After struggling through the regular season, the Fenwick High School baseball team hit the reset button for the IHSA Class 3A state tournament. The Friars started off in impressive fashion with an 11-1 victory (run-rule) over Lake View in their own regional final, May 30.
“Heading into the playoffs, the mindset wasn’t about looking ahead or feeling entitled to a regional championship; it was about focus and consistently competing for 7 innings,” Fenwick coach Kyle Kmiecik said. “These guys stayed locked in and played well to secure the regional title.”
Michael McMahon went 3-for-3 with a solo home run. Elliott Bastedo was 2-for-3 with a triple and four RBI, and AJ McConnell and Jeremy Munoz each had two hits.
On the mound, Harrison Dragus allowed one unearned run and three hits in five innings. He struck out eight and did not walk any batters.
Fenwick (13-20) is hosting a sectional this week. The Friars, the sectional’s top seed, face Amundsen in a semifinal at the Priory in River Forest, June 3, at 2 p.m., with Ridgewood and Latin meeting in the other semifinal at 4:30. The winners play for the sectional title on June 6 at 11 a.m.
“The competition only gets tougher from here,” Kmiecik said. “We are excited for the opportunity to compete in the sectional.”
OPRF baseball
OPRF, the #5 seed in the 4A Brother Rice Sectional, came into the OPRF regional title game versus #4 Mount Carmel Saturday with confidence buoyed by an eight-game winning streak. But the Huskies managed just four hits in a season-ending 6-0 loss.
“I thought we had really good approaches at the plate and played very solid defense,” said OPRF coach Kevin Campbell. “(But) Connor Elenteny (MC starting pitcher) threw well. When you’re in this sectional, you’re never going to see a pitcher that’s not a top arm.”
Designated the visiting team due to seeding, OPRF (28-9) began the game promisingly on a leadoff double by Zach Goldberg (2-for-3), followed by an infield single by Ian Moore. But Johnny Nelson and Brandon Beasley each lined out, then Robert Kolovitz flied out, ending the Huskies’ threat.
The Caravan made OPRF pay dearly in the bottom half as Logan Fernandez’s RBI double off Huskies’ starter Grayson Waters provided a 1-0 lead. MC made it 2-0 in the second on T.J. McQuillan’s RBI single.
OPRF got two runners aboard with two outs in both the third and fifth innings, but the Huskies couldn’t come up with a clutch hit. Waters pitched valiantly but ran out of gas in the sixth, when MC scored four times off him and reliever Tucker Henry to seal the victory.
While disappointed by the loss, Campbell thought OPRF had a good season, and he thanked his seniors for their leadership.
“The goal every year is 27-plus wins, and we got past that,” Campbell said. “The seniors, they left this program in better shape than they found it. They raised the bar, and these (returning) guys are going to better because of them next year.”
OPRF boys volleyball
Senior Gus Leman wore uniform No. 52 for the first time Saturday in the Oak Park and River Forest High School boys volleyball team’s Argo Sectional semifinal against York. However, the biggest change for the third-year varsity libero has been his improved serving.
“At the beginning of the season, I was only like 50 percent on my serves,” Leman said. “I’ve been working with (OPRF coach Justin Cousin) a whole bunch about keeping my arm really high and wide and it showed off really well here.”
Leman’s six-point service streak with back-to-back aces in the first set gave the Huskies momentum toward defeating the Dukes 25-14, 25-20.
The state’s No. 1-ranked team, OPRF (30-5-1) played No. 3-sectional seed Brother Rice (28-11) in their ninth straight sectional final, Tuesday (after deadline), with the winner advancing to the state quarterfinals on Friday, June 5, at Bolingbrook High School. The Huskies have lost their last two sectional finals since finishing third in state in 2023.
Standout junior outside hitter Trayce Chrusfield III, who had 14 kills in 22 attacks, missed the Huskies’ 26-24, 25-14 May 12 victory over No. 5-seed York (21-13).
“It just made a huge difference to have a player like him there (Saturday). Whenever we need a point, we can just throw it up to him and he can execute,” Cousin said. “I’ve told them we have 15 guys. We have three lineups that could hang with pretty much anybody in the state.”
OPRF used 11 players both sets. Seniors Matthew Proskey (22 assists, 3 kills), Wesley Kochendorfer (4 kills), Henry Ohlhoff (4 kills), Leman (8 digs, 13 service receptions, 2 aces), Rohan Champaneri (6 digs), Will Enlow (3 blocks) and Alex Lema (3 digs, ace) and junior Andrew Wieland (4 kills) also contributed.
Leman’s serving opened a 22-12 lead. The Huskies scored the final four points behind three Chrusfield kills.
“(York) really wanted it. We knew that coming in,” Proskey said. “We knew the second set would be different. We just knew we had to do our thing and we did.”