Sterling grabbed the lead in the top of the first and rode Eli Penne’s gem to a 2-0 victory over rival Dixon in their Class 3A Sterling Regional semifinal Wednesday at Gartner Park.

Rock Falls scored in each of the first five innings, and Carter Hunter pitched 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief in a 9-5 win over Erie-Prophetstown in Wednesday night’s Class 2A Rock Falls Regional semifinal.

Richmond-Burton faces Johnsburg in a Class 2A Johnsburg Sectional semifinal baseball game on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at Johnsburg High School.

Maddie Simms had 17 strikeouts to lead Gardner-South Wilmington softball to a win in the IHSA Class 1 Indian Creek Sectional semifinals, Clifton Central baseball walked off Momence in the 1A Clifton Central Regional semifinals and more in Wednesday's Daily Journal roundup.

Adam Swanson pitched a complete game, one-hit shutout and launched a late three-run home run Wednesday night to lead the Pirates to a four-game season sweep of archrival La Salle-Peru 8-0 in the semifinals of the Class 3A Metamora Regional.

Colin Doyle fired a complete-game two-hit shutout to lead Downers Grove North past Oswego 1-0 in a regional semifinal, Riverside-Brookfield, Montini and IC Catholic Prep softball all advanced to sectional finals plus more baseball regional results in Wednesday's roundup.

Ottawa defeated L-P 8-0 during the Class 3A Regional semifinal game on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at Metamora High School. The Pirates will take on Metamora on Saturday at 10a.m. for the Regional championship.

Parkview Christian and Yorkville Christian baseball both rolled in their respective regional semifinals, while Oswego baseball lost a 1-0 regional game to Downers Grove North in Wednesday's roundup.

Steve Martin was 2 for 3 with two RBIs and Evan Wills struck out five in four innings as Joliet Catholic picked up a 7-2 Class 3A regional semifinal victory

Minooka has seen its season come to an end in each of the previous two seasons at the hands of Bradley-Bourbonnais. The Indians made sure it wouldn't happen a third consecutive time, breezing to a 12-3 win in the Bradley-Bourbonnais Class 4A Regional semifinal round.

Minooka bested Bradley-Bourbonnais for a 12-3 victory in the Class 4A Bradley-Bourbonnais Regional semifinals on Wednesday, May 27, 2026.

Ben Auer and Landon Paul combined to strike out 10 batters in a two-hit shutout to lead St. Charles North, which scored twice in the third inning to beat Dundee-Crown 3-1 in an IHSA Class 4A regional semifinal baseball game Wednesday evening.

Embracing being pushed up a class, the Newman baseball team won its Class 3A postseason debut after an 8-0 regional semifinal win at Belvidere. Michael Morse and Liam Nicklaus pitched the combined shutout, and Garet Wolfe had four RBIs.

Dixon heads to Sterling to take on the Warriors in the Class 3A baseball regional Wednesday, May 27, 2026. Sterling took the pitcher's duel 2-0.

As the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp prepare for their home-opener on Wednesday night in Peru, they do so with a younger roster and the familiar question of pitching depth shaping the start of a new summer season.

Four pitchers combined on a two-hit shutout to lead the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp to a season-opening 3-0 victory over Clinton LumberKings on Tuesday in Clinton.

In the regular-season finale for both teams, Beecher got three hits and RBIs from both Chase Maher and Noah Hanson to best Gardner-South Wilmington in Tuesday's Daily Journal roundup.

Meet the Daily Journal Athlete of the Week, Bradley-Bourbonnais senior baseball player Eric Rainbolt.

The Herscher girls soccer team advanced to the sectional championship with an 8-0 win over Chicago Christian in Monday's IHSA Class 1A Lisle Sectional semifinals, with Sophie Venckauskas leading the way with a hat trick, and more in Monday's Daily Journal roundup.

Keaton Allison hit an RBI double and later scored on a passed ball in the second to give more than enough run support to sophomore Jack Haley, who threw five shutout innings in Bradley-Bourbonnais' 3-1 win over Pekin in Monday's Class 4A Bradley-Bourbonnais Regional quarterfinal.

The Bradley-Bourbonnais baseball team defeated Pekin 3-1 in the Class 4A Bradley-Bourbonnais Regional quarterfinals at 315 Sports Park in Bradley Monday, May 25, 2026.

Here is a look at where area baseball teams are opening play in the IHSA postseason. Newman received a No. 1 seed in its Class 3A debut, Dixon is a No. 2 seed, Forreston is a No. 1 seed in 1A and Fulton is a No. 3 seed.

Amelia Pytel struck out 11 in a 4-hitter and Riverside-Brookfield rallied past Lyons to the regional title, Montini's Cameron Fox hit two home runs and struck out 13 in a regional final win, IC Catholic and Glenbard South won softball regionals and Hinsdale Central a soccer one.

Glenbard West's 4x800 relay ran the fastest time in Friday's preliminaries at the IHSA state track meet, leading area finalists, St. Francis and Glenbard East softball won regional titles, Willowbrook baseball's 27-game win streak was snapped plus girls soccer regional results.

Peotone's girls soccer team beat Beecher 2-1 in the IHSA Class 1A Manteno Regional championship, earning its fifth straight regional title, while Herscher beat Reed-Custer 3-1 for its 10th straight regional crown. That and more in Friday's Daily Journal roundup.

The Kane County Cougars’ team bus was destroyed in a fire that police in Canada allege was intentionally set by a teenage girl.

Jackson Turko drove in the eventual game-winning run with two outs in the top of the eighth as Glenbard East baseball rallied past West Aurora, and St. Francis, Wheaton Warrenville South, Downers Grove South and Montini baseball were also winners.

Yorkville baseball finished off a three-game sweep of Bolingbrook and Plano baseball was also a winner Thursday.

Wilmington's McKenna Van Tilburg advanced to Saturday's state finals in four events and Milford/Cissna Park's Addison Lucht advanced in three to lead a group of Class 1A girls track and field athletes in Thursday's prelims. That and more in Thursday's Daily Journal roundup.

Isaac Harris went 4 for 4 and scored four runs, while Keegan Schwarting struck out 10 in a complete game as Joliet West beat Joliet Central 8-1 to complete a Southwest Prairie Conference sweep.

Downers Grove North junior Colin Doyle, who struck out 12 in a complete-game four-hit shutout of Lyons, is the Suburban Life Athlete of the Week in an online vote. Here is his Q&A with Sports Editor Joshua Welge.

Bishop McNamara's Malachi Lee, Bradley-Bourbonnais' Lyzale Edmon and Kankakee's George Noble are all headed to boys track and field state next week, with all three schools qualifying multiple relay teams as well. That and more in Wednesday's Daily Journal roundup.

Downers Grove North, Benet, Wheaton Warrenville South, Riverside-Brookfield, Lyons and Nazareth softball all won regional games, as did Lyons, Downers Grove North, Wheaton Warrenville South and Wheaton North softball.

Mason Bruesch jumpstarted an eight-run fifth inning with a two-run home run and allowed just one hit over five innings to help Geneva win it's school-record 27th game with a 10-0 victory over St. Charles East.

Upgrades to Park East Inland Side recreation area were met with an enthusiastic “thumbs up” during an official grand opening celebration May 18.

Any coach would like to end his career like retiring Willowbrook High School baseball coach Vic Wisner. Entering Friday’s game at Lincoln-Way West, Willowbrook had won 27 straight games. The team’s 28 victories, against only four losses, are the program record.

Alina Mkhwanazi had a hat trick while Yailen Torres and Rachel Sanchez-Aguilar also scored in Kankakee's regional semifinal shutout, Bradley-Bourbonnais' postseason softball journey began and more in Tuesday's Daily Journal roundup.

Lyons baseball scored five runs in the top of the eighth to rally past Downers Grove North, Willowbrook baseball won its 27th straight and Downers Grove South softball and soccer were among the regional winners.

Oswego, Newark and Yorkville softball won regional semifinals, Yorkville's Gabe Sanders struck out 12 in a complete-game shutout and Oswego, Oswego East and Sandwich baseball also won on Tuesday.

Ottawa baseball won its seventh straight while dealing Streator its fourth consecutive loss Tuesday, with Adam Swanson and Aleixo Fernandez combining for five hits and eight RBIs in the Pirates victory.

Koen Lynes hit two home runs as a red-hot Joliet Catholic baseball team collected an 8-4 victory over Wilmington on Tuesday.

It’s “showtime” for track and soccer this week.

The Iroquois West and Momence softball teams opened regional play with commanding quarterfinal wins, with Iroquois West beating Hoopeston 18-8 and Momence beating Illinois Lutheran 10-1, and more in Monday's Daily Journal roundup.

Paige Rook slugged her 11th homer of the year as Downers Grove South softball won its regular season finale, and Riverside-Brookfield's Ronnie Murray and Lemont's Nate Zdenovec threw complete-game shutouts in Monday's roundup.

The Ottawa baseball team scored four runs in the sixth - the big blow a two-run double by Adam Swanson - to defeat Kaneland 6-4 in the Interstate 8 Conference contest at King Field on Monday. With the win the Pirates earned a share the league championship with the Knights.

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.

Adrian Cavira tossed a one-hitter as Joliet West claimed a 10-0, six inning win over Joliet Central on Monday.

Freshman Tommy Cavaliere and Lyons bested Angelo Chiarelli and Downers Grove North in a pitchers' duel Monday to keep the Lions in the thick of the West Suburban Conference Silver Division race.

Christian Mulder struck out 10 in helping power Parkview Christian baseball past Newark, plus Oswego and Oswego East baseball, Plano soccer and Oswego lacrosse results in Monday's roundup.

Ottawa defeated Kaneland 6-4 on Monday, May 18, 2026 at Ottawa High School. The game was a resumption of a match earlier in the season. With the win, the Pirates share the Interstate 8 baseball Conference title with the Knights.