Oak Forest`s bid to become the first school since Maine Township in 1958-59 to win back-to-back state championships fell short, but Bengal coach Andy Scianna was still able to smile. ”I don`t feel bad if we win or lose,” said Scianna, who has taken four Oak Forest teams to Springfield since 1979.
”It`s just the same. I wouldn`t let them take this loss hard because of what they`ve accomplished. You can go through your whole high school career and never win a regional. These kids have won state and came back.” The Bengals graduate All-Staters Tim Jackson (Northwestern), Tim Buhe
(Northwestern) and Scott Pickands (Lewis) and starting pitcher Ken Massey, who had a 21-1 record over two years. The returning nucleus will be led by left-handed pitcher Tim Trunk (11-1), second baseman Steve Long (.455) and sophomore outfielder Todd Venezio (.481). Oak Forest`s sophomores finished second in the South Inter-Conference Association Central Division. The freshmen won the league title. Scianna`s only regret is that shortstop Buhe, who went 0-for-4 Thursday, didn`t get a chance to show more of his ability to the state tournament crowds. ”Buhe`s by far the best athlete I`ve coached,” said Scianna. ”Best hitting, catching, throwing. Keep an eye on him, he`s going to be a pro.” . . . Barrington`s three triples in Thursday`s quarterfinal victory over Oak Forest put the Broncos alone in the state tournament record books. The previous record was two, shared by 29 teams. Adding in triples by Mike Bradley in the semifinals and by Keith Noreen and Mark Levin in the title game, Barrington finished with a tournament-record six triples. The Broncos, who had smashed a state-record 64 home runs before the quarterfinals, hit only one–a solo shot by Noreen in the semis–in Springfield. . . . This was a banner year for team and individual records. Barrington`s 64 homers shattered the state record of 41 set by Marissa in 1981. Oak Forest strung together 48 consecutive victories over two seasons, beginning with a 16-0 victory over Argo on April 3, 1985 and ending with a 4-1 loss to Eisenhower a year and five days later. Aurora Central Catholic outfielder Andy Weis had a state-record 39-game hitting streak. During that span he hit .507. . . . Barrington`s Noreen, who had two triples and a home run and was the winning pitcher in the Broncos` 6-2 semifinal victory over Belleville East, was named Most Valuable Player in the state tournament. Also on the all-tournament team were Barrington`s Levin and Dan Wilson; Oak Park`s Corey Downs and Ben Shelton; Fenger`s Darrell Wyatt, Sam Bland and Ron Jefferson; Belleville East`s Rick Schroeder and Brian Gibson and Providence`s Matt Burcar. . . . Jack Kaiser will be back for his 35th season as Oak Park`s head coach in 1987. Kaiser, who is 492-301 since 1952, should get his 500th victory early next season. But after Saturday`s 5-4 loss to Fenger–the Huskies` third straight one-run loss in a state tournament semifinal–Kaiser hinted he is starting to think about retirement. ”Maybe in a couple of years,” he said. The Huskies fell two victories short of becoming the first team to follow a Summer League state championship with a regular season state title. No team has accomplished both since the Summer League began in 1967. . . . Former Niles West coach Jim Phipps always makes it back to Illinois for the state tournament. Phipps, who coached the school to state titles in 1972 and 1975, just completed another successful season at Lake Havasu (Ariz.) High School. His team was 22-4 and made the state tournament for the 10th time in 11 years. ”I always come back because I think baseball is much better in Illinois than in Arizona,” said Phipps. ”There is much more of an emphasis on football there and they really restrict baseball programs in the spring.” . . . Dan DeCaprio, assistant coach at Lewis, tells the story of a baseball scout whose bosses wouldn`t even tell him the players drafted by his organization. ”Everyone is very close-mouthed about it this year,” said DeCaprio. ”No one wants to say anything to anyone until the kids are signed.” The consensus of scouts at the state tournament was that there was little draftable talent in Illinois this year.
SOFTBALL
Thornwood coach Gary Lagesse, whose team beat Moline 3-2 in 10 innings to win the third-place game in the Class AA state tournament at Mineral Springs Park in Pekin, expressed the feelings of many in attendance after two days of rain and long ballgames: ”We were a little cranky today,” Lagesse said after Saturday morning`s game. ”We were getting beside ourselves. We seemed ready to bite people. I know I was.” . . . Illegal pitches took some bite out of the tournament. The calls made against Moline pitcher Kelly Mulcahy were the talk of this year`s tournament. Maroons` coach Bob Seitz called it something else. ”It`s a shame it came down to this,” said Seitz, who started junior Julie Richards in the third-place game after 12 illegal pitches were called on Mulcahy in 2 1/3 innings of two games. ”I didn`t think we could throw Kelly. They (the umpires) proved a point. If Kelly would have walked out, they`d have called an illegal pitch in the warmup.” The furor was caused by what some term ”hopping,” that is when a pitcher is lunging, causing her front foot not to come in contact with the rubber when her stride foot touches the ground. The whole thing baffled Mulcahy, a junior. ”Umps around home never called it,” she said. ”I`m gonna try to work on a smoother motion if I`m gonna pitch in high school next year. I changed from a windmill to slingshot delivery and I`m not sure what to do now. The whole thing this weekend was disappointing. It was terrible not to play and just stand around feeling helpless. The way I see it, the umps see a hitch in my arm and that`s why they think I`m hopping.” . . . Thornwood pitcher Julie Johansen wasn`t hopping. She was just sore. Johansen pitched a tournament-record 27 1/3 innings. ”It`s tired,” said Johansen of her right arm. ”I haven`t pitched that much in so little time in my career. I actually would have felt better if we got the third-place game in yesterday (Friday). I was ready then. I could pitch more if I had to.” . . . Another hurler, senior Sue Stulgo of champion Morton, apparently heard what Seitz said about her after Morton`s 6-0 pasting of Moline. ”Stulgo isn`t in the top 10 pitchers in the league,” said Seitz.
”We`ve seen better. Our kids just had trouble adjusting.” Said Stulgo, who faced Moline despite shoulder soreness: ”People can say what they want. I don`t care. We won it all, that`s what counts. Pitching isn`t speed, it`s accuracy. Winning is the best thing of all. I just hope next year Morton goes Downstate again and I can be here as a fan without the pressures of pitching.” . . . Just how bad was the field after the rains hit? Members of the grounds crew, who should have received their own individual medals and a team trophy for the magic they worked, had to use a metal detector to find the holes to insert the bases. . . . The grand slam by Belleville West shortstop Cheryl Venorsky in the Mighty Maroons` 5-0 quarterfinal victory over Joliet St. Francis was the first in tournament history. The only other round-trippers of the tournament were by Thornwood designated hitter Amanda Gibson in the Thunderbirds` 3-0 quarterfinal victory over Taft and Thornwood third baseman Joyce Kornacki in the third-place contest.
VOLLEYBALL
The Tribune`s 1986 All-Star Volleyball Game will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Downers Grove South High School. Admission is $2 for adults and $1 for students. The South squad includes Maureen Skalitzky of Class AA state champion Mother McAuley, Oak Forest`s Cathy Pabst and Cheryl Prihar, Marian Catholic`s Donna Zajeski, Shelly Brzowski and Diane Kuhlman, Riverside-Brookfield`s Kathy Bell, Sandburg`s Sharon Stefan and Lockport`s Andra Dystrup. The North squad includes Lisa Vitali of state runner-up St. Charles, Palatine`s Mary Ahern and Karen Staab, Riverside-Brookfield`s Michelle Gordy, Glenbard West`s Nancy Brookhart, Evanston`s Joan Goszczynski, Downers North`s Kelly Waage, Downers South`s Sharon Dunovsky, West Chicago`s Stacey Anderson and Naperville Central`s Cathy Cunningham.
