Scores from TFN, Marian Catholic, Illiana Christian, and SSC
LANSING, Ill. (March 27, 2023) – Based on early returns, TF South’s baseball team has the bats to outscore some teams. That’s a good thing, because the Red Wolves’ pitching staff has a new look this spring.
“Our seniors last year were more or less the backbone of the pitching staff,” coach Matt Tiffy said. “That’s really where we’re at. If our pitching can force the other team to hit the ball, we can play some good baseball.”
That’s because of the promising returning core of position players from an 18-11 team that was dominated by sophomores and juniors.
They’ve led the way for a 2-1 start, which includes a 13-7 loss at Romeoville last Monday and two home wins — 10-0 over Peotone on Tuesday and 9-8 over Bloom on Wednesday.
Two early standouts include junior shortstop Khanon Gresham and junior outfielder Tyler Earmsmuth.
“How he goes, we go,” Tiffy said of Gresham. “That’s kind of the mentality.”
Earmsmuth, meanwhile, is seeing dividends from the offseason work he did with former TF South coach Ken Reynolds to rework his swing.
Other players to keep an eye on include junior catcher Jake Stachelski, junior infielder Jack Starcevich and junior catcher/outfielder Rakim Ali, a transfer from Morgan Park.
The Red Wolves start South Suburban Conference play this week, playing at Richards Tuesday and hosting Reavis Wednesday ahead of next week’s spring break trip to Florida.
They hoped to have more games in for that young pitching staff to develop, but four contests were postponed or canceled because of bad weather in the first two weeks.
“We’re lucky we have our JV field,” Tiffy said, noting its crushed limestone base paths, which dry out quicker than conventional dirt ones.
But there’s only so much to be done in practice sessions. The Red Wolves need more game action and if the weather cooperates, they’ll start getting it.
TF North
Baseball
David Holmes homered twice, drove in three runs and struck out 10 as the Meteors played Hubbard to a 3-3 tie called because of darkness after five innings on March 15.
North also lost 13-7 to Ag. Science on March 21.
TF United (TF North/TF South co-op)
Girls soccer
Tenila Odutusin scored twice and Alanis Gonzalez had three assists as United beat Bloom 3-1 last Tuesday.
Berenice Zepeda’s hat trick powered United to a 6-1 win over Marian Catholic in the third round of the Windy City Classic on March 17. Zepeda also had an assist, while teammate Alanis Gonzalez contributed a goal and three assists.
Annette Ayala scored Marian’s goal on a penalty kick. Olivia Pressler had 16 saves.
United fell 2-0 to Homewood-Flossmoor in the second round of the Windy City Ram Classic on March 16. Angela Mendez had nine saves.
United opened the season with a 5-0 loss to Lincoln-Way West in the Windy City Ram Classic on March 14. Maliak Ghnaim and Mendez each had three saves for United.
Marian Catholic
Softball
Katie Pollock pitched a five-inning no-hitter with six strikeouts and one walk as the Spartans opened their season with a 12-0 home win over TF South last Tuesday.
Isabel Alvarez paced a 15-hit Marian attack, going 4-for-4 with a double, triple, two runs scored and four RBIs. Kayden Porter was 3-for-3 with a homer, three runs scored and two RBIs, while Pollock went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Freshman Izzy Sprehe pitched four innings for the Red Wolves, allowing eight hits.
Boys volleyball
Joe Staack had seven kills and an ace as the Spartans opened their season with a 29-27, 25-19 win over Shepard last Tuesday. Setter Justin McGary chipped in with 13 assists.
Girls soccer
The Spartans dropped to 1-4 with a 5-0 home loss to Tinley Park on Friday. Goalie Olivia Pressler had 19 saves for Marian.
Marian edged Argo 4-2 on penalty kicks after the teams played to a 2-2 tie last Tuesday. Chloe Terry scored both Marian goals and converted a penalty kick. Monserrat Coyt, Valerie Nelson, and Annette Ayala also had penalty kicks. Pressler had 20 saves, including two in the penalty-kick phase.
The Spartans lost 7-0 to Lemont in the Windy City Ram Classic on March 14. Pressler had 14 saves.
Illiana Christian
Boys volleyball
The Vikings posted straight-sets wins over Bishop Noll (25-6, 25-14, 25-15) last Tuesday, South Central (25-10, 25-9, 25-10) on March 17 and Crown Point (25-11, 25-16, 25-17) on March 16.
South Suburban College
Baseball
The Bulldogs were 11-9 after falling 13-9 to then-NJCAA No. 18 Blinn (Texas) on March 15. Dawson Tanner went 1-for-4 with a homer, two runs and two RBIs for SSC, Gavin Terry drove in three runs and Bradley White went 2-for-5 with two runs.
South Suburban split two games on March 14, beating Wharton (Texas) 10-8 and falling 6-4 to Coastal Bend (Texas). Tanner and Evan Pearce each drove in two runs against Wharton, while Pearce and Seungjun Song both had two hits. SSC had just one hit — a single by Scott Hansen — against Coastal Bend, but took advantage of 12 walks.
The Bulldogs lost 9-3 to San Jacinto (Texas) on March 13. Hansen, Nicholas Johnstone, and Tanner all had two hits.
Related
- Former TFS baseball coach Ken Reynolds wins Distinguished Service Award (March 25, 2023)
- SSC Basketball Coach John Pigatti inducted into Hall of Fame (March 23, 2023)
- Marian Catholic’s Mike Taylor ends 20-year career as basketball coach – local scores (March 15, 2023)