Dan Walsh, the Neuqua Valley left-hander who relies more on savvy than speed, found the ideal formula Wednesday to beat No. 3 St. Charles East 6-1 on a five-hitter.
Walsh threw first-pitch strikes, usually fastballs, to 20 of the 26 batters he faced and then teased them with changeups and breaking balls.
More Top Picks Best Hand Blender Cuisinart 500w Immersion Blender Review
“I don’t throw very hard, and St. Charles has a lot of good hitters,” said Walsh, who improved his record to 6-0. “So I tried to keep them off-balance.”
Neuqua Valley played errorless ball as it improved to 13-5 overall and 10-4 in the Upstate Eight. St. Charles East dropped to 13-3, 9-2. Saints’ errors made five of Neuqua’s six runs off loser Adam Knobel unearned.
Mile Oberlin, Adam Tomczyk and Jake Blair stroked RBI hits for the Wildcats, who broke open a 1-0 game with five runs in the sixth.
Bill Jauss.
Schaumburg 3, Fremd 0: The Saxons (9-6, 2-1) downed No.1 Fremd (14-3, 3-1) in the Mid-Suburban West as John Hummel fired a two-hitter and Tom Bart swatted a solo home run.
Lockport 13, Bolingbrook 0: Chris Tierney had four RBIs for the No. 2 Porters (14-2).
St. Rita 5, St. Laurence 3: Mike Boyd went 3-for-4 with an RBI for the No. 5 Mustangs (14-1, 5-0) in the Catholic League.
Carmel 7, Notre Dame 1: Ryan Myers earned the win and had two RBIs for No. 7 Carmel.
Richards 10, Stagg 4: Phil Cheek belted two three-run homers as the Bulldogs (10-5) knocked off No. 10 Stagg (13-3).
Bishop McNamara 9, Providence 8: Luke Barrett’s bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the sixth brought in the game-winning run for the Irish (5-6, 3-2) in the Catholic League.
Softball
Oak Park 11, Hinsdale Central 0: Kathy Garrigan and Nicole Antoni each had two RBIs for the No. 1 Huskies (10-0, 1-0) in the West Suburban Silver.
Stagg 4, Richards 0: Kara Bucci went 2-for-3 with an RBI to help the third-ranked Chargers (12-1) top No. 4 Richards (7-3).
Lincoln-Way 12, Argo 0: Laura Severson had a one-hitter with 14 strikeoutsfor the No. 5 Knights (10-0).
Addison Trail 3, Willowbrook 1: Kristen Brestan fired a no-hitter with 18 strikeouts for the Blazers (9-4, 1-0) in the West Suburban Gold.
Barrington 7, Palatine 4: Mary Nicol had two RBIs for the Fillies (16-3, 3-1) in the Mid-Suburban West.
Glenbard North 2, Naperville Central 0: Lindsey Veselsky threw a no-hitter and struck out 18 for the Panthers (10-1, 1-0) in the DuPage Valley.
West Chicago 6, Wheaton Warrenville South 0: Megan Leston hurled a no-hitter with 13 strikeouts for the Wildcats (11-3) in the DuPage Valley.
Girls soccer
Sandburg 1, Lincoln-Way 0: Shannon McDonald had the decisive penalty kick as the No. 8 Eagles (7-0-3) tipped fourth-ranked Lincoln-Way (6-2-1).
Elk Grove 3, Hoffman Estates 1: Erin Walter scored two goals for the No. 5 Grenadiers (9-0-0).
Boys volleyball
More Top Picks Best Hand Blender Cuisinart Compact Blender Review
Sandburg d. Homewood-Flossmoor 15-3, 15-11: Greg Pochopien’s 10 kills led the No. 2 Eagles (12-0, 4-0) in the SICA West.