With a stiff wind blowing our to right field, the game plan was simple for Joliet Catholic coach Jared Voss, keep the ball down in the zone on defense and swing away on offense. The Hillmen (8-3) did much of that during a seesaw battle with visiting Minooka (8-6) Monday night and slipped away with an 8-7 win but it wasn't without drama.

Heading into the top of the seventh inning, Joliet closer Matt Testa gave up a double and a walk to the first two batters he faced putting the go ahead run at first base.

"It took a few pitches to settle in and I knew I had to keep the ball down," Testa said after the game. "I left one out over the plate and it got drilled to the fence for a double so I think the second batter I saw I was trying too hard to keep the ball in the dirt and walked him."

With two on and no outs, Testa settled in and struck out the next three batters he faced preserving the 8-7 win and earning the save. Minooka batters were feast or famine on the day striking out 9 times in the game but saw six extra base hits keeping the pressure on the Hillmen who broke the game open in the 5th inning after drawing four walks to score a run and a couple of timely hits that pushed 4 runners across the plate giving Joliet the lead for good.

Lewis was swept in a Great Lakes Valley Conference baseball doubleheader by Indianapolis 6-1 and 12-7 at Greyhound Park on Saturday (April 7) afternoon.

Lewis tallied just one run in the opener. Indianapolis scored in five of the six innings they batted. Six of Indianapolis’ eight hits went for extra bases.

Lewis’ lone run in game one came on an RBI sacrifice fly by senior Mike Bolling (Chicago, Ill./Guerin Prep/Triton) in the fifth. It scored sophomore Kyle Kapka (Mount Prospect, Ill./Prospect).

Junior Matt Frahm (Olympia, Ill./Olympia) started and took the loss for the Flyers. Frahm went five innings and allowed four runs. He struck out six batters. Frahm is now 4-2. JaVaun West (3-0) allowed one run in five innings to pick up the win for the Greyhounds.

“Matt wasn’t as sharp as he’s been but we felt like we could have scored a few more runs,” Lewis head coach Tim McDonough said. “I think Indy came out with more urgency in game one.”

Adam Panayotovich (Mount Carmel H.S./Palos Park, IL) was not as sharp as in his previous two outings when he blanked Saint Xavier University and Judson University, but the freshman hurler still got through five innings to win for the fourth straight time. Panayotovich (5-3) had his scoreless streak broken in the first inning and gave up another two runs in the fourth.

Senior lefthander Steve Kazak (Joliet Catholic Academy/Joliet, IL) completed the game with two more scoreless innings giving him six scoreless innings for the week.

In the nightcap, Gregurich drove in the game's first run with a groundout in the opening inning and then put the game out of reach with a bases-clearing triple in the sixth inning to make it 7-0. Since returning from the south, Gregurich has hit safely in each of his 19 games played and boasts a team-high 40 RBI on the year with his six on Saturday.

Freshman designated hitter Michael Chimera (St. Laurence H.S./Oak Forest, IL) also drove in a run in Game 2 with one of his two doubles.

When Spartan senior pitching ace Melissa Guzior took to the mound against Thornwood (1-2) Monday afternoon for Romeoville's season and home opener, she was confident that her off season work would pay dividends. That it did.

Guzior threw a one-hit shut out and earned the seasons first win, 10-0 in a run ruled shortened six inning game in front of the home fans. "I worked hard in the off season on hitting the corners and placing my fastball," said Guzior. "I felt my fast ball found those corners today and I got the calls. Once I got ahead on batters I was able to mix it up some and keep the batters off balance with my change up."

The senior ace was able to relax and throw strikes with the Romeoville bats swinging more like a team heading into June rather than April. Romeoville got production up and down the batting order with Spartans tagging extra base hits and scoring runs in bunches getting runs in all but two innings and scoring four in the bottom of the sixth inning to earn a ten run rule finish.

The baseball season is in full swing and despite foul weather last week, Plainfield North (3-0) got in a Saturday afternoon double header against home team Bolingbrook (1-2) who may have wished the series was washed out after the Tigers swept the Raiders in two games 7-3 and 9-4.

In the first game, Plainfield North jumped out in the first inning with three runs on four hits and a an error on Bolingbrook but the Raiders answered with two runs in the bottom of the first and kept pace until the middle innings when the Tigers got two more runs in the fourth and another in the 5th to establish a comfortable 6-2 lead. North finished the front end of the double header with a 7-3 win.

In game two of the double header, the Tiger bats continued to push runs across the plate putting the ball in play and earning a relatively easy 9-4 victory which pushed their season record to an undefeated mark 3-0 early.

The Raiders, who enjoyed one of their best seasons in recent memory with 14 wins last year, dropped to 1-2 on the year after winning their season opener against Naperville North.

All 96 regular season games to again air on AM 1340 WJOL and wjol.com…

(Joliet, IL) – The Joliet Slammers announced Wednesday that Aaron Morse will serve as their radio play-by-play announcer in 2012.

Morse was the team’s Media Relations Coordinator in 2011 and contributed to all the radio broadcasts as well. His new title is Manager of Broadcasting and Media Relations.

“I’m excited for this opportunity,” Morse said. “I will bring a high level of energy and accuracy to every broadcast. Baseball is what I eat, sleep and breathe. My knowledge of the game both past and present should go a long way towards making every broadcast, no matter the score, entertaining. This is going to be a fun season at Silver Cross Field and on the road in the Frontier League.”

"Aaron is a very talented young man as evidenced by his selection as a Northwestern University Senior to Watch after his graduation,” Slammers President Bill Waliewski said. “I think our fans will enjoy his passion and enthusiasm for the game of baseball.”

University of St. Francis head baseball coach Brian Michalak has announced the signing of Chris Blatti (Joliet Catholic Academy/Joliet, IL) to a letter of intent to attend the Joliet-based school and play for the Fighting Saints.

Blatti went 2-3 with a 4.04 earned run average on the mound as a junior for Joliet Catholic Academy last spring. He struck out 30 batters, while walking 18 in 43 innings of work.

"Chris is a strike thrower and was a consistent performer at JCA last year," said Michalak. "He could compete for a spot in the rotation or in relief his freshman year if he continues to throw strikes."

A member of the National Honor Society, Blatti plans on majoring in pre-physical therapy.

St. Francis advanced to the semifinal round of the NAIA National Championship Opening Round for the second year in a row last spring after capturing the 2011 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament and placing second during the league's regular season. The Saints went 41-14 on the year.

Lemont High School senior infielder/outfielder Alyssa Stube has committed to playing college softball at Cardinal Stritch University beginning in 2013. Stube is the second Lemont softball player this year to announce her college plans; outfielder Alexis Valone signed a National Letter-of-Intent with Bowling Green State University in the fall.

Stube has played at least parts of two seasons on head coach Chris Traina’s varsity squad, and is expected to play a major role in the team’s success this spring. The Indians have posted a 50-19 record and won consecutive IHSA Regional titles over the last two years. Stube is a career .286 hitter who has scored 20 runs, driven in 17 runs, and posted
an on-base percentage of .402 over two seasons.

Stube received her first extensive varsity playing time as a junior in 2011, hitting .258 with 14 runs batted in and 11 runs scored. She collected four doubles, walked more than she struck out (10 BB’s, 7 K’s), and was perfect on three stolen base attempts. Lemont went 26-8 and repeated as an IHSA Regional champion.

Geoff Brown may be a rookie but he already has a couple of championships under his belt. The Slammers announced Monday they’d signed him to a contract for the 2012 season.

The left-handed pitcher first made a splash as a junior at Jackson High School in Washington State. The 2006 Jackson team went 27-0, won the state 4A (the highest level in Washington HS baseball) title and finished as the No. 2-ranked team in Baseball America's final top-25 poll. Brown went 10-0 that season, posting a 0.98 earned run average with 78 strikeouts in 69 innings. In the state championship game at Safeco Field, Brown not only picked up the victory, he also hit a two-run home run. He was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 23rd round of the 2007 draft but opted to attend the University of Washington instead.

After four years at Washington, Brown signed with the Perth Heat of the Australian Baseball League. He was a big factor in the Heat’s 2012 division championship as Brown recorded a 5-0 record with a 1.88 ERA in eight appearances, six starts. Brown and the Heat will be competing in the 2012 Australian Baseball League Championship Series starting this week.