The Clemente Wildcats pitched by committee Wednesday. They manufactured runs. And they utilized Victor Diaz’s bat.
These three ingredients produced a 4-3 victory over visiting Simeon in a rematch of last season’s Public League championship game.
Sophomore Jorge Barrios singled home the winning run with two out in the bottom of the seventh inning.
“(Barrios) didn’t have very good at-bats his first three times up,” said Clemente coach Rich Tomoleoni. “I told him to concentrate and focus. He did. It was a quality at-bat.”
Tomoleoni used four pitchers. Miguel Pedroza, who pitched the seventh, earned the victory that evened the defending city champ’s record at 8-8 and dropped Simeon to 13-4.
Clemente utilized walks, stolen bases and Simeon errors to score one run in the fourth and two in the fifth. Simeon tied it 3-3 with three runs, two unearned, off Eduardo Rivera in the sixth.
Diaz, Clemente’s sophomore shortstop, had three hits and a walk in four at-bats. Diaz scored one run, drove in one and stole a base. Dennis Butler had two of Simeon’s seven hits.
Andrew 7, Reavis 1: Rhett Dwyer had a three-run homer in the first inning and No. 2 Andrew (11-0) cruised to the non-conference victory.
Libertyville 4, Maine South 1: Chris Farrington had two hits and drove in a run to pace No. 3 Libertyville (12-2).
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Schaumburg 9, Conant 1: Russ Sellinger had four hits and drove in two runs for No. 4 Schaumburg (11-2, 2-0) in the Mid-Suburban League South.
Oak Park 6, Morton 5: Matt Yiesley’s RBI-single in the eighth was the game-winner for No. 6 Oak Park (12-3, 6-0) in the West Suburban crossover contest.
Mt. Carmel 8, St. Francis de Sales 1: Steve Black had three hits, including a bases-loaded triple for No. 9 Mt. Carmel (9-4, 4-1) in the Catholic League.
Romeoville 7, Joliet 6: Joe Sitts drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh to give Romeoville the victory. Sean Sullivan added two triples and drove in two runs for Romeoville (6-3).
Waubonsie Valley 5, Lake Park 4: John Brock homered, drove in two runs and scored two for Waubonsie Valley (10-1, 6-0) in the Upstate Eight.
Antioch 6, Zion-Benton 2: Jason Schuler had two hits and drove in three runs and Karl Richter (5-0) scattered four hits for Antioch (10-2, 1-0) in the North Suburban.
Glenbard East 5, West Chicago 2: Derek Elftmann (3-0) tossed a five-hitter and Steve Young doubled and drove in three runs for Glenbard East (6-3, 3-0) in the DuPage Valley.
Glenbrook South 2, Highland Park 0: James Dolan allowed just two hits and struck out 10 and Anthony Dibenedetto’s RBI-single broke a scoreless tie in the sixth for Glenbrook South (9-3, 3-0) in the Central Suburban League crossover.
Loyola 11, Weber 1: Bill San Hamel homered and drove in two runs and was also the winning pitcher for Loyola (7-5, 2-2) in the Catholic League North.
Maine West 6, Waukegan 2: Bill Kopecky had three hits and drove in three runs for Maine West (10-3, 2-1) in a Central Suburban League crossover.
McHenry 15, Dundee-Crown 2: Rick Hummel had four hits and drove in four runs for McHenry (12-0, 5-0) in the Fox Valley.
Nazareth 10, Wheaton Academy 0: Joe Ziemba had three hits, scored three runs and drove in another three for Nazareth (9-2, 3-0) in the Private School League.
Providence 10, Leo 0: In the Catholic League crossover, Brian Lucas (2-0) tossed a five inning two-hitter, and Adam O’Reel had three RBIs for Providence (8-1, 5-0).
Richards 7, Stagg 5: Don Kolkebeck hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh to give Richards (9-3) the victory.
Ridgewood 4, Elmwood Park 1: Mike Batch (3-0) struck out eight and allowed five hits while Tom Jermal had two hits and two RBIs for Ridgewood (9-3, 2-2) in the Suburban Prairie White.
Riverside-Brookfield 5, Glenbard South 2: Tim Aurrichio had three hits and drove in two runs and Ted Zimmerman belted a two-run homer for Riverside-Brookfield (10-1, 4-0) in the Suburban Prairie White.
St. Rita 8, Bishop McNamara 2: Nick Milazzo had three hits, including a home run, scored two runs and drove in two for St. Rita (11-4, 4-0) in the Catholic League.
University High 14, Elgin Academy 2: Emile Cambry had three hits and drove in three runs to lead U-High (8-1, 3-0) in the Independent School League.
Walther Lutheran 9, Chicago Christian 3: Kevin Banks had two hits and two RBIs for Walther Lutheran (11-3, 3-0) in the Private School League.
Westmont 6, Fenton 1: Steve Guettler allowed three hits and struck out seven to lead Westmont (8-4, 3-1) in the Suburban Prairie White.
Wheaton-Warrenville South 4, Glenbard North 1: Brian Schnurstien (2-1) threw a two-hitter for the Tigers (6-4, 3-0 DuPage Valley).