Grayslake Central, Lake Zurich, Grant and Antioch all jump in the rankings, and Deerfield’s Easton Newman is the player of the week.
TOP 10
With records through Wednesday and previous rankings in parentheses.
1. Libertyville 26-3 (1)
Air Force commit Joshua Holst throws a one-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts in the North Suburban Conference leader’s win against Lake Forest on Monday.
2. Grayslake Central 23-5 (4)
Ian McGowan goes 5-for-5 as the Rams clinch their fifth straight Northern Lake County Conference title with a win against Wauconda on Tuesday.
3. Mundelein 21-6-2 (2)
Baris Brua and Brody Paluch combine to shut out previously unbeaten Fremd on Saturday, and then the Mustangs yield just one hit during two shutout wins against Waukegan.
4. Highland Park 22-6-1 (3)
Trent Harradine’s two-run single helps the Giants edge Niles West on Monday to win the Central Suburban North title and raises his average to .485 in conference games.
5. Lake Zurich 18-9 (7)
Josh Marzec and Colin Chung pitch back-to-back complete games in NSC victories against Warren as the Bears win their fifth straight and 12 of their past 15.
6. Grant 14-12 (9)
Ryne Dzierzynski improves to 5-0 in the Bulldogs’ NLCC win against Lakes on Tuesday as he strikes out nine over six scoreless innings.
7. Antioch 17-11-1 (10)
Jaxon Gembara, Caiden Mentkowski and Evan Gissel step up as injuries force the Sequoits to dig into their depth.
8. Warren 16-12 (6)
Braylan McCarthy pitches six strong innings in the Blue Devils’ loss to Lake Zurich on Monday, allowing one earned run and striking out eight.
9. Wauconda 17-12 (8)
Ryan Fostiak and the Bulldogs had won 10 of 11 before running into hot-hitting NLCC rival Grayslake Central this week.
10. Lakes 17-10 (5)
Owen Klosinski gets two hits in each of the Eagles’ two NLCC losses to Grant to improve his average to .493.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Deerfield junior infielder Easton Newman goes 10-for-20 with four doubles, eight runs scored and seven stolen bases during a five-game stretch.
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.
