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May 18, 2022

Huntley's Ryan Quinlan slides at home plate against Crystal Lake South. The Red Raiders won 6-4 to earn the Fox Valley Conference championship.
Steve Peterson
Huntley’s Ryan Quinlan slides at home plate against Crystal Lake South. The Red Raiders won 6-4 to earn the Fox Valley Conference championship.

Sports • May 18, 2022

Clutch hits, pitching pave way to title

By

HUNTLEY – Two senior pitchers paced the latest clutch efforts of the Huntley hurlers in locking up the 2022 Fox Valley Conference season. Adam Guazzo pitched an eight-inning game in a 1-0 win over Crystal Lake South May 11. Then HHS pitching closer Mike Vitellaro finished a comeback win over the Gators, 6-4, May 13.

A change of position on the diamond helped Guazzo.

“I was a catcher before sophomore season but I had decided to try pitching,” he said.

It was a low-scoring contest for the Red Raiders’ 15th FVC win decided when Lucas Goldstein scored on a CLS error.

“It was a hot day and I felt that,” Guazzo said. “Winning the FVC is a good confidence booster.”

In his sophomore pitching season the Valparaiso University recruit worked on hid changeup. He has a 7-0 record and a 1.43 ERA.

HHS, 24-4,  finished league play with a 16-2 mark to beat out McHenry.

Clutch hitting put the Red Raiders over the top as well in Friday’s win. They were down 4-3 before rallying with a three-run comeback with two outs in the fifth inning. AJ Putty delivered the key blow.

Vitellaro struck out six batters he faced.

“He showed why he is our go-to closer and we have utmost confidence in him,” HHS coach Andy Jakubowski said. “We struggled in the first inning but did a nice job and gained the momentum back with two runs, On Putty’s hit, Ryan Quinlan did a good job to score an insurance run. We’ve won the conference five straight years now, minus the COID-19 year. It’s about the three phases of the season, non-conference, and the playoffs.”

Jakubowski said he is pleased with the way the pitchers have contributed. Through 26 games, contributions have come from sophomore Malachi Paplanus had a 4-1 mark, Andrew Ressler, 2-1; Payton Barr, 2-0, Parker Schuring 1-1 with one save. The staff has an ERA of 1.98 and more than 260 strikeouts.

HHS has a four pitcher no-hitter to its credit as  Paplanus, Peyton Barr, Parker Schuring and Derek Huber combined to beat Lake Zurich.  While most games are finished by a reliever, there are exceptions. “Sometimes you have to go with your gut,”  Jakubowski said of the CLS opener.

“Our motto is pitching and defense, so our pitchers who compete and throw strikes are the guys we go to,” the coach explained. “We ask our pitchers to throw 60 to 70 percent strikes. Another big factor is eliminating the leadoff man and we have done that pretty well. I would take the ability to throw strikes over the velocity that can’t locate.”

HHS saluted its baseball team seniors May 16 against Marengo as it finished the regular season with non-league games. The Class 4A playoffs beckon, with the opener at 4:30 p.m. May 25 against Rockford Jefferson.

The Red Raiders shutout Lake Forest 10-0 May 14 in a non-conference game.