Trowbridge Keeps Top-Rated Providence on Track

Matt Trowbridge's pitching powered the Celtics in 3-0 regional champonship victory over Benet. L-W North and L-W East gird for sectional showdown.

1. Providence (33-3): Matt Trowbridge scattered three hits over 6.1 innings as the Celtics blanked Benet Academy 3-0. Next up for Providence is a date with Neuqua Valley at 4:30 p.m. Thursday in the Class 4A sectional semifinals at Neuqua. Last week: No. 1. 2. Lincoln-Way North (30-3): Holy district rivalry, bat men. The Phoenix won the Homewood-Flossmoor Regional title and set up a 4:30 p.m. clash on Thursday vs. Lincoln-Way East. Jake Harper pitched a four-hitter and struck out eight in North’s 3-2 victory over Brother Rice. Jack Irace went 3-for-3 and scored one run. Last week: No. 2. 3. Sandburg (24-8): The Eagles caught a break against Marist on a dropped flyball and caught a gem from Eric Chmielewski against T.F. South. He tossed a …

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L-W North Quick to Put it All Together

Pitching, hitting and fielding: The Phoenix can do it all. And that's the reason they've won 30 games, two straight regional titles.

In just its third year of varsity action, the Lincoln-Way North baseball team has made a name for itself. The Phoenix have won back-to-back regional titles. And they're working on a 30-win season. “It says a whole lot about a team when you can win in different ways,” Lincoln-Way North coach Joe Skarbek said after the Phoenix edged Brother 3-2 on Saturday to win the Homewood-Flossmoor Regional.  “We have won games by scoring 20 runs and by winning 2-0.” The Phoenix regional title win over Brother Rice was one of the close, low-scoring wins. They took advantage of three Crusader errors to score two unearned runs. And that proved to be the difference. “We made way too many mistakes and all of our mistakes cost us,” Crusader coach Dan …

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L-W North's Eaton Feasts on Pitching

Phoenix senior Alex Eaton mans hot corner with his glove and manhandles opponents with his bat.

The weather has been anything but accommodating to area high school baseball teams this spring. Thunderstorms once again disappointed Lincoln-Way West and Lincoln-Way North as the two teams met under the lights Thursday night in Frankfort. The storms didn’t arrive soon enough to stop Lincoln-Way North third baseman Alex Eaton from swinging his hot bat—at least for one plate appearance. Eaton clubbed a towering two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning to give the host Phoenix a 2-1 lead, but lightning soon illuminated the sky and the game was postponed. The round-tripper was nothing new for the Lincoln-Way North senior. He hit two earlier this week. The Phoenix have been an offensive juggernaut for much of the season in compiling …

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Local Sports Notebook

Boys Tennis: L-W East Streak at 3 Years and Counting

Griffins have been getting it done non-stop since 2008.

The Lincoln-Way East boys tennis team put its streak of 31 consecutive Southwest Suburban Conference dual meet victories on the line against Homewood-Flossmoor on Wednesday. It wasn’t easy, but the Griffins survived 4-3. The Griffins conference winning streak started on April 17, 2008. No. 2. doubles team Adam Corazzi and Jacob Stoiber rallied from a 5-3 deficit in the third set to keep the winning streak alive. Singles player Jeremy Dancu and the doubles teams of Steve Adamitus and Dan Cesario and Luke Greenfield and Mike Prokop also were winners for East. The Lincoln-Way North baseball team had no problem at all whatsoever with Andrew on Thursday, hammering the Thunderbolts, 15-2. Jack Irace went 4-for-4 to lead the offense while Jake …

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Lincoln-Way North Holds an Ace Up its Sleeve

Jake Harper returns to head the Phoenix pitching staff. If others blossom behind him, it'll be a "Wonderful World" of baseball in Frankfort this spring.

Coach: Joe Skarbek.           Last year’s record: 24-12, 9-5 Southwest Suburban, conference champions, Marist Regional champions. Quick hit: "Our season will be a successful if one of our pitchers can become a legit No. 2 to Jake Harper's No. 1," Lincoln-Way North coach Joe Skarbek said. "We have three guys with the talent that could do it. If all three get there, then we are going to have a lot of fun." Infield: Luke Waldier, senior, second baseman. Waldier will start for his third straight year up the middle. Jack Troike, junior, shortstop. Troike is talented and can play both shortstop and third base. Alex Eaton, senior, third baseman. Eaton will look to return to his all-conference form. Brandon Collins, senior, first baseman. …

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LW North Shows Pride in Loss to Unbeaten Danville

The Phoenix show no quit despite falling behind big in the second round of the state football playoffs.

Lincoln-Way North's players didn't hang their heads. They accomplished too much this season to dwell on disappointment. The Phoenix fell 40-21 to the unbeaten Danville Vikings in Saturday night's Class 6A second-round game in Frankfort, but they showed plenty of fight in the process. Danville (11-0) advances to the state quarterfinals to host Crete-Monee (8-3) next week, while Lincoln-Way North closed its season at 8-3.  "We don't want to walk away from this field with a negative attitude," Lincoln-Way North head coach George Czart said. "Other than the score, I think we should be pretty proud of our efforts." The top-seeded Vikings took control of the game early, storming to a 26-0 lead. L-Way North was able to score with just under two …

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Phoenix Look for Better Showing in Second Postseason Trip

Lincoln-Way North heads into Class 6A football playoffs with 7-2 record.

There were a lot of firsts for Lincoln-Way North's football program when it competed in its second varsity season a year ago. The Phoenix finished unbeaten in Southwest Suburban Conference Red Division play, assuring themselves of their first playoff appearance. While most programs would have been pleased to accomplish that, coach George Czart's squad hoped to perform well in the playoffs. A 37-0 opening-round loss to Lemont was not what they had in mind and that setback has helped motivate North for a second chance. North is indeed headed back to the playoffs, but a successful build up to that took an unexpected turn this past weekend. The Phoenix had a three-game winning streak snapped in a 34-14 loss to an Andrew squad that failed to …

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Lincoln-Way North Finds the Right Balance, but East Remains No. 1

Phoenix mix run, pass and remain on roll; Lincoln-Way East retains top slot in Patch's weekly high school football poll.

1.    Lincoln-Way East (6-1, 5-0): Tonight vs. Lincoln-Way Central. After regularly putting the ball in the air for three weeks in a row, the Griffins turned to their ground game in a 43-7 victory over Bolingbrook. Tyler Starke, Max Bayer and Kevin Bayer each rushed for two touchdowns. Starke finished with 80 yards on eight carries. Expect more of the same as the Griffins look to retain the Dave McKay Gridiron Grail, a trophy given to the winner of this district rivalry game. McKay played on the 1997 Lincoln-Way state championship team. He died in an auto accident in 2000. Last week: Lincoln-Way East No. 1. 2. Marist (5-2, 3-1): Tonight vs. Joliet Catholic Academy, Memorial Stadium, Joliet. Classic matchup of run vs. pass. JCA features a …

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L-Way North Makes Homecoming Extra Special

The Phoenix brought home a big football win over Bradley-Bourbonnais Friday night, keeping a share of the conference lead.

There's nothing better than bringing home a win — on homecoming night. Lincoln-Way North fans packed the stands for the Phoenix's homecoming game Friday night in Frankfort, and they were not disappointed. North used a solid running game and one huge passing play to topple Bradley-Bourbonnais 25-12 and maintain a share of first place in the Southwest Suburban Red Conference. The Phoenix improved to 6-1 overall and 4-1 in conference play. Bradley-Bourbonnais fell to 4-3 and 2-3. Senior quarterback Jack Irace (6-for-14, 125 yards passing) threw for a touchdown and ran for another. "I wouldn't say it was one of my best games, " Irace said. "But it was a good win over a good team like Bradley." Irace connected with wide receiver Nolan …

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Thornton Uses Late First-Half Run to Pull Away From Lincoln-Way North

Damien Bell runs all over the Phoenix in the Wildcats' 52-20 victory on Saturday afternoon.

HARVEY -- Up until the last few minutes of the first half, the two sides went at it in what was supposed to be an epic matchup of conference championship contenders. Then, Thornton running back Damien Bell led the Wildcats on a 19-0 surge in a 3:08 span. And the 'Cats used the surge as a springboard to a 52-20 victory over Lincoln-Way North on Saturday afternoon. The victory pushed Thornton to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the Southwest Suburban Conference Red division. Lincoln-Way North (4-1, 2-1) fell from the ranks of the unbeaten. Thornton got on the board first, riding the back of Bell on a first-quarter drive. Bell ran the ball on all eight plays of the drive and charged in the end zone on a 5-yard run with 3:29 to play to give the Wildcats…

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