If Sandburg softball coach Randy Couwenhoven had any concerns about his two starting pitchers’ ability to throw on consecutive days, they’ve been alleviated this week.
Brittany McIntyre shut out Stagg on Monday and Lockport on Tuesday. Wednesday, Nikki Netzel held Queen of Peace to one run, and Thursday in Orland Park she mowed down SICA West rival Andrew.
Netzel (9-1) struck out seven and yielded only two hits in leading the No. 1 Eagles to a 4-0 win. The Eagles have won eight in a row and improved to 18-2 and 8-0 in conference.
“It has been no surprise how Brittany and Nikki have pitched,” Couwenhoven said of his two star pitchers, whom he has alternated all season until this week. “They do a lot of pitching in the summer, and I have total confidence that if something happens to either one of them we can count on the other.”
Couwenhoven can also count on Meghan Gallagher, who was 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. She keyed two-run innings in the first and fourth against Andrew hurler Bridgette Krueger (12-4).
Netzel did get into some trouble in the top of the sixth when an error and two walks loaded the bases for the Thunderbolts (14-5, 5-3). But Netzel got Molly McLean, who hd singled sharply to right on her previous at bat, to pop out to second.
“It doesn’t matter if I pitch consecutive days,” Netzel explained. “I’m used to that in the summer [while playing with the Orland Park A’s traveling team]. It’s nice to have a break, though.”
Bill Harrison.
Lincoln-Way Central 3, Joliet 0: Laura Severson (11-1) hurled a two-hitter with 16 strikeouts and also scored two runs for the No. 4 Knights (18-2, 5-2) in the SICA West.
Stagg 3, Bradley-Bourbonnais 0: Kate Sajewich threw a five-hit shutout and Nora Schober went 3-for-3 with two RBIs for the No. 8 Chargers (17-6, 3-4) in the SICA West.
Bremen 2, Tinley Park 1: Gail Landini went 2-for-2 with an RBI as the Braves (16-9, 7-1) earned the SICA Central win.
Downers Grove South 1, Morton 0: Brianne LaVieri struck out 12 in eight innings for the Mustangs (17-7, 7-1) in the West Suburban Gold.
Evergreen Park 3, Elmwood Park 2: Erin Watts hit a two-run double, then scored the winning run for the Mustangs (18-5, 10-2) in the Suburban Prairie White.
Geneva 1, Glenbard South 0: Stacy Zarr threw a two-hit shutout and Sarah Carlson had an RBI double for the Vikings (18-4, 6-0) in the Suburban Prairie Red.
Glenbard West 1, Hinsdale Central 0: Jenny Pecorella threw a four-hit shutout and scored the only run of the game after a bases-loaded walk in the fifth inning for the Hilltoppers (12-11, 3-5) in the West Suburban Silver.
Lake Park 1, Waubonsie Valley 0: Bri Cataudella’s bases-loaded single in the bottom of the seventh lifted the Lancers (18-3, 10-1) in the Upstate Eight. Melissa Kennedy threw a one-hit shutout and struck out eight.
Morris 4, Plainfield 0: Jenna Smart threw a one-hit shutout and Janet Bembnister went 2-for-3 with an RBI as Morris (17-5, 5-1) won a Suburban Prairie Red contest.
Mundelein 8-7, Lake Forest 1-1: The Mustangs (22-1, 6-0) swept in the North Suburban Lake as Michelle Ryan went 4-for-6 with two RBIs on the day.
Oak Lawn 2, Argo 1: Sarah McKinney’s two-out single in the bottom of the eighth scored Susie Cusick with the winning run for the Spartans (17-4, 4-1) in the SICA North.
Sycamore 3, Kaneland 1: Lauren Rasmussen went 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI and Kelsi Countryman threw a five-hitter for the Spartans (17-5, 6-0) in the Suburban Prairie White.
Baseball
Maine South 12, Waukegan 0: Craig Murray threw a six-inning no-hitter with 10 strikeouts and also hit a three-run home run as the No. 1 Hawks (14-3, 10-0) won in the Central Suburban South. Jamie Friel went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs for Maine South.
Lyons 4, Leyden 1: Kevin Brandush hit a two-run home run in the sixth to lead the No. 2 Lions (20-3). Scott Kowalski struck out seven over six innings to earn the win.
Andrew 7, Lincoln-Way Central 5: The No. 4 Thunderbolts (18-4, 7-2) prevailed in the SICA West behind Geoff Pignatiello’s two RBIs.
De La Salle 15, Hales Franciscan 1: Brian Bogusevic hit a pair of home runs, including a grand slam, and he and Jim Hynes each had five RBIs as the No. 7 Meteors (21-2, 11-1) won in the Catholic League North.
Mundelein 15, Lake Forest 0: Chris Hynes and Clay Kovac each hit a pair of home runs as the No. 8 Mustangs (18-4, 6-0) won easily in the North Suburban Lake.
Fenwick 7, Gordon Tech 4: Kellen Kmiecik went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and Franco Calabrese went 2-for-3 with two RBIs for the Friars (11-9, 7-7) in the Catholic League North.
Libertyville 2, Warren 0: In the North Suburban Lake, Adam Roscher struck out six to run his record to 7-1 for the Wildcats (18-3, 3-3).
Loyola 10, St. Benedict 3: Forrest Engelman hit a three-run homer for the Ramblers (17-7).
Niles West 5, Evanston 3: Justin Plaia’s two-run home run in the fourth broke a 2-2 tie and led Niles West (15-8, 6-4) to a Central Suburban South win.
Reavis 6, Oak Lawn 1: Mark Satkowski threw a complete game and improved to 8-0 and Mike Casey went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs as the Rams (18-6, 5-0) won in the SICA North.
St. Laurence 2, St. Rita 1: Neal Warchol’s bases-loaded single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh drove in Jason Moran and gave the Vikings (18-7, 9-5) a Catholic League South win.
Timothy Christian 5, Luther North 1: Eric VanderSchaaf tossed a one-hitter and struck out nine for the Trojans (9-9, 6-3) in the Private School League.
Waubonsie Valley 3, St. Charles North 2: Sean Goro went 2-for-3 and Mike Markweise pitched a complete game as the Warriors (17-6, 17-4) won in the Upstate Eight.
Girls soccer
Wheaton Warrenville South 8, West Aurora 0: Kristin Radcliffe put in four goals as the No. 3 Tigers (13-1-2, 4-0-1) rolled in the DuPage Valley.
Naperville Central 4, Glenbard North 1: Negeen Masghati scored three goals for the No. 3 Redhawks (11-3-2, 4-0-1) in the DVC as Naperville Central won its 300th game.
Neuqua Valley 2, DeKalb 0: The No. 8 Wildcats (13-2-2, 5-2-1) won in the Upstate Eight as Brittany Bock scored twice.
Libertyville 2, Lake Forest 0: Ally Van Beek and Michelle Kaefer scored goals for the No. 9 Wildcats (13-2-3) in the North Suburban Lake. Libertyville held a 16-4 shot advantage over the Scouts (10-3-3).
Francis Parker 6, Woodlands 2: Naeve Whelan-Wuest scored a pair of goals as the Colonels (9-1, 8-0) won in the Independent School League.
Hinsdale Central 4, Willowbrook 1: Lindsey Cosper and Marcey Brody each had two goals for the Red Devils (7-10-1).
Kelly 2, Young 1: Juliana Zavala and Maria Aguilar scored goals as the Trojans (11-3, 6-2) won in the Public Premier League.
Providence 3, Marian Catholic 1: Kara Kabellis scored a pair of goals for the Celtics (11-4-3, 4-2-1) in the East Suburban Catholic.
Waubonsie Valley 2, St. Charles North 1: The No. 7 Warriors (11-3-3, 6-1) won in the Upstate Eight as Megan Kolkayl and Kristen Zmijewski scored goals.
Boys volleyball
Wheaton Warrenville South had payback on its mind Thursday.
The No. 7 Tigers avenged a weekend boys volleyball tourney loss and moved into a three-way tie for the DuPage Valley lead with a 15-17, 15-4, 15-4 win over No. 4 Naperville North.
The Tigers (21-5, 8-2) completed a week during which they earned a No. 1 sectional seed and also beat top-ranked Naperville Central.
“This shows what preparation can do,” Wheaton South coach Bill Schreier said. “We really focused this week on making sure the kids knew the rotations, knew the expectations and knew what was going on.”
Ryan Nicklas led the Tigers with 10 kills while Charles Hunt added eight.
Chris Hillesheim paced the Huskies (20-4, 8-2) with a game-high 12 kills, while Jeff Cheng had 24 assists.
Jack McCarthy.
Hersey d. Rolling Meadows 15-6, 15-13: Nate Gustus had 18 kills and 13 digs as the No. 2 Huskies (20-2, 8-1) won in the Mid-Suburban East.
Brother Rice d. Lincoln-Way East 15-1, 15-9: Chris Kozlarek’s four kills and three aces led the No. 3 Crusaders (21-1).
Stagg d. Richards 15-5, 15-11: The No. 6 Chargers (23-4, 8-1) won in the SICA North as David Milnes and Martin Bozek had three kills each.
Buffalo Grove d. Prospect 15-6, 15-6: Brett Gerken had 14 kills to lead the Bison (16-6, 7-2) in the Mid-Suburban East.
Evanston d. Waukegan 15-5, 15-3: Philip Andre had 10 kills and Judson Mead added 23 assists as the Wildkits (12-9, 4-2) won in the Central Suburban South.
New Trier d. Niles West 15-4, 15-6: The Trevians (16-9, 6-0) won in the Central Suburban South behind eight kills from Kevin Moore and six by Ross Gordon.
Oak Lawn d. Shepard 15-6, 15-12: Brad Skendzel had 24 assists for the Spartans (16-7, 7-1) in the SICA North.
St. Rita d. Reavis 15-9, 15-10: Ryan Biros’ eight kills led the Mustangs (17-7).
Boys gymnastics
The Lincoln-Way co-op team won its own sectional Thursday, earning the school’s second trip to the state meet.
Lincoln-Way easily won the meet, earning a 156.35 score. Hinsdale South finished second with a 149.85 total, and Downers Grove North was third at 146.5
After finishing second in 1997, Lincoln-Way will return to the state meet on May 10 at Schaumburg. Doug Pearson led the home team, finishing second in the all-around with a 51.7 as Naperville North’s Chad Jaros won that competition with a 52.1.
