South Off to a Great Start, CLC Drops Only Game

There is one major reason why Major League Baseball plays its spring training in Florida and Arizona.

Yes, the weather. Here's how opened their baseball season: Opening game with Belvidere was cancelled. Three days later on March 25, the contest with Marian Central was lost. And the following Saturday's contest with Mundelein was also lost to the weather.

So where did the Gators of find a patch of sun? The Gators not only managed three games but also chalked up three wins to boot.

On March 17, South found a team that earned some notice in the preseason rankings. Catcher Dom Winiecki and first baseman Nick Martin slammed their first homers of the spring in an 8-4 win over Rockford Boylan. That club was ranked 35th in the state to start the campaign.

Ryan Price laced a pair of doubles in the win. Chris Morrison opened with two hits. Brandon Seiser joined in the hit parade with two hits. He also was credited with the win on the mound.

One day later, South toppled Marengo 6-3. Robbie Lemke had a good start on the mound. He went five innings and allowed just four hits. He also struck out five. Zack Geib finished up and earned a save for his two innings of work. He fanned three.

Winiecki continued his hitting streak with two hits and three RBIs. Morrison cracked a homer and reached base all three times.

The third win in a row came on March 19.  Martin was the winning pitcher. He tossed a two-hitter in six innings of work against Richmond-Burton. Martin also added an RBI double in the 5-1 win. Winiecki checked in with a two-run double.

A tough NSC foe, Stevenson, visits on Thursday for a morning game (10 a.m.).

At : The Wolves might want to forget their nonconference game with Evanston on March 19. Too many errors went up on the board in the 10-2 loss.

There was some good news off the bat of sophomore Jordan Getzelman. He rapped three hits, including a double.

Whitney Young is the guest on Tuesday (4:15 p.m.). Marengo is the scheduled guest on Wednesday.

At CLC: These Tigers did manage one game last week. On March 21, Burlington Central edged CLC 5-3.

CLC hopes to get in Tuesday's game at Wauconda (10 a.m).