Huntley baseball beat prairie ridge

HUNTLEY – The Huntley baseball team, ranked fifth in Class 4A by MaxPreps, notched additional accomplishments but also suffered the loss of a key player.

A quartet of red-clad HHS hurlers combined for a no-hitter in a 10-0 win over Lake Zurich April 16. Sophomore right-handed Malachi Paplanus got the start; senior left-handed Payton Barr was credited with the win and junior right-handed pitchers Parker Schuring and Derek Huber closed out the victory.

The four combined for 10 strikeouts and the defense made all the plays but the Bears had several on base.

“I didn’t know it was a no-hitter until after the game,” Huber said.

“That’s the most pitchers we have used in a no-hitter,” Huntley head coach Andy Jakubowski said.

The bad news the team received came from an earlier game, an 11-2 win over Buffalo Grove April 12. Junior Ryan Bakes, a catcher and outfielder, suffered an injured shoulder which required surgery and the South Carolina University recruit is out for the rest of the season.

“He was going from first to third base,” Jakobowski said. “It is a tough loss and we will miss him but we will count on other players to fill the void.”

Back in Fox Valley Conference play, the Red Raiders improved to 13-1 overall, 6-0 FVC with a 10-0, five-inning win over Prairie Ridge April 19 at HHS.

Junior right-handed pitcher Andy Ressler notched the victory as he struck out 11 Wolves hitters.

“Ressler was dominant,” Jakubowski said. “He did not allow a lead-off man to get on and kept the pitch count down at 75.”

The pitching staff has been constant all season.

“They are buying into their roles and for the most part have been pitching to contact,” Jakobowski said.