJCAA Division III Top Returning Baseball Players for 2012

Below are the 2012 top returning baseball players from Illinois division III junior colleges.


Pitcher Dan Hoppel, Harper College, Dan went 0-1 with a 4.29 ERA in 42 innings last year.

Pitcher Scott Plaza, Harper College, Scott was 4-5 with a 4.62 ERA in 62 and 2/3rds innings in 2011.

Pitcher Trevor Vermillion, Joliet JC, Trevor was 6-3 with a 3.60 ERA in 30 innings last season.

Shortstop Cole Jule, Joliet JC, Cole hit .319 with 19 rbi's last year.

Outfielder Dan Eliopulos, Joliet JC, Dan hit .384 with 36 rbi's in 2011.

Outfielder Mark Kasper, Joliet JC, Mark hit .321 with 22 rbi's and 10 stolen bases last year.

Outfielder Trey Russel, Joliet JC, Trey hit .355 with a homer and 31 rbi's in 2011.

Catcher Ryan Burne, Rock Valley, Ryan hit .325 with a homer and 9 rbi's last year.

DH Ryan Scarpetta, Rock Valley, Ryan hit .330 with 4 homers and 18 rbi's in 2011.

Second baseman Mitch Schnulle, Waubonsee CC, Mitch hit .309 with 8 rbi's and 8 stolen bases last year.

Bolton and Cunzalo Earn Northern Athletics Conference Baseball Players of the Week

Dominican University baseball players Sean Bolton and Lenny Cunzalo were both named Northern Athletics Conference Players of the Week for their performances last week.

Bolton takes home the Pitcher of the week honors going five and 1/3rd innings giving up one run and striking out seven and picking up his first victory of the season.  Sean is from Nazareth Academy and lives in Western Springs Illinois.

Cunzalo earned the Position Player of the Week after going 3-7 with a double, a triple and five rbi's over the weekend.  Lenny attended St. Patrick HS and lives in Chicago Illinois.

ISU Baseball's Dakota Bakus Named Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week

Indiana State University's Dakota Bakus was named the Missouri Valley Conference baseball Pitcher of the week.

Bakus earned Indiana State it's first win of the season by throwing a complete game shutout against Western Illinois last Friday.  Dakota had a no-no into the fifth inning, struck out nine and allowed only two infield singles.

Dakota is a transfer from Southeastern Illinois Community College and lives in Moline Illinois.

2012 Frontier Baseball League Tryouts

The 2012 Frontier League tryouts will be held on Monday April 30 and Tuesday May 1 2012 at CONSOL Energy Park in Washington Pennsylvania which is the home of the Washington Wild Things.

All 14 Independent Frontier League teams will be represented at the tryouts along with Major League Baseball scouts.

Registration will begin at 8:00 am and the workouts begin at 9:00 am on April 30th.

Advance registration is available on the Frontier League website which is listed below.

Illinois Independent Frontier League teams include the Southern Illinois Miners, Gateway Grizzlies, Joliet Slammers, Normal CornBelters, Rockford RiverHawks, Shaumburg Boomers and the Windy City ThunderBolts.

2012 Frontier League Tryouts

Tyler Deetjen Named Pitcher of the Week in Horizon League Baseball

Left handed pitcher Tyler Deetjen from Valparaiso University was named Horizon League Baseball Pitcher of the Week for the period ending February 19, 2012.

Deetjen pitched seven scoreless innings in Valpo's season opening win against Murray State.  Deetjen, who left the game in the with a 2-0 lead and finished with no decision, gave up four hits striking out four and walking one. 

Tyler is a senior from St. Charles Illinois and attended St. Charles East HS.

NJCAA Division I Baseball Top Returning Position Players from Illinois

The NJCAA Division I baseball top returning position players from Illinois Junior Colleges.


Catcher Josh Meade, John A. Logan, Josh hit .294 last season.

DH Kyle McHugh, John A. Logan, Klye hit .301 with 6 homers and 51 rbi's in 2011.

Catcher Phil Pupillo, John A. Logan, Phil hit .288 with a homer and 16 rbi's last year.

Outfielder Tyler Mikrut, John A. Logan, Tyler hit .280 with 8 homers and 23 rbi's last season.

Catcher/DH Cameron Sloan, Kaskaskia, Cameron hit .369 with 2 homers and 29 rbi's last year.

Infielder Steve Todoschuk, Kaskaskia, Steve hit .389 with 2 home runs and drove in 39.

Utility player Cody Schmitt, Onley Central, Cody hit .420 with 46 rbi's last season.

First baseman Derek Peterson, Onley Central, Derek hit .385 with 3 homers and drove in 54 last year.

Catcher Nate Ruzich, South Suburban, Nate hit .318 and drove in 41 last year.

Second baseman Luis Bruno, Southeastern Illinois, Luis hit .320 with 3 homers and 23 rbi's.

Outfielder Brian Doll, Southeastern Illinois, Brian hit .352 with 3 home runs in 2011.

Third baseman Cody Daily, Southeastern Illinois, Cody hit .348 with 6 homers last year.

Second baseman Marshall Vallandingham, Southeastern Illinois, Marshall hit .351 with 35 rbi's in 2011.

Shortstop Gabriel Roa, Wabash Valley, Gabriel hit .500 with a homer and 35 rbi's last year.

First baseman Jeff Jackson, Wabash Valley, Jeff hit .364 with 7 homers and 45 rbi's last season.

Outfielder Korey Hall, Wabash Valley, Korey hit .327 with 18 rbi's in 2011.