Clearly, the Wildcats of Libertyville and Mundelein's Mustangs had good seasons, but they didn't reach the pinnacle of a state tournament.
Rather, it was the old reliable Grayslake Central team that made its second consecutive trek to Joliet for the tournament.
Now, Lake County, and more specifically, the Lake County Suburban Life area, did get a player drafted into the Major Leagues. And Grant catcher Simeon Lucas didn't waste any time in signing up with the Cleveland Indians system.
So how did this Bulldogs catcher get the attention of the Major Leagues? His batting average was a cool .371, but his power numbers really stand out. Lucas had 9 homers and 10 doubles. He also knocked in 37 runs.
And for that performance, Lucas is the Lake County Suburban Life player of the year.
Naturally, the Rams of Grayslake Central will get some of its players on our team. At shortstop all season was senior Freddy Landers. He'll take his game next year to the College of Lake County. A former catcher, Landers had a strong season in helping the Rams to go downstate. He hit .408 with 12 doubles.
Helping to complete double plays with Landers was second baseman Jay Hoffmann. The Rams leadoff hitter led the club in hitting (.428). He also did his job on the basepaths with 25 stolen bases.
Obviously, the Rams had to have strong pitching to win a supersectional. And it started with southpaw Justin Guryn. He began his season with a no-hitter and ended it with a 107-pitch effort downstate. Guryn won seven games during the regular season. He also fired three shutouts. Guryn fanned 94 hitters.
Another lefty on the Rams team was David Llorens. He started the game with Springfield Griffin downstate allowing just two earned runs. On the season, he went 5-1.
Central's brother school, Grayslake North, specialized in pitching. Two left-handers, Dom DiProva and Andrew Mikusa, stood out during the season. They baffled hitters all season long. Now maybe the staff ace was senior Sean McHugh. His eight wins were a school record. In just over 40 innings of work, McHugh struck out 38.
Now this wasn't just a pitching school. Three-sport star Merrick Gentile batted third for the Knights, and led the club in hitting (.394). He also had nine doubles.
Now Lucas had to have some help at Grant. That exciting basketball player, Ryan Noda, is really a baseball-first player. That was proved by his 11 homers and 47 RBIs. His batting average was .434. Noda will play this game next year at the University of Cincinnati.
In the pitching department came Andrew Stone. He earned eight decisions on the mound for the Bulldogs. That was eight victories. His ERA was special at 1.08
From Lakes High School came first baseman Joe Sisk. After all, he made just one error all season long. He also hit .388 and drove in 26 runs. Next season, he'll wear a Carthage College uniform.
On the mound this year came Chase Slota. His record was solid at 6-1. And so was his ERA (1.84).
Antioch's season was helped along by Adam Harvey. This veteran catcher guided the Sequoits pitching staff this spring.
Warren clearly had a special hitter in junior Ben Dinter. He almost hit the .500 mark instead finishing at .465 with 14 doubles, 5 triples and 4 homers. He drove in 40 runs.
Andrew Hill can hit the ball a little for the Blue Devils. However, he's seen as a pitcher. He averaged a strikeout per inning in 50 innings of work. His ERA was a blinding 0.83
Carmel's season was helped along by a strong force behind the plate. In addition to Ian Kristan's defensive skills, he hit .352 with 14 doubles, 3 triples and 3 homers.
Pitching to Kristan was Quentin Sefcik. In 56 innings of work, Sefcik struck out 71 hitters. He also went 5-1 on the year.
Round Lake's contribution is Ryan Newman. He played shortstop and pitched. Offensively, Newman hit .475 with 5 doubles and 5 triples.