Second-ranked New Trier’s 4-2 victory over Niles West on Thursday was a classic case of the rich getting richer.
“I’m at a luxury with my pitchers,” said coach Mike Napoleon after his Trevians improved to 14-3 overall and 7-0 in the Central Suburban South. Niles West dropped to 15-6, 4-3.
Napoleon referred to Peter Elmer, 6-foot-5-inch junior lefty and No. 4 pitcher on a staff that features three senior right-handers: Eric Willson , Steve Floersch and Matt Lottich.
All Elmer did Thursday against an opponent with a team batting average of .346 was limit Niles West to three hits, strike out 11 batters in his six innings and improve his record to 4-0. And these were the sluggers who barely lost to New Trier 11-10 on Tuesday.
Not bad for a kid who missed all of his sophomore season due to a back injury.
“I was a little nervous at the start because [Niles West] scored 10 runs against us on Tuesday,” said Elmer. “But the double play we turned helped me big time.”
Elmer referred to the play that Andrew Gelber, Chris Busby and Lottich turned to end the third inning when Niles West tied the game 2-2 with its only runs on two of its three hits and two of Elmer’s four walks.
New Trier didn’t exactly batter down the fences against Niles lefty Rich Houstoon. The Trevians had only five hits, two of them RBI singles by Nos. 8 and 9 hitters Brian Rogers and Steve Martay.
It wasn’t a good day for star sluggers. Lottich went 0 for 4 for New Trier. Niles West’s power man Jason Krynski struck out and hit into the double play.
— Bill Jauss.
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Sandburg 13, Oak Forest 0: Tim Grochocinski tossed a three-hitter with four strikeouts and Ryan Kouba hit a grand slam and drove in six runs for No. 9 Sandburg (11-5).
Antioch 5, Zion-Benton 4: Antioch survived a late Zion rally to claim the North Suburban victory. Brad Groth drove in two runs to pace Antioch (17-3, 3-1).
Bolingbrook 11, Argo 10: Steve Paulson had four hits, including a triple, and Jake Zarat drove in three runs to pace Bolingbrook (4-10, 1-0) to the SICA North victory.
Downers Grove North 14, Glenbard West 2: Orlando Diaz had two doubles and a three-run homer for Downers North (15-5, 9-2) in the West Suburban Silver.
Driscoll 5, St. Francis 4: Chris Sierak’s two-run double with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh proved to be the game-winner for Driscoll (21-2, 13-1) in the Suburban Catholic.
Evergreen Park 8, Sycamore 5: Winning pitcher Jim Feltz added two triples, scored two runs and drove in two runs to lead Evergreen Park (12-5, 5-1) in the Suburban Prairie White.
Fremd 9, Schaumburg 0: Justin Hartanov tossed a three-hitter with four strikeouts and Jeff Maitlin added a triple and two RBIs for Fremd (16-5, 6-1) in the Mid-Suburban League West.
Glenbard East 3, West Aurora 1: Sam Shorts and Mike O’Sullivan each had RBIs and Mike Bauer earned the victory with a five-hitter for Glenbard East (14-6, 4-3) in the DuPage Valley.
Glenbard South 10, Batavia 0: Brian Olson tossed a no-hitter in the six-inning contest, striking out five and walking four. Chris Smith added three RBIs for Glenbard South (13-5, 6-1) in the Suburban Prairie Red.
Highland Park 10, Deerfield 0: Matt Alva allowed two hits and struck out four and Dave Luger added three hits and two RBIs for Highland Park (10-9, 4-3) in the Central Suburban League North.
Hinsdale Central 15, Proviso East 3: Steve Portschy had two hits and five RBIs for Hinsdale Central (12-10).
Hinsdale South 16, Downers Grove South 12: Zach Luetkemeyer scored three runs and drove in three and Sam Louise added four hits and three RBIs for Hinsdale South (15-8, 6-5) in the West Suburban Gold.
Joliet 5, Andrew 1: Justin Parks had a two-run single and Mark Novak struck out six to earn the win for Joliet (13-3, 1-1) in the SICA West.
Juarez 4, Steinmetz 2: Edward Acevado hit a two-run home run and Mauricio Vargas struck 12 and allowed two hits to earn the victory for Juarez (7-1, 5-0) in the Public League Northeast.
Lake Park 10, East Aurora 9: Marc Poulopoulos’ walk in the bottom of the seventh scored the game-winning run for Lake Park (11-8, 8-5) in the Upstate Eight. Poulopoulos had three hits and scored two runs.
Loyola 20, Hales Franciscan 6: Chris Carbonaro had four hits and six RBIs and Jon Schwabe added four hits and five RBIs for Loyola (12-7, 9-1) in the Catholic League.
Lyons 15, Proviso West 3: Matt McMurray had two doubles and drove in three runs to lead Lyons (15-7, 8-3) in the West Suburban Silver.
Maine East 13, Glenbrook North 1: Corey Lapinski was the winning pitcher and also drove in two runs for Maine East (14-6, 5-2) in the Central Suburban League North.
Maine South 7, Evanston 6: Adam Rosales’ RBI single in the bottom of the seventh scored Sam Canarrazzo with the winning run for Maine South (13-5, 7-0) in the Central Suburban League South.
Maine West 4, Niles North 0: Sean Vanvleet had two hits and scored a run for Maine West (13-7, 5-2) in the Central Suburban League North.
Montini 10, Immaculate Conception 6: Charlie Porter and Robert Glaz each hit solo homers as Montini (16-4, 12-1) won the slugfest in the Suburban Catholic.
Morgan Park 5, Hubbard 3: Reggie Gray had two hits and drove in a run and Herman Witt stuck out five and allowed two hits for the victory for Morgan Park (8-2, 5-1) in the Public League South.
Nazareth 5, Lemont 2: Dan Gage doubled and drove in three runs and Mike Skokna allowed two runs in six innings to pick up the win for Nazareth (12-7).
Oak Park 12, York 0: Jeremiah Kaye tossed a one-hitter and Henry Young homered and drove in five runs for Oak Park (12-6, 9-1) in the West Suburban Silver.
Romeoville 3, Reavis 2: Mario Urquizo doubled and drove in a run and Matt Satkowski earned the victory for Romeoville (16-7, 2-0) in the SICA North.
St. Ignatius 7, De La Salle 5: Mike Krga hit for the cycle to lead St. Ignatius (14-7, 5-4) to the Catholic League victory.
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St. Laurence 17, Leo 0: Adam Lotus and Bill Rochon each had two hits, drove in two runs and scored two runs to lead St. Laurence (12-4, 7-3) to the Catholic League victory.
West Chicago 12, Naperville North 7: Nick Richardson had two hits, including a two-run home run, and drove in three runs for West Chicago (7-8, 1-6) in the DuPage Valley.
Wheaton Warrenville South 5, Naperville Central 4: Joe Fontana had two hits, including a game-tying RBI-double, and was also the winning pitcher for Wheaton Warrenville (12-6, 4-3) in the DuPage Valley.