Baseball

Wilmington came up just a bit short of a return trip to state, falling 4-0 to Eureka in Monday's Class 2A Geneseo Supersectional.

Evan Bushman pitched a complete game and Daniel Kelly had a home run and four RBIs to help send Newman to state for the third straight year.

The Marquette baseball team led from start to finish in a 6-3 victory over Fulton in Monday's Class 1A DeKalb Supersectional at Northern Illinois University’s Ralph McKinzie Field. The Crusaders will now have a chance to defend their title from last season.

The Fulton and Marquette High School baseball teams met Monday in a Class 1A supersectional at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.

As part of the 2025 “Color Our World - Summer Reading Program,” the Putnam County Public Library District has partnered with the Peoria Chiefs to present “Homer’s Summer Reading Program,” which encourages summer reading.

Benet baseball faced Kaneland in the Class 3A Kaneland Regional final on Saturday, May 31, 2025 in Maple Park.

Having nine quality bats in the lineup paid off again Saturday as the Joliet Catholic baseball team won the 3A Pontiac Regional title sparked by No. 9 hitter Matt Simmons' game-winning RBI hit in the fourth.

Fulton senior Dom Kramer worked his way back from a knee injury during football season to be a key contributor on the mound and at the plate during the Steamers' postseason run to the Elite Eight. He is the Sauk Valley Athlete of the Week after an online vote.

A trip to state is on the line as Newman and Chicago Hope meet in the Class 2A baseball Supersectional Monday, June 2, 2025, at Northwestern Medicine Field in Geneva. Newman won 5-1. Photos by Alex T. Paschal and Dominic Di Palermo.

Plainfield North baseball faced Oswego in the 4A Plainfield North Regional final on Saturday, May 31, 2025 in Plainfield.

Brendan Henderson hit a three-run tying homer and Johnny Andretich hit a two-run shot, got the win in relief and hit the ball that scored the winning run as Plainfield North stormed back from six runs down to walk off Oswego 10-9 and win the Class 4A Plainfield North Regional.

The Marquette baseball team scored three times in the fifth to break a scoreless game, and Alec Novotney fired a three-hitter with 13 strikeouts in a 5-1 win over Aurora Christian in Saturday's Class 1A Harvest Christian Sectional championship.

Newmn scored three runs in the top of the first, then tacked on three more in the fifth to back pitchers Drake Cole and Garret Matznick in a 6-2 victory over Johnsburg in the Class 2A Mendota Sectional final Saturday afternoon.

Quinn Rooney's three-run home run capped off Benet's five-run fifth inning, as Benet rallied past Kaneland 5-4 to win the Class 3A Kaneland Regional title.

Samantha Drye's free kick with 12 seconds left in the second overtime sent Timothy Christian soccer to state, Nazareth baseball won its eighth straight regional title and Downers Grove North, St. Francis and Glenbard West baseball and Wheaton North softball also won regionals.

Fulton's Braedon Meyers pitched six innings and knocked in a key insurance run late in a 3-2 win for the sectional title on Saturday. Dom Kramer got the save in the Steamers' first sectional title since 2015.

After losing 11 straight games to close the regular season, Dixon got back in the win column when it mattered most. The Dukes beat Sterling 10-2 on Saturday to win the Class 3A Freeport Regional title.

Cary-Grove's Oskar Freund delivered a two-out, two-run single in the first inning, and the Trojans' bats never slowed down in a 13-3, six-inning victory over Antioch for their third consecutive regional championship.

As momentum quickly shuffled between each dugout in the final innings of Saturday's Class 2A Beecher Sectional championship game, Wilmington never relinquished its early lead, holding on for a 5-4 win to earn a repeat sectional championship.

Bradley-Bourbonnais senior Cody Freitas got the win on the mound and drove in the winning run in the top of the seventh as the Boilermakers got a 2-1 upset win over Minooka in Saturday's IHSA Class 4A Normal Community West Regional championship.

Joliet Catholic No. 9 hitter Matt Simmons broke a scoreless tie with an RBI single in the fourth, and that was enough for Hilltoppers ace Lucas Grant, who shut out Ottawa in Saturday's 3A Pontiac Regional championship game.

Josh Fleming set the tone with his solo home run in the first inning, his ninth of the season, and York put the game out of reach with a four-run fourth in an eventual 8-3 win over St. Charles East for the Dukes' fourth straight regional title.

Prairie Ridge's batters drew 11 walks and delivered clutch hits early as the Wolves defeated Lake Forest 9-5 Saturday for their first regional championship since 2021.

The Fulton Steamers edged River Ridge Scales Mound 3-2 on Saturday, May 31, 2025 to win the Class 1A Lena-Winslow Sectional and advance to the DeKalb Supersectional at Northern Illinois University on Monday, June 2. Game time is 4:30 p.m.

Wilmington repeated as sectional champions with a nail-biting 5-4 win over Bishop McNamara in the Class 2A Beecher Sectional championship game Saturday, May 31, 2025.

Dane Chock's RBI double capped a three-run fifth, and Crystal Lake South edged Crystal Lake Central 8-7 to win the Class 3A Crystal Lake South Regional championship Saturday. Carter Kelley homered and drove in five runs for Central, which won the Class 3A state title last year.

Zach Readdy tripled in Jeffry Schwab with the tie-breaking run with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, then got the final out in relief of Brandon Shannon as McHenry turned away upset-minded Jacobs 2-1 to win the Class 4A McHenry Regional title.

Vince Yario did not allow a hit after giving up a run in the first inning to lead No. 8 Bartlett to an 8-1 win over No. 1 Willowbrook in the Class 4A Willowbrook Regional championship Saturday.

Crystal Lake South faces Crystal Lake Central in the IHSA Class 3A Crystal Lake South Regional Championship game on Saturday, May 31, 2025, at Crystal Lake South High School.

Morris scored eight runs in the fifth inning of a 10-0 win over La Salle-Peru in the Class 3A Morris Regional championship Saturday.

A.J. Putty had a key hit late to spark Huntley past DeKalb for a regional title. The Barbs' got a strong pitching performance from Brodie Farrell and a homer from Cole Latimer in the loss.

South Elgin's Jacob Robertson pitched a complete game and the Storm capitalized on St. Charles North errors to win the Class 4A Batavia Regional championship Saturday.

Newman and Johnsburg face off in the Class 2A Sectional final at Mendota Saturday, May 31, 2025. Newman took the win 6-2.

Madelynn Dinino struck out 10 and homered to power IC Catholic softball past Timothy Christian to a sectional title, Ashlynn Durkin fired a one-hitter with 12 strikeouts and homered for Downers Grove North in a regional title, plus state track and lacrosse results in the roundup.

Rock Falls senior baseball player Austin Castaneda led the Rockets with 37 walks, 30 runs scored, 30 stolen bases without getting caught, led the team with a .543 on-base percentage and 1.054 OPS. He is the Sauk Valley Athlete of the Week.

Johnsburg junior Ashton Stern flirted with perfection and threw a complete game shutout against North Boone with Jack Thompson catching to help the Skyhawks win their third regional title. Stern is the Northwest Herald Athlete of the Week.

Behind dazzling pitching performances from Callaghan O'Connor and Preston Payne and Jacob Lotz's late homer, Bishop McNamara downed Manteno in Thursday's Class 2A Beecher Sectional semifinal.

Montini baseball beat Marmion in extra innings in a regional semifinal, and Hinsdale Central advanced its singles player and both doubles teams to the quarterfinals. That, plus more baseball, boys volleyball and tennis in Thursday's Suburban Life roundup.

After 6 ⅓ shutout innings from Mason Shaul, Cody Freitas escaped a bases-loaded jam with two strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Bradley-Bourbonnais a dramatic 1-0 win in the IHSA Class 4A Normal Community West Regional semifinals Thursday.

St. Charles East baseball pulled off an upset with a 3-2 victory over Lake Park, while the softball team put on an offensive showcase in a 13-3 victory over Elk Grove. Plus, Kaneland's comeback win over Wheaton Academy in Thursday's Kane County roundup.

St. Charles North, led by senior Matt Kelly, used a five-run first inning to propel them to a 10-2 victory over Batavia in a Class 4A regional semifinal.

After nine and a half scoreless innings, Ottawa No. 8 hitter George Shumway delivered a two-out, run-scoring double to lift the Pirates past Streator 1-0 in 10 innings and into Saturday's 3A Pontiac Regional title game.

After making a tremendous play to kickstart an inning-ending double play, Ryan Kettman's two-run home run put an exclamation point on a six-run Wildcats sixth that was the difference in their 7-2 win over Chicago Christian in Thursday's Class 2A Beecher Sectional semis.

Jonny Lee needed just 82 pitches to throw a complete-game four-hitter with six strikeouts, Nolan Holgado reached base four times to key the Romeoville offense and the Spartans beat Yorkville 6-1 in a regional semifinal Thursday for their 22nd win, matching a program win record.

Jake Whelan’s well-placed hit broke open a tie game and helped No. 5 Dixon snap an 11-game losing streak and knock off No. 3 Sycamore 3-1 on Thursday at Hustle Field.

Yorkville faced Romeoville baseball in a Class 4A Yorkville Regional semifinal game on Thursday, May 29, 2025 in Yorkville.

The Bishop McNamara baseball team topped Manteno 5-1 in the Class 2A Beecher Sectional semifinals Thursday, May 29, 2025.

St. Charles North baseball faced Batavia in a Class 4A Batavia Regional semifinal on Thursday, May 29, 2025 in Batavia.

Ottawa played Streator in the Class 3A Regional semifinal game on Thursday, May 29, 2025 at Pontiac High School. The Pirates will play Joliet Catholic in the Regional championship on Saturday at 11a.m. in Pontiac.

Kaedin Bond and Jacob Gross each hit home runs in the first inning as La Salle-Peru scored seven runs on the way to a 17-2, four-inning win over Plano in a Class 3A Morris Regional semifinal Thursday.