Thornwood (7-2) pulled a surprise Wednesday when it easily defeated third-ranked and previously unbeaten Lockport 9-0.
And Thornwood first baseman Jay Leggero pulled an even bigger surprise when he crushed a towering, opposite field, first-inning grand slam home run. The drive was struck into the teeth of a chilling 15 m.p.h. wind that could not prevent the ball from clearing the fence in left-center.
“He waited all season for that pitch, and he crushed it,” said winning pitcher Justin Huisman, who was on base at the time. Huisman struck out nine Porters in his 5 2/3 innings of relief.
“Leggero is a big strong guy and has a lot of power,” said coach John Dunlop of his 6-foot-3-inch, 205-pound left-handed senior.
Said Leggero: “I’ve been hitting to left-center. It was a fastball, outer part of the plate.”
Leggero called the victory “definitely a big one for us, because Lockport (5-1) was one of the top-ranked teams in the state.”
– Bill Jauss
Stevenson 4, Niles North 1: Peter Ogilvie allowed six hits and struck out six for No. 5 Stevenson (8-1).
Joliet Catholic 5, Naperville Central 4: Mark Blackburn squeezed in the tying run in the sixth and the winning run in the eighth for the eighth-ranked Hilltoppers (6-1).
Clemente 7, Lane Tech 6: Eugenio Garcia had three hits and two RBIs and Ivan Justiniano picked up the victory as Clemente (7-4, 3-0) took the Public North showdown from Lane (5-1, 1-1). Pinch-hitter Mike Pamez doubled home two runs with two outs in the seventh to make the game close, but Clemente hung on.
DeKalb 5, East Aurora 1: Jerid Butler struck out 10 and Joel Gamino added a two-run home run in the sixth to provide the margin of victory for DeKalb (3-0, 1-0) in the Upstate Eight.
Driscoll 14, St. Patrick 2: Brian Rust had three hits and drove in four runs to lead Driscoll (10-1).
Glenbard East 3, Rolling Meadows 1: Aaron Peterson’s three hits and two RBIs led Glenbard East (4-1).
Holy Cross 5, Ridgewood 4: Joel Mazzuza was 3 for 4 with two RBIs to lead the Crusaders (3-3).
Larkin 10, Lake Park 6: Brian Smith and Matt Krabbe each had three-run homers for Larkin in the Upstate Eight (2-1-1, 1-0).
Mather 6, Von Steuben 4: Pablo Perez had two triples and scored four runs to lead Mather (6-5, 2-2) in the Public League North.
Nazareth 13, Chicago Christian 4: J.C. Phelan, Larry Banks and Mike Brumfield each had two hits to lead the Roadrunners (7-2, 2-0) in the Private School League.
Notre Dame 7, Barrington 5: Wally Vojacek earned the victory and added a two-run homer for Notre Dame (7-2).
Walther Lutheran 7, Wheaton Academy 5: J.R. Kennie struck out 10 and improved to 2-0 for the Broncos (8-0, 2-0) in the Private League.
West Aurora 9, St. Charles 5: Jarod Gutesha had three hits and drove in four runs and Brett Joseph had two doubles and a triple and scored three runs for West Aurora (4-0, 1-0 Upstate Eight).
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Sandburg 13, De La Salle 6: Jonovan Smith had three hits, including a double and a homer, drove in two runs and scored two more for No. 6 Sandburg (7-1).
Carmel 13, Grant 2: Mike McMahon had three hits, including a two-run home run, and drove in four runs for Carmel (8-2).
Deerfield 3, Grayslake 2: Danny Saken earned the complete-game victory with seven strikeouts and delivered a two-run double in the sixth to lead Deerfield (4-3).
Schaumburg 4, Glenbrook South 1: T.J. Nall struck out 10 in the complete-game victory to lead the Saxons (4-2).
Andrew 6, Andrean (Ind.) 3: Nick Trzesniak had two hits and two RBIs and Tom Mineo improved to 2-0, striking out five and walking only one for the No. 7 Thunderbolts (6-1).
Argo 2, Stagg 1: Aaron Neal pitched eight innings, striking out seven and allowing one unearned run, and drove home the game-winning run for the Argonauts (4-7).
Bogan 12, Kelly 4: Cory Ditryk struck out eight over four innings and Luis Aguirre added two hits and two RBIs to lead the Bengals (4-7, 3-1) in Public South Central action.
Homewood-Flossmoor 19, Hillcrest 5: Bill Moran had three hits and two RBIs and Adam Cohen added two hits and two RBIs during the five-inning victory for the Vikings (2-3).
Kankakee 4, Cissna Park 3: Tyran Holloway had three hits and two RBIs for Kankakee (4-2).
Lemont 10, Thornton 5: Nick Amato struck out eight in the complete-game victory and John Jarka added three hits and two RBIs for Lemont (4-4).
Leo 10, CVS 0: Chaske Hudson (2-0) struck out 10 of the 15 men he faced as the Lions improved to 10-0. Kennedy McKinney added three hits and four stolen bases.
Minooka 11, Romeoville 0: Nick Offerman tossed a three-hitter and struck out nine for Minooka (3-1).
Nazareth 13, Chicago Christian 4: J.C. Phelan, Larry Banks and Mike Brumfield each had two hits to lead the Roadrunners (7-2, 2-0) in the Private School League.
St. Laurence 5, Oak Lawn 1: Mike Baetzel improved to 3-0 and Matt McHugh had two hits and two RBIs for the Vikings (5-4).
Young 7, Prosser 6: Winning pitcher Charles Baer capped a four-run fourth inning for the Dolphins (6-2, 2-1 Public North) by driving home a run on a squeeze play.
SOFTBALL
Stagg 10, Morton 1: Melissa Cozzi (4-0) struck out 11, allowed her first run in 30 innings and added a grand slam to spark No. 1 Stagg (7-0). Reachel Gensch added two RBIs and Abby Booth scored three runs.
Glenbard North 6, Elgin 1: Chrissie Vena struck out eight and Nicole Rossi added three hits and three RBIs for No. 5 Glenbard (6-0).
Glenbrook North 12, Maine East 1: Amanda Kipnis hit a home run and scored three runs and Alison Arvey added two hits and two RBIs for Glenbrook North (2-0).
Glenbrook South 14, Wheeling 3: Namrata Chand (five RBIs) and Dawn McCabe (four RBIs) led a 19-hit attack with four hits apiece to keep Glenbrook South (3-0) perfect.
Hinsdale South 1, Lyons Township 0: Marie Barda (6-2) allowed just one hit and struck out 14 and also drove in the only run for Hinsdale South (7-3).
Loyola 10, Ridgewood 0: Kim Cummings drove home three runs and Maral Binnebose struck out seven over four innings to lead Loyola (2-4).
Mather 22, Von Steuben 7: Abbey Bautista had four hits, two RBIs and two runs scored and Codi Killis added two hits and four RBIs for the Rangers (7-1, 3-0 Public North).
Mother Guerin 7, Seton Academy 1: Jill Clark homered and Natalie Pavone struck out 11 for Mother Guerin (5-1).
St. Ignatius 3, Niles West 1: Erin Mackey improved to 3-0 with a one-hit effort over five innings and Molly Sircher added two hits and three stolen bases to lead the Wolfpack (6-1).
Sandburg 5, Naperville Central 2: Rebecca Eary pitched no-hit ball for 4 2/3 innings, improving to 3-0. Tracy Hoffman led the offense with two hits and an RBI.
Wheaton Academy 10, Walther Lutheran 9: Val Tarnowski drove in three runs, including the game-winner in the top of the seventh, and earned the victory for Wheaton (1-1, 1-1) in the Private School League.
Libertyville 8, Waukegan 7: Megan Celba had three hits and drove in two runs for Libertyville (2-1).
Resurrection 5, Hersey 2: Stephanie Brogan drove in a pair of runs to lead Resurrection (9-2).
Warren 11, Highland Park 1: Brianne Fisher knocked out three hits, including a home run, and went the distance for her second victory. Lauren Ramsden added two RBIs for Warren (3-0).
Wauconda 13, Round Lake 0: Cory Henningfeld allowed just one hit and struck out six for Wauconda (6-1, 1-0) in the Northwest Suburban.
Lockport 4, Homewood-Flossmoor 1: Ginny Georgantas had three hits, Rachel Bambrick added two hits and two RBIs and Shannon Lindgren earned the victory for No. 3 Lockport (5-0).
Andrew 1, Morris 0: Aimee Chobot improved to 4-0 and Julie Siwinski delivered the game-winning double in the fourth as No. 8 Andrew (7-1) edged No. 7 Morris.
Providence 12, St. Francis 0: Theresa Tierney (4-1) allowed just one hit and struck out five for No. 9 Providence (6-1).
Joliet 12, Rich Central 0: Carissa Schwartz and Heather Suca had two hits apiece in support of freshman Mary Jasczcak for Joliet (5-5).
Reavis 7, Bremen 1: Michelle Dietz improved to 3-1 with 10 strikeouts and Kerri Rockett added three RBIs for the Rams (5-3).
SOCCER
Naperville North 1, Glenbard West 1: Sophomore Aileen Guiney’s direct free kick with 11 minutes left in the game was too tough to handle for Glenbard West freshman goalkeeper Allison Glibkowski and gave the second-ranked Huskies a 1-1 tie in their opener.
No. 8 Glenbard West (0-1-1) had taken a 1-0 lead just 12 minutes earlier when junior Sarah Rowland shielded her defender, then turned and shot the ball past North keeper Missy Wickart. Both Guiney and Rowland led their teams in scoring last season.
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– Alan Sutton
IHM 5, Resurrection 0: Theresa Wardell’s two goals paced IHM (4-1-1) in the GCAC.
Loyola 10, Mother Guerin 0: Megan Elliot scored two goals and had two assists and Alex Kajari and Jenny Simczak added two goals apiece to lead Loyola (3-0-2, 1-0) in the GCAC North.
Regina Dominican 12, Good Counsel 0: Janie Gillard and Caroline Yohanan each had three goals for Regina (1-1).
Steinmetz 1, Senn 0: Michelle Diaz scored an unassisted goal early in the second half and goalie Amanda Cascallares (11 saves) made it stand as Steinmetz (2-3-1, 2-2-1) won the Public White North opener.
Palatine 2, Prospect 1: Katie Marta scored the game-winner on an assist from Katie Schager to lead third-ranked Palatine (4-0).
Hoffman Estates 3, Fremd 0: Kerry O’Neil netted two second-half goals and Becky Brown scored the third as Hoffman Estates (3-0) upset No. 7 Fremd (4-1) at home. Goalie Sarah Jesuit had 22 saves in the shutout.
Buffalo Grove 2, Rolling Meadows 0: Kristine Lindstedt assisted on the first goal and scored the second for Buffalo Grove (2-2, 2-1) in the Mid-Suburban North.
Cary-Grove 1, Crystal Lake South 0: Liz Malmen’s goal with a little over 10 minutes left made the difference for Cary-Grove (3-0, 1-0) in the Fox Valley.
Lake Forest 3, Grayslake 1: Molly Greene had a goal and an assist for Lake Forest (2-0).
Argo 2, Richards 1: Jill Malcolm scored the winning goal with 15 minutes to play for the Argonauts (4-0-1, 2-0) in the SICA North.
Eisenhower 5, Oak Lawn 0: Araceli Izaguirre had a pair of goals and an assists for Eisenhower (5-1, 1-1 in the SICA North).
Romeoville 5, Reavis 1: Feighanne Howe scored two goals to lead the Spartans (2-0-1, 2-0 SICA North).
Shepard 1, Bolingbrook 0 (2 OT): With 1 1/2 minutes left in the second overtime, Christina Sepsis scored off a pass from Marcy Kogut to give Shepard (4-0, 2-0) the SICA North victory.
VOLLEYBALL
Andrew d. Lockport 11-15, 15-13, 15-12: Tom Nelson had 22 kills, Mike Ciba added 11 and Mazin Qureshi contributed 21 assists for Andrew (3-0, 2-0) in the SICA West.
Illiana Christian d. St. Laurence 15-3, 15-2: Steve Vanderhye and Jon Bosman each had four kills for Illiana (4-0).
Young d. Kelvyn Park 15-7, 16-14: Jimmy Yun had eight kills and Paul Satzinger nine assists for Young (4-2).