Prep Teams Head into Crunch Time

The spring sports season is beginning to wind down for Lisle High School and Benet Academy’s teams. However, there will be plenty of postseason action involving teams from both schools this week—and especially this weekend.

Class 4A baseball and softball regionals get under way, with the Redwings’ baseball and softball squads each hosting their own regionals.

Meanwhile, Lisle’s softball team continues its postseason on Wednesday when it hosts Woodlands Academy of Lake Forest in the opening game of its own Class 2A sectional. The contest begins at 4:30 p.m. at Benedictine University.

The Redwings’ girls track team had a number of individuals competing at last weekend’s Class 3A state meet in Charleston. The boys meet will be held this weekend, and both Lisle and Benet will be represented.

The boys state tennis tournament also takes place Thursday through Saturday at Hersey High School in Arlington Heights.

Here’s an update, highlighting each sport:

Baseball

Benet ended its regular season last Saturday with an 11-1 loss to St. Laurence, but bounced back Monday by crushing Joliet Central 15-4 in the regional opener. The Redwings, seeded ninth in the Neuqua Valley Sectional complex, take on No. 7-seed Hinsdale South on Thursday with the winner advancing to Saturday’s regional championship game.

The Redwings (15-18-2) marched out to a 15-2 advantage after three innings vs. Joliet Central and won the game in five innings due to the 10-run slaughter rule. Leadoff hitter R.J. Gatto set the pace with a grand slam home run and five RBIs. Chris Stout doubled and had three RBIs. Sam Santa Maria, Matt Dorsett and Andrew Mogni each had multi-hit games for the Redwings. Dorsett, Santa Maria and Zac Lewinski drove in two runs apiece.

Softball

The Lions (25-4) moved on to the Class 2A sectional after shutting out Immaculate Conception 3-0 on Saturday to win the Westmont regional (for a story on the game, click ).

Benet, one of the area’s top softball teams, holds the fifth seed in the Oswego Sectional complex. The Redwings face Metea Valley in a regional semifinal game at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The winner squares off against the winner of Tuesday’s Plainfield Central vs. Plainfield North game for the regional title at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Benet (23-9) saw a streak in which it won seven straight and 11 of its last 12 snapped last Saturday as Mother McAuley recorded a 5-3 victory. However, the Redwings possess a potent lineup as University of Massachusetts recruit , Julianne Rurka and Allyson Staats have each hit four homers, while Maeve McGuire leads the club with five.

Rurka (.466), McGuire (.433) and Staats (.407) are each hitting above .400. Rurka leads the team in RBIs with 35.

Staats also goes into the postseason as Benet’s leading pitcher with all 23 of the team’s victories under her belt.

Boys tennis

The Redwings’ top doubles teams, consisting of senior Phil Denys and junior Matt Rurka, along with senior Mike Schutt and junior Bobby Martin, played each other for the championship of the Naperville North sectional held on Saturday.

Denys and Rurka defeated their teammates, 6-0, 7-6, 9-7, in the title match, but that turned out to be a formality since both teams automatically qualified for the state tourney after reaching the sectional final.

Exactly who both teams will face at state has not yet been determined. State pairings will be released sometime this week on the IHSA’s website.

No tennis players from Lisle qualified for the state tourney.

Boys track

Lisle hosted a Class 1A sectional last Friday and put up a strong showing before it was nipped by rival Westmont (87-85) for second place in the team standings.

Nonetheless, the Lions will send three individuals to the state meet who’ll be competing in six events.

Senior Anthony Ventrella won the triple jump crown with a jump of 41 feet, 8 ¼ inches. His second-place finish in the long jump (19-10 ½) also earned him a trip to state.

Ventrella’s classmate, Grant Fitzgerald, grabbed first in the pole vault (10-6) and second in the 400-meter run (:51.50) to go downstate.

Junior Terrance Allen was a double winner in the shot put and discus with respective tosses of 46-4 and 145-7. Allen will be making his first trip to the state meet.

Benet’s lone state qualifier is triple jumper EJ Howe, a senior who went 44-5 at sectionals. This will be Howe’s first state meet.

Girls track

Benet junior Anne Yahiro, a state medalist as a sophomore, captured all-state honors once again in the triple jump last weekend, taking fifth (37-6) in a talented field that featured last year’s champion, Tori Franklin, of Downers South. (Franklin was second in this year’s competition.)

The Redwings’ next best finisher at state was senior Kaileen Healy, who placed 11th overall in the 800 (2:16.41). Senior Anna Tessiatore took 14th in the pole vault, going 11 feet, and sophomore Audrey Blazek was 22nd in the 3,200 (11:31.84).

Darcy Cadman, a junior, qualified for state in the high jump but didn’t compete in Saturday’s finals.

No member of Lisle's girls track team qualified for the state meet.