For a couple of guys who were too excited to sleep much Monday night, Keith Nawrocki and Nick Trzesniak were alert enough to turn in terrific performances Tuesday for the Andrew Thunderbolts.
Nawrocki scattered five hits, struck out three, walked only one and improved his record to 7-0 as No. 2 Andrew (15-0) edged No. 1 Sandburg (19-2) 3-1 in a showdown between fierce SICA West rivals.
And junior catcher Trzesniak caught the attention of a half-dozen big-league scouts when he slugged a low and away fastball from Sal Zambuto and drove it into a 20 m.p.h. wind and over the fence in left-center for the game-winning home run.
“I couldn’t sleep much last night,” said Nawrocki. “We’ve been waiting all season for this game. Sandburg’s always ranked above us, and we always find a way to knock them off.”
“When I saw how hard the wind was blowing in, I thought, `Nobody’s going to hit one out today,’ ” said Trzesniak. “I never thought it was out. I was just trying to get on base to lead off the inning.”
Andrew took a 1-0 lead in the second when Rhett Dwyer scored from second on an error. Dwyer had reached on a dropped third strike. Andrew added an insurance run in the sixth when Dwyer doubled and scored on Nate Wright’s single.
Players on both teams may have another restless night Wednesday: Andrew plays Thursday at Sandburg.
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Bill Jauss.
Lockport 7, Stagg 3: No. 4 Lockport (12-5, 1-0) used two hits and two RBIs by Matt Serafini to win in the SICA West.
Harlan 4, Morgan Park 3: Keith Johnson homered in the seventh to lift Harlan (13-9, 5-2) in the Public South.
Illiana Christian 12, Luther South 0: Chad DeGroot had two hits and two RBIs for Illiana Christian (9-2, 6-0) in the Private School League.
Reavis 1, Oak Lawn 0: An RBI double by Tony Vlahos drove in Don Bennage in the second inning for Reavis (16-5, 1-0) in the SICA North.
St. Rita 6, St. Laurence 0: Tim Bubacz was the winning pitcher with seven strikeouts and added three hits and two RBIs for St. Rita (15-4, 8-0) in the Catholic League.
University High 11, Francis Parker 1: Emile Cambry had three hits and scored two runs to lead U-High (11-2, 6-0) in the Independent School League.
Softball
Joliet 4, Lincoln-Way 2: Mary Jaszczak struck out eight and added two hits and two RBIs for No. 3 Joliet (18-1-1, 1-0) in the SICA West.
Stagg 1, Lockport 0: Ana Patejdl drove in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh for Stagg (14-4, 1-0) in the SICA West. No. 10 Lockport fell to 13-6, 0-1.
Lemont 8, Riverside-Brookfield 7: Angie Benigno’s three hits, including two triples, helped Lemont (15-5, 3-1) prevail in the Suburban Prairie White.
Marian Catholic 14, St. Viator 0: Christin Evans tossed a two-hitter with seven strikeouts for Marian Catholic (12-4, 4-0) in the East Suburban Catholic.
Soccer
Argo 2 Bolingbrook 0: Mekime Xheraj made 10 saves to record her ninth shutout of the season for Argo (10-0, 5-0) in the SICA North.
Rich East 5, Bremen 0: Rich East (8-1) was led by Alaina Jasinevicius, who scored four goals.
Volleyball
Providence d. De La Salle 15-2, 15-7: In the Catholic League, Brett Krapil had seven kills for the second-ranked Celtics (17-1, 6-0).
Lincoln-Way d. Andrew 15-9, 15-6: The Knights (15-5, 4-2) were victorious in the SICA West behind B.J. Wegner’s 12 kills.
Sandburg d, Joliet 15-7, 15-4: Sandburg (10-4, 4-2) rolled in the SICA West with Kyle Owens’ 14 blocks.
Stagg d. Lockport 15-4, 15-8: Stagg (14-5, 5-1) used 11 blocks and five kills by Tom Hushka in the SICA West.