Glenbard North ace Lindsey Veselsky set a Class AA strikeout record in softball Saturday but came up short in her bid to win a doubleheader.
Veselsky struck out 14 in a 5-0 victory over New Trier in Carol Stream, giving her 1,303 career strikeouts. Ex-Hinsdale South All-Stater Marie Barda struck out 1,288 in a four-year career that culminated in 1997.
The 6-foot senior already owns the Class AA single-season mark with 454 strikeouts. She needs 38 more to equal the state record of 492 set by Lanark Eastland’s Sarah Martz in ’99.
Sarah Bryers’ first-inning RBI triple followed by Lisa Fagerberg’s run-scoring single were all the support Veselsky needed as she limited the Trevians to one hit.
In Game 2, Mallory Paine replaced regular catcher Lisi Figueroa, who said she felt sick after playing in the opener. A walk and three passed balls on called strikes led to a 1-0 New Trier victory. Veselsky (26-2) struck out 10 and allowed one hit.
“Mallory told me it takes a while to get used to catching Lindsey,” said Glenbard North coach Jim McKinney, whose No. 3 Panthers are 31-3. “We subbed a few more players in that second game because we saw what we wanted in the opener.”
McKinney said he is attempting to arrange a game against No. 1 Sandburg for Wednesday.
Bob Sakamoto.
Richards 1-2, Lyons Township 0-1: Terri Erickson’s solo home run gave the No. 6 Bulldogs (23-5) the victory in Game 1. Margaret Blindstrup was 3-for-4 with the game-winning single in the 10th inning of Game 2.
Joliet tournament: In its third game of the day, No. 9 Marian Catholic (27-6) fell to Lake Park 1-0 in nine innings. Raeann Ewen’s RBI double in the ninth won it for Lake Park (24-5) . . . . In other action, Belleville East shut out No. 5 Lockport 1-0. . . . Noelle Greco went 3-for-3 and scored four runs as Mother McAuley (26-4) beat Naperville North 18-1.
North Suburban championship: Rachel Cleaveland pitched a four-hitter and struck out six as No. 8 Mundelein (27-2) won its 27th straight game 1-0. Trista Campbell scored on an error in the fourth.
Zion-Benton (22-6) loaded the bases with one out in the sixth, but Cleaveland came back to strike out the final hitters to escape the jam.
Rich East Quad: Christine Drankiewicz threw a two-hitter as No. 9 Marian Catholic (27-5) defeated Addison Trail 3-0. . . . In its second game of the day, Marian shut out Geneseo Darnall 3-0 as Nicole Robinson drove in two.
Downers Grove South 6-4, West Chicago 0-1: Brianne LaVieri pitched a four-hitter and struck out nine in Game 1 for the Mustangs (24-8).
Larkin 2, Neuqua Valley 0: Lauren Morstad pitched a three-hitter with seven strikeouts as the Royals (28-7, 16-2) won in the Upstate Eight. Larkin also defeated St. Charles North 4-0.
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Sycamore 3-0, Riverside-Brookfield 0-1: Kelsi Countryman tossed a two-hitter in Game 1 as Sycamore (23-7, 13-1) won the Suburban Prairie White title.
Class A regional
Beecher: Taking advantage of four errors, Beecher won its first regional title with a 1-0 decision over Immaculate Conception.
Two errors came on one play in the top of the seventh which led to Ashley Stojak scoring the winning run for Beecher (22-4).
“I told the kids before the game whoever makes the fewest mistakes will win,” Ratliff said.
Bobcats pitcher Ashley Shearer (19-2) went the distance, striking out nine and scattering five hits.
Bill Harrison.
Evergreen Park: Jessica Reusnow did it in Evergreen Park’s 7-0 victory over Chicago Latin. Reusnow pitched a two-hitter and struck out 17 and added a two-run triple to lead the Mustangs (23-8) to the regional title.
Peotone: Megen Bettenhausen singled in Beth Cann, who tripled to lead off the ninth, as Peotone (11-18) upset Lisle (18-9) 1-0.
Baseball
Maine South 6-7, St. Ignatius 5-0: Mark Ori went 4-for-7 with three doubles, three RBIs and three runs scored on the day for the No. 3 Hawks (22-5).
New Trier 11, Mt. Carmel 1: Mike Wertheimer’s fourth-inning grand slam lifted the No. 5 Trevians (26-6).
North Suburban championship: Brian Jabeck’s two-run single capped an eight-run sixth inning as No. 6 Stevenson (26-5) rallied past Grant 9-7.
De La Salle 3, Thornridge 2: Brian Bogusevic homered to lead the No. 7 Meteors (25-7).
St. Charles East 6, Hoffman Estates 5: J.R. Carbonell’s single in the bottom of the seventh lifted the No. 9 Saints (27-7).
Kankakee 5, Bradley-Bourbonnais 1: No. 10 Bradley fell to 23-5.
Brother Rice 12, St. Laurence 8: Tim Braun hit two home runs and Zac Erb added a three-run shot for the Crusaders (26-8).
Carmel 8-11, Jacobs 4-1: In the opener, Ryan Myers belted two home runs to lead the Corsairs (22-12). In Game 2, Myers hit two more homers and Sean Walker added a grand slam for Carmel.
Libertyville 1, Zion-Benton 0: Matt Doud pitched a one-hitter and struck out 11 while walking just two for the Wildcats (24-9).
St. Rita 9, Thornton Fractional South 6: Kevin White was 2-for-4 with two RBIs to lead the Mustangs (25-10).
Class A regionals
Driscoll: Ed Spychalski had three RBIs as Driscoll (18-14) defeated Walther Lutheran 9-1.
“We’ve kind of underachieved all season,” Driscoll coach Jeff Sefcik said. “We’re 18-14 now, but the team is as good as the last couple of teams that we won 30 games with.”
Walther Lutheran finishes the season at 16-15.
Girls soccer regional
Crystal Lake South: Christy Zwolski scored her 28th goal of the season and Megan McGrath also scored as Carmel (20-1-2) defeated Prairie Ridge 2-0. Katie Michal had 13 saves for Carmel. . . . Lauren Weber and Lori King scored as St. Viator (15-4-4) defeated Crystal Lake South 2-0.
Boys volleyball
The Providence boys team literally battled back from the brink. The No. 6 Celtics, on the verge of being swept in two games in their Catholic League championship showdown with top-ranked Brother Rice, rallied from a 14-9 deficit to claim a 17-15 Game 2 victory and then beat the Crusaders 15-10 in Game 3 for the league crown.
“I’m amazed; I can’t believe we won it,” said coach Cindy Olczyk, whose Celtics (25-6) are the only team to beat Brother Rice this spring, with two wins in three meetings. “All of a sudden we decided we were going to play defense.”
After handily winning the first game 15-3, the Crusaders had two opportunities to put the game away with leads of 14-9 and 14-10. But Providence took advantage of Brother Rice hitting errors and used its own effective blocking to turn the tide.
In Game 3, Brother Rice held leads of 9-6 and 10-7, but the edge slipped away as Providence played almost flawless defense while scoring eight unanswered points down the stretch.
Junior outside hitter Jason Ogrizovich led Providence with 11 kills while senior middle Vytas Norusis had seven. Chris Kozlarek had 14 kills and three blocks while setter Jordan Vidovic had 26 assists for Brother Rice (33-2), which saw its 26-match winning streak end.
Jack McCarthy.
Public League championship: Lane Tech captured its first city volleyball championship since 1998 with a 15-6, 15-7 triumph over Mather at Illinois-Chicago.
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Drew Adams collected 11 kills, Tyrone Thomas added eight and setter Cesar Velasco had 24 assists as the Indians (26-9) opened up a 10-1 lead in Game 1 and never looked back.
“We just dominated them from start to finish,” Lane coach Scott Eisenberg said. “Our guys are really starting to jell.”
Jack McCarthy.
Boys track and field
Defending Class AA Champion Thornwood ran away with the team championship of the Thornridge boys track sectional. The Thunderbirds finished with 139 points to easily outdistance Bloom, which had 66 points, and Rich Central, with 53.
The Thunderbirds qualified 10 individuals in 13 events and three relays for next weekend’s state finals. Senior Dion Ballentine led Thornwood, winning the 200 and 400, finishing third in the 100 and running a leg on the winning 4×100 relay. His times in the 200 (21.1 seconds) and 400 (47.5) were his best of the season.
“It didn’t start off as a good day for me (third place in the 100), but I qualified and it helped motivate me for the rest of my races,” Ballentine said. “We feel we did what we had to do today to make a run at repeating. We know we’re going to have to go down and compete on Friday.”
Thornwood also received solid performance from senior Marcus Lesley and sophomore Jeremy Johnson. Lesley was first in the 110 hurdles, a third in the 300 hurdles and ran a leg on the 4×100 relay. Johnson qualified in the 100, ran the anchor legs on the 4×100 and 4×200 relays and also ran a leg on the victorious 4×400 relay.
The only other double winner was Homewood-Flossmoor’s Marc Holt in the shot put (53-11 3/4) and discus (170-10).
Ron Brow.
Lisle sectional: Leo senior Ryan Shields continued his dominance by winning the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes as the Lions claimed first place.
Shields, who won all three sprint events at the Class A state meet the last two years, set a sectional record in the 200 with a time of :21.32.
“I felt great–everything went according to plan,” Shields said. “It’s definitely my biggest goal to get my team to the state championships. That’s eluded us the last three years and it’s really what we want. I have to get that trophy for the school.”
Leo scored 160 points, easily outdistancing St. Francis de Sales, which scored 78 points. Westmont was third with 63.