LANSING, Ill. (April 16, 2024) – Last season, TF South baseball coach Matt Tiffy brought up Benny Gutierrez to the varsity when the Red Wolves were low on pitching.
“He made a little bit of a splash,” Tiffy said.
But that was nothing compared to what played out on April 11, when the sophomore threw a 99-pitch no-hitter to beat Eisenhower 7-0.
“He just kept attacking them,” Tiffy said of Gutierrez, who walked two and struck out 12. “He’s young, he’s come a long way. He’s probably been one of our most improved pitchers for sure.”
Having another good arm helps as the Red Wolves (8-6, 4-1 South Suburban Blue) navigate a schedule that had them playing seven games in nine days through Tuesday.
Throw in some injuries, including to top-line starter Jayden Spann (bicep tendinitis), and it makes for a challenging stretch. But South is saving innings where it can, including in several mercy-rule wins against Hillcrest (twice) and Thornwood.
Meanwhile, Gutierrez keeps working to improve.
“What’s impressed us is he’s a guy who goes out and does his long toss, does his band work (to gain strength),” Tiffy said. “If he continues to work and gets in the weight room, he could be a guy who could bring it a little bit the next couple of years.”
It was actually a two no-hitter week for South as Josh Moss and Rodrigo Arceo combined to hold Hillcrest hitless in a 22-2 win on April 9. Jack Starcevich was 2-for-4 with a run and five RBI, while Tyler Earmsmuth went 2-for-2 with two walks, four runs and two RBI.
South also beat Hillcrest 16-1 in four innings on April 8 as Earmsmuth finished 2-for-2 with two doubles, three runs and two RBI. Jake Stachelski was 1-for-3 with three runs and two RBI.
South fell 8-2 to Sandburg on April 10 as Anthony Gianoli was 2-for-2 with a walk.
Gianoli pitched a six-inning one-hitter with 10 strikeouts and two walks to beat Thornwood 11-1 on Saturday.
Earmsmuth was 2-for-2 with two walks, three runs and two RBI, while Moises Mata finished 3-for-4 with a homer two runs and three RBI.
The Red Wolves walked off Tinley Park 6-5 on Monday as Chris Rodriguez delivered a bases-loaded single with none out in the bottom of the seventh, scoring Earmsmuth.
Rodriguez finished 2-for-3 with a walk and three RBI, while Starcevich went 1-for-1 with three walks and two runs.
Outdoor track
Karrel Harvest is now TF South’s record holder in both throwing events after breaking both marks last week.
The senior went 58-8.75 in the shot put to take first in Yorkville’s Matt Wulf Invitational on April 12. That mark ranked him No. 3 in Illinois and No. 46 nationally according to the Athletlc.net database.
He also won the discus in 173-10, breaking his own record of 171-3 set on April 9 at Oak Lawn. The 173-10 is fourth in the state and 75th nationally.
Also at Yorkville, teammate David Nkwogu won the triple jump at 42-4.75, was runner-up in the long jump (19-10.75) and finished sixth in the 110-meter hurdles (16.44).
Other top boys finishers for South at Yorkville were the 1,600 relay team of Terrell Hall, John Carson, Ope Adeniyan, and Joaquin Terrazas (sixth, 3:42.70) and Kevin Rincon (fifth, discus, 125-10).
On the girls side at Yorkville, South’s Janiya Lucas won the 100 (12.46) and 200 (26.09) and joined Taylor Poole, Jordyn Clark, and Nyrobi Moore on the winning 400 relay team (50.25).
Other top placers for the Red Wolves girls were Clark (second, long jump, 15-7; fifth, 100, 13.21), ShyBria Barkley (third, long jump, 15-6.75), Anise Patrick (fourth, 300 hurdles, 54.18), Trinity Ali (fourth, discus, 88-11), Moore (fifth, 400, 1:05.09), Valeria Harmon (fifth, shot put, 30-7.5), Jamya White (sixth, 400. 1:05.23), Olivia Jarrett (sixth, 100 hurdles, 18.11), and Morgan Waites (sixth, triple jump, 29-7.25).
The South girls finished third among eight teams with 90 points and boys were eighth with 54.
South’s girls also won a triangular on April 9, scoring 71.5 to 49.5 for Oak Lawn and 25 for Oak Forest.
Honors
TF South has announced its third Athletic Hall of Fame class, which will be inducted on October 25.
The newest honorees are wrestler Jason Besse (class of 2002), football player Patrick Damron (1995), football player and wrestler Erik Hanson (2005), girls volleyball and softball player Ashtyn Kapovich (2014), girls golfer Maggie Sloan (2016), and the 1974 football team.
Badminton
The Red Wolves won Saturday’s Elk Grove Invitational with 40.5 points.
In singles, Glory Ike finished third at No. 1, Samantha Vazquez won the No. 2 title and Nathalia Castellanos took third at No. 3.
Emily Dominiak and Annika Biegel won the No. 1 doubles championship, while Azuri Akbar and Deisy Salto took first at No. 2. Hannah Fowler and Gianna Murabito finished second at No. 3.
South shut out Shepard 15-0 on April 11.
Winning in singles were Ike (No. 1), Vazquez (No. 2), Biegel (No. 3), Jessica Campuzano (No. 4), Akbar (No. 5), Salto (No. 6), Castellanos (No. 7), Rereloluwa Sonoiki (No. 8), Fowler (No. 9), and Murabito (No. 10).
Taking doubles victories were Biegel and Fowler at No. 1, Vazquez and Ike at No. 2, Salto and Akbar at No. 3, Murabito and Campuzano at No. 4, and Sonoiki and Kaylyn Imala at No. 5.
South beat District 215 rival TF North 15-0 on April 9.
Ike, Vazquez, and Biegel won at first through third singles, while Biegel and Dominiak won at first doubles. The Red Wolves won the other matches by forfeit.
Softball
The Red Wolves rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat Eisenhower 17-5 on April 11.
Jaila Martinez got the win in relief for South (4-6, 3-2 South Suburban Blue). Sam Popp, Bianca Jones, Camilla Rosas, and Yulissa Macudzinski paced the offense.
South edged Bremen 10-9 on April 10 as Rebekah Whitfield (2-for-2, 4 RBI) and Morgan Kleidon (2-for-2, four RBI) each homered. Izzy Sphere and Martinez combined to strike out seven, with Martinez earning the win in relief.
The Red Wolves rolled by Hillcrest 19-1 on April 8. Sphere pitched one-hit ball over three innings, while Kleidon had a double and a triple. Nyjah Robertson added two RBI.
TF North
Softball
Stephanie Monteil went 4-for-6 with a double and three RBI as the Meteors beat Thornwood 18-12 on Monday.
Jimena Jimenez was 3-for-6 with a double, a triple and three RBI for North (3-7).
The Meteors fell 24-0 to Oak Lawn on April 11. Jimenez finished 2-for-2 with a double.
North beat Horizon-McKinley Park 12-11 on April 9 as Alayna Cain-Brown was 3-for-5 and Monteil finished 2-for-4 with three RBI.
North lost 16-0 and 9-0 to Tinley Park on April 8. Cain-Brown was 2-for-2 in the opener and Janiah Alphonse went 1-for-1 in the nightcap.
TF United
Boys tennis
United dropped just one set en route to a 5-0 win against Crete-Monee on Monday.
Earning singles victories were Angel Urquizo at No. 1 and Ife Fashoranti at No. 2. Doubles winners were Gabe Morales and Avery Flores at No. 1, Erick Acosta and Leandro Morales at No. 2, and Alex Moreno and Aidan Kleidon at No. 3.
United fell 5-0 to Argo on April 11.
Boys volleyball
United split four matches at Saturday’s Eisenhower Invitational to move to 5-15 on the season.
United lost 25-19, 25-14 to St. Laurence, beat Rich 25-19, 25-11, defeated Eisenhower 25-21, 25-19, and fell 25-22, 25-19 to Lemont.
United fell 28-26, 23-25, 25-15 to Oak Forest on April 11.
Yahir Silva had four kills and four blocks, Anthony Lara added five digs and Traymaine Haynes contributed two kills and four blocks as United fell 25-23, 25-22 to Argo on April 9.
United lost 25-18, 25-18 to Andrew on April 8.
Girls soccer
Senior goalkeeper Angie Mendez had 10 saves, but United fell 5-0 to Argo on April 11.
United fell 6-0 to Eisenhower on April 8 despite a strong defensive effort from Yanetzi Alba.
Mendez had eight saves in a 3-0 loss to Oak Lawn on April 5.
Illiana Christian
Baseball
The two-time defending IHSAA Class 2A state champs opened their season with four straight easy wins: 24-2 vs. Wheeler on April 8, 24-1 vs. Calumet on April 9, 13-3 vs. Andrean on Saturday, and 14-0 vs. Lake Station on Monday,
Isaac VanderWoude was 3-for-3 with a homer, walk, four runs and two RBI vs. Wheeler. Winning pitcher Gavin Meyer struck out 10 and allowed two hits over four innings while going 2-for-3 with a homer, two walks, two runs, and five RBI. Tyler Balkema finished 3-for-4 with a walk, three runs, and three RBI.
Having big games against Calumet were VanderWoude (2-for-2, walk, 2 runs, 3 RBI), Balkema (2-for-2, walk, 4 runs, 3 RBI), and Jake Scott (2-for-3, 2 runs, 3 RBI).
Against Andrean, VanderWoude was 2-for-2 with two walks, two runs, and three RBI. Meyer pitched a five-inning three-hitter, allowing one earned run and six walks while striking out nine.
VanderWoude went 2-for-3 with three runs and rwo RBI vs. Lake Station. Scott and Armaan Sen combined on a one-hitter.
Softball
Mikayla Derks and Cayden Petersen combined to throw a two-hitter in a 19-0 win over Lake Station on Monday.
Adeline Mulder was 4-for-4 and Avery Martin went 3-for-3 for the Vikings (6-0, 3-0 Greater South Shore).
Illiana swept Chesterton 8-1 and 11-8 in eight innings on Saturday as Lydia VanderWoude went 6-for-9 on the day with a double and two steals.
Alyssa Mulder was 3-for-3 in the opener with a double and two RBI. In the nightcap, Martin was 3-for-4 with an RBI and Petersen had the go-ahead hit in the top of the eighth, finishing 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI. Rebecca Bultema was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Illiana blanked Boone Grove 2-0 on April 10 as Derks pitched a four-hitter with seven strikeouts. Alyssa Mulder doubled and drove in the game’s only two runs, Maya Wondaal and VanderWoude each finished 2-for-3.
The Vikings rolled by Calumet 19-0 on April 9 as Petersen and Addison Pluymert teamed to throw a five-inning one-hitter. Petersen was 2-for-2 with four RBI, Martin finished 2-for-2 with two doubles and four RBI, Lucy Sjoquist was 2-for-2 and Libby Kreykes homered.
Illiana rallied from three runs down after six innings to win its opener, 8-4 over Wheeler on April 8.
Derks went the distance for the win, striking out 14 and allowing five hits. She also was 2-for-4 with a double, homer and three RBI.
Kreykes went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, while VanderWoude finished 2-for-3 with a double, a stolen base, and an RBI.
Girls tennis
The Vikings opened their season with a 5-0 win against Hanover Central on April 9, sweeping all matches in straight sets.
Singles winners were Gianna Vukas at No. 1, Avery Olthof at No. 2 and Sienna Eenigenberg at No. 3. Picking up doubles victories were Morgan Smith and Sophie Plank at No. 1 along with Aubrey Van Beek and Anya Liindenmulder at No. 2.
Marian Catholic
Boys volleyball
The Spartans won their own tournament, going 5-0 on April 5-6.
Marian (12-2) beat Lake Central 25-18, 25-23 and Homewood-Flossmoor 25-17, 25-17 on April 6.
Bolu Osibogun had eight kills and seven digs against Lake Central, Phoenix McGruder finished with nine kills and four digs, Ricky Gallegos had 13 kills and two aces, and James Bullock Jr. added four kills and six blocks.
Leading the way against H-F were Justin McGary (25 assists, 4 blocks, 2 aces, 6 digs), Osibogun (6 digs, 2 aces), McGruder (9 kills, 4 digs), and Bullock (4 kills, 8 blocks, 5 digs).
On April 5, Marian beat Oak Forest 25-17, 25-19, defeated Montini 20-25, 25-8, 15-0, and downed Morton 25-19, 25-14.
Against Oak Forest, McGruder had seven kills and three blocks, McGary contributed 13 assists, eight digs, and two aces, and Bullock had four kills and two blocks.
McGruder led the way against Montini with 10 kills and seven digs, McGary had 20 assists and six kills, Bullock added seven blocks and four kills, and Josh Noubaden chipped in with five kills.
Against Morton, the leaders were McGary (20 assists, 2 aces), McGruder (9 kills, 7 digs), Patrick Sullivan (7 digs) and Prince Trimble (5 kills).
Honors
Longtime Spartans boys and girls tennis coach Scott Bodnar was inducted into the East Suburban Catholic Conference Hall of Fame on April 11.
Bodnar began coaching at Marian in 1989 and has been a head varsity coach since 2002. His boys teams have won four IHSA sectionals and the 2012 squad finished eighth in the state. Between the boys and girls teams, Bodnar has almost 400 dual wins and nearly 60 state qualifiers.
Softball
The Spartans blanked Chicago Christian 17-0 on April 9 as Gracie Jensen drove in six runs and scored three. Jackie Pollock pitched a four-inning one-hitter with 10 strikeouts and Jasmine Venson was 4-for-4, doubled and scored three runs.
South Suburban College
Men’s basketball
For the fourth time in five seasons, the NJCAA Division Player of the Year is from South Suburban.
Sophomore guard Jemel Jones is the latest Bulldog to earn the honor after averaging 33.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 3.3 steals per game. He scored 1,245 points as South Suburban went 34-3 and finished second in the nation.
Related
- Bulldogs basketball runners up at national tournament following Jones injury – other local scores (April 6, 2024)
- Athlete spotlights of the week: Marian Catholic’s Phoenix McGruder, TF South’s Janiya Lucas (April 15, 2024)
