Tuesday, August 7, 2007 11:02 PM CDT
St. Charles arrives on hot streak
By RICK DAWSON Staff Writer
rdawson@jg-tc.com
St. Charles Post 342 (22-16) may have an unassuming record. It was once much worse. That hasn’t been a deterrent for a team that only recently began fielding the same lineup consistently. In defeating Libertyville 12-8 for the division championship, St. Charles won its ninth game in a row.
With its second state tournament appearance in three years, a program that has been in existence for only a decade is slowly becoming one of the most competitive in Illinois. Victims along the way included Elgin, Plainfield, Joliet, Crystal Lake, Elmhurst, Lena and Libertyville twice. During the regular season, Post 342 toppled Danville and Arlington Heights, two others that remain alive.
“We’ve got a real young team,” said Dale Wilderspin, who’s coached for nine years. “We’ve only got one kid that’s 19. And the pitching has been pretty good as of late.
“We’ve played in a lot of great tournaments against great competition and we’ve lost a lot of one-run games that we were losing early in the season. Now we’ve started to turn those around in the last 12 to 13 games.”
Tri-State University’s Adam Shiltz (5-2, 1.55 earned run average), the team’s ace, was on the mound in the clincher against Libertyville. Ryan DeLaTorriente (4-2, 3.11 ERA, three saves), a senior at St. Charles North High School, is expected to start today vs. Belleville. Three other key hurlers are Zack Deutscher (3-1, 2.40 ERA, 43 strikeouts in 42 innings), Vince Frede, perhaps the hardest thrower, and Chris Burgess.
Deutscher, headed to North Park University via Batavia High school, also bats .324 with five home runs and 35 RBIs. The top hitter is another Batavia product, Alex Beckmann (.424), who has played sparingly while splitting time with a prep summer league team in Chicago. Center fielder Jordan Ask (.362), the Division MVP, shortstop Vince Frede (.286), headed to Augustana, and second baseman Tony DeMartino (.283), committed to Miami of Ohio, are other notables.
“We don’t hit a ton,” Wilderspin said. “We hit enough to get by.”
Most team members are from St. Charles East or St. Charles North High School, with one from Aurora Marmion Academy.
Contact Rick Dawson at rdawson@jg-tc.com or 238-6855.
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