“Sometimes one spark can ignite a good-hitting team,” Lyons junior second baseman Brian Hochberg said Monday.
Hochberg had just provided such a spark to help the No. 1 Lions beat Morton 13-2 in six innings in the Lyons regional opener in LaGrange.
Lyons (29-4) led only 2-1 when No. 9 hitter Hochberg led off the fifth with a home run. That ignited an eight-run inning that turned a close game into a rout.
“Hochberg’s home run was a good quick answer to the homer that their pitcher [Luke Gregerson] hit to make the score 2-1 in the fourth inning,” Lyons coach George Ushela said. “Gregerson’s homer seemed to take momentum to them. Brian’s homer brought momentum back to us.”
Lyons had 12 hits in the game, eight for extra bases. Brian Davis hit a two-run homer in the eight-run fifth. Kevin Brandush had a three-run homer in the sixth. Matt Bolt, Chris Green, Kevin Diete, Dan Bocian and Brandush each doubled.
Sophomore Jordan Baughman’s sharp-biting curveball helped him strike out eight batters and limit Morton (17-17) to five hits. Morton committed five errors, two in the fifth when Lyons sent 12 men to bat and made seven hits.
Lyons plays Saturday in the regional title game against the winner of Tuesday’s game between Nazareth and Riverside-Brookfield.
Bill Jauss.
Proviso East 3, De La Salle 2
After a disappointing year, the Proviso East baseball team was anxious for a second chance–the Class AA playoffs.
“It was a tough year for us,” Proviso East coach Glenn Lid said. “But I told our kids records don’t really matter in the playoffs.”
The Pirates ignored their 8-25 regular-season record as they defeated No. 8 De La Salle in the regional opener at St. Ignatius.
“It was like two games,” Lid said. “Up to the third inning they beat us, after the third inning we beat them.”
The Meteors (25-8) scored an unearned run in the first and went ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the second on a RBI single by Brian Bogusevic.
Proviso East answered in the top of the fourth. After two quick outs, Jesse Washington singled, Danny Chandler doubled and Tom Hogan tripled in two runs. Terry Love’s double scored Hogan to put the Pirates up for good.
Pitcher Byron Banks threw a three-hitter with nine strikeouts to earn the win and run his regional record to 4-0 over the last two years.
“After we got the lead, Byron just held on and our infield played great defense,” Lid said.
In the De La Salle fifth with two on and two out, Proviso East second baseman Lawrence Frierson snared a bouncer up the middle and forced the runner at second to end the threat.
Chris Diserio.
Maine South: Mark Ori ran his record to 8-0 and Jamie Friel and Bob Sanchez had three RBIs and two RBIs, respectively, as No. 2 Maine South toppled Maine East 7-1.
Buffalo Grove: Nick Gord earned the win and hit a solo home run as No. 4 Buffalo Grove (27-4) defeated Wheeling 6-2.
Providence: Tenth-ranked Providence (23-5) tipped Bolingbrook 5-3 behind Mike Budde’s 10 strikeouts.
Bremen: Ryan McGuire had eight strikeouts in a six-inning no-hitter as Andrew defeated Hillcrest 10-0. Keith Jacobs and Matt Maxwell had two RBIs apiece for Andrew (23-5).
Evanston: Stefano Foggi and Peter Bloom had two RBIs apiece to lead Evanston (14-17) past Highland Park 11-7.
Fenwick: Ian Mathews hurled a one-hitter with 15 strikeouts to lead Oak Park (20-11) past Elmwood Park 7-0.
Fremd: John Dwan threw a three-hitter with seven strikeouts as Libertyville (25-9) eliminated Palatine 2-0.
Glenbrook North: Mark Januszewski had a two-run double to lead Deerfield (13-15) past Glenbrook North 6-2.
Hinsdale Central: Lockport (24-9) beat Downers Grove North 4-1 as Justin Vaughan went 2-for-3 with a solo homer and Adam Hutten pitched a three-hitter.
Hoffman Estates: Elgin (17-15) edged Streamwood 2-1 on a Marcus Torres RBI single in the bottom of the seventh.
Mundelein: Mundelein knocked off Warren 13-3 in six innings as Chris Hynes was 4-for-4 with five RBIs.
Naperville Central: Mark Novak struck out 12 and walked two as Joliet (9-22) notched a 3-0 win over Naperville Central (27-8).
Rantoul: Tim Messer had four RBIs and Ben West added three as Bradley-Bourbonnais (24-6) beat Rantoul 12-3.
Richards: Mark Gonciarczyk struck out seven and gave up only three hits as St. Rita beat Thornton Fractional North 5-0. Kevin White was 2-for-3 with two RBIs for the Mustangs (26-10).
St. Joseph: Mt. Carmel (25-11) upended the host Chargers 5-0 behind Cesar Carrillo’s one-hit, eight-strikeout effort. Brian Spear went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Stagg: Brother Rice (28-8) beat Lemont 4-1 as Tim Braun went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Stevenson: Teddy Ogilvie doubled, tripled and homered for three RBIs and also tossed a one-hitter as the host Patriots (27-5) downed Rolling Meadows 6-2.
Waukegan: Ben Kim scored two runs and drove in two runs to help Niles West (21-9) top host Waukegan 10-2.
Class AA softball regionals
Elmwood Park: Beth Price was 2-for-2 with three RBIs as No. 1 Oak Park (28-1) downed Mother Guerin 11-1 in five innings.
Oak Forest: Brittany McIntyre tossed a no-hitter while going 2-for-3 with a run and RBI for No. 2 Sandburg (26-3) in a five-inning, 10-0 win over Shepard.
Geneva: Lindsey Veselsky fired a no-hitter with 12 strikeouts to help No. 3 Glenbard North (32-3) edge Bartlett 3-0.
Joliet Catholic: Lauren Wanainski belted a three-run homer and Laura Severson struck out 10 as No. 4 Lincoln-Way Central (24-4) cruised past Rich South 12-0 in five innings.
Reavis: Lindsey LaChiana hurled a no-hitter for her 16th shutout of the year and also drove in two runs for No. 5 Richards (24-5) in a 10-0, six-inning defeat of St. Ignatius.
Highland Park: No. 6 Mundelein (28-2) rolled past Lake Forest 9-0 as Rachel Cleaveland struck out 10 and Trista Campbell drove in three runs.
Homewood-Flossmoor: Kristin Jenner’s no-hit, 15-strikeout performance and Maeve Moreland’s two RBIs helped No. 7 Homewood-Flossmoor (24-6) top Thornton Fractional South 4-0.
Andrew: Uju Ibekwe had 16 strikeouts and drove in one run as No. 10 Thornwood (25-6) defeated Tinley Park 3-0.
Barrington: Erin Lernihan went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and Samantha Deevy was 3-for-4 with one RBI as Barrington (31-3) eliminated Wauconda 11-0 in five innings.
Batavia: Glenbard South defeated West Chicago 3-2 as Alexis Tomaras went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI. Ashley Condon earned her 11th win for the Raiders (23-8).
Deerfield: Elissa Wisniewski struck out seven as Stevenson (26-5) slipped past Prospect 2-1.
Glenbard East: Brianne LaVieri pitched a no-hitter with 15 strikeouts as Downers Grove South topped Willowbrook 5-0.
Hinsdale South: Benet (15-20) earned a 2-1 decision over Naperville Central (20-12) as Janet Urban had two hits and two RBIs.
Maria: Mother McAuley (27-4) breezed past Maria 6-0 behind Becky Moran’s two RBIs and Brittany Whalen’s two-hitter.
Schaumburg: Schaumburg (18-12) edged Streamwood 1-0 as Allie Monroe pitched a one-hitter with 13 strikeouts.
Boys volleyball sectionals
Plainfield: Third-ranked Stagg (31-5) defeated Oswego 15-2, 15-4 behind David Milnes’ 11 assists and Dave Genslinger’s eight kills. . . . No. 7 Sandburg (30-6) defeated Minooka 15-6, 15-2 behind Chris Schulte’s eight kills. . . . Jeff Chang had 14 assists and Ryan Fabrizius recorded six kills as Naperville North (26-8) rolled past Illinois Math and Science 15-3, 15-0.
West Chicago: No. 9 Wheaton Warrenville South (29-7) defeated St. Edward 15-2, 15-2 behind Charlie Hunt’s four kills and four aces. . . . Andy Hein had seven kills and Matt Boes notched three aces as No. 10 West Chicago (28-8) defeated Wheaton Academy 15-1, 15-1.
New Trier: Judson Mead’s eight aces and 11 assists led Evanston (25-11) to a 15-2, 15-0 win over St. Gregory.
Schaumburg: Kevin Vesper’s nine kills led Schaumburg (23-9) past Fremd 15-5, 15-11.
