Bryce Baxa at times this season has endured the struggles of a young hitter who had success as a freshman. But he persevered and came through Thursday, driving in the winning run on a sacrifice fly in the seventh as Yorkville beat Oswego East 9-8 in a wild regional semifinal.

The Sandwich baseball team got a one-hit shutout from senior Nick Michalek, with help from timely defense, in a 9-0 win over Beecher in Thursday’s IHSA Class 2A Manteno Regional semifinal.

After falling behind in the first inning, Morris piled it on the rest of the way to defeat Plano 8-1 in the Class 3A Joliet Catholic Regional semifinals.

Morris rolls past Plano 8-1 in the Class 3A Joliet Catholic Regional semifinal on Thursday evening.

Before this season, Johnsburg senior Carter Block hadn't played baseball since middle school. On Monday, his two hits helped the Skyhawks beat Plano 9-2 to capture the Kishwaukee River Conference title for the second year in a row.

Here are Gary Duncan's photos from Thursday's baseball game between Oswego and Oswego East.

Oswego sent 12 batters to the plate in an eight-run fourth inning and then held off a late Oswego East rally for a 9-7 win to salvage the final of the three-game crosstown series. 'Kind of a relief.'

The IHSA has released the baseball playoff schedule. Here are pairings for Kendall County-area teams.

Yorkville senior right-hander has been bringing the heat in relief all year, not allowing a run in 10 1/3 innings as closer. On Monday, he got a key hit to support Gabe Sanders' pitching in a 5-4 win over Oswego in a game shortened due to lightning.