May 09, 2025
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High school baseball: 2019 Northwest Herald All-Area team

• FIRST TEAM Jake Bimbi, Crystal Lake South, jr., P – The Gators’ left-hander was tough all season, particularly at the end when he struck out 10 and allowed six hits over six innings to beat Prairie Ridge, 5-1, in the Class 3A Grayslake Central Sectional. Bimbi was 8-1 with a 1.71 ERA and 80 strikeouts and 23 walks over 53 1/3 innings pitched. He also hit .304 and drove in 11 runs.

• FIRST TEAM Jake Bimbi, Crystal Lake South, jr., P – The Gators’ left-hander was tough all season, particularly at the end when he struck out 10 and allowed six hits over six innings to beat Prairie Ridge, 5-1, in the Class 3A Grayslake Central Sectional. Bimbi was 8-1 with a 1.71 ERA and 80 strikeouts and 23 walks over 53 1/3 innings pitched. He also hit .304 and drove in 11 runs.

Ben Harris, Prairie Ridge, sr., P – The Wolves’ righty had two roles, one as closer, then later as a starter. He was 5-0 over 33 1/3 innings, with 52 strikeouts and 11 walks. He allowed one earned run, had an ERA of 0.21 and had two saves. He also provided some pop in the middle of Prairie Ridge’s lineup with a .333 average, two home runs and 26 RBIs. Harris, a second-team All-Area selection last year, will pitch at NAIA Brewton-Parker College in Georgia.

Matt Jachec, Hampshire, sr., P – Jachec, who will pitch at Indiana State, led the area with 116 strikeouts and logged an ERA of 0.65 while helping the Whip-Purs to a fourth-place finish in the Class 4A State Tournament. He was 7-4 and threw 86 2/3 innings, walking only 10 and had a WHIP of 0.785. Jachec was a key run producer from the No. 3 spot, hitting .364 with four homers and 29 RBIs. The right-hander threw a 79-pitch shutout in the Schaumburg Supersectional to beat Oak Park-River Forest, 4-0. He was an All-Area second-team selection last year.

Joe Kaminski, McHenry, sr., P – Kaminski was as tough as they come, posting a 6-1 record, an ERA of 0.925 and a WHIP of 0.755. He threw 53 innings, struck out 85, walked 14 and gave up seven earned runs. He usually hit No. 3 in the Warriors’ lineup, batting .287 with a homer and 26 RBIs. Kaminski, the only repeat first-team selection, will pitch at NCAA Division III North Central College in Naperville.

Quinn Priester, Cary-Grove, sr., P – The Northwest Herald Player of the Year was taken 18th in the MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was 8-2 with a 1.16 ERA and 91 strikeouts with 14 walks in 60 1/3 innings. He also hit .317 with two homers and 23 RBIs from the No. 3 spot in the Trojans’ lineup. Priester’s starts were a spectacle, often with several scouts in the stands watching his every move. He was an All-Area first-team selection as a sophomore, but missed last year when he was used sparingly while letting some elbow soreness get better.

Alex Powers, Prairie Ridge, sr., C – Powers hit .302 with five homers and 28 RBIs for the Wolves, who tied Huntley for the Fox Valley Conference title. Powers, who will play at D-I Illinois-Chicago, had an OPS of 0.976, committed two errors and threw out 13 of 36 basestealers. He was charged with 10 passed balls.

Aiden Smith, Marengo, jr., Corner IF – Smith had a big season at the plate and on the mound for the Indians. He hit .427 with two homers and a team-best 32 RBIs. He also had 14 doubles and an OPS of 1.073. As a pitcher, Smith was 3-4 with a 3.80 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 42 1/3 innings.

Mark Winter, McHenry, sr., Corner IF – Winter was one of the area’s best RBI producers with 30 for the Warriors. Winter hit .376 with one home run. He struck out only seven times in 119 at-bats. McHenry finished in third place in the FVC and was in the race until the final week of the season.

Bryan Belo, Jacobs, jr., Middle IF – Belo, who played shortstop for the Golden Eagles, hit .368 with one homer and 22 RBIs. He had 13 stolen bases and an OPS of 1.030. Belo, the son of Palatine coach Paul Belo, will return for a third year as the Eagles’ starting shortstop next season.

Gavin Kriegel, Hampshire, jr., Middle IF – Kreigel hit .384 with four homers and a team-high 31 RBIs. He also scored 29 runs and hit 14 doubles for the Whip-Purs, who finished fourth in the Class 4A state tournament. The Whips’ shortstop was particularly sharp defensively in the postseason, as were his teammates, consistently making plays that were crucial to Hampshire’s postseason run. He had 43 hits and an OPS of 1.098.

Jake Evans, McHenry, sr., OF – Evans, an All-Area second-teamer last year, hit .398 with three homers and 32 RBIs. He scored 28 runs and struck out only 11 times. Evans also was a strong No. 2 pitcher behind Joe Kaminski. He was 7-3 with a 2.02 ERA and 38 strikeouts over 45 innings.

Kyle Hetherington, Crystal Lake South, sr. OF – Hetherington was a tough hitter near the top of the order for the Gators, batting .350 with three homers and 24 RBIs. He scored 26 runs and had an on-base percentage of .507. He usually played center field, where he committed only three errors.

Kyle Maurer, Huntley, sr., OF – Maurer was one of the top hitters and starting pitchers for the FVC co-champion Red Raiders. He hit .287 with five homers and 23 RBIs. Maurer also was 5-0 as a pitcher with a 1.19 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 53 innings. He will play at McHenry County College.

Keegan Garis, Prairie Ridge, jr., Util. – Garis usually was the DH for the Wolves and led the area with 40 RBIs. He batted .387 with four homers and scored 37 runs. Garis had an on-base percentage of .469 and an OPS of 1.118. • SECOND TEAM Connor Donohoe, Richmond-Burton, sr., P Reece Mensching, Crystal Lake Central, sr., P Logan Nespor, Hampshire, sr., P Davis Pasco, Huntley, sr., P Jack Wenninger, Cary-Grove, jr., P Alec Bolanowski, Crystal Lake Central, sr., C Nolan Shannon, McHenry, jr., Corner IF Patrick Fischer, Crystal Lake South, Corner IF Michael Patterson, Prairie Ridge, sr., Middle IF Kyle Washington, Jacobs, so., Middle IF Aj Henkle, Huntley, sr., OF Clayton Jarocki, Richmond-Burton, sr., OF Dean Mlaka, Crystal Lake Central, sr., OF Felipe De Avila, Woodstock North, so., Util. • HONORABLE MENTION (In alphabetical order) Hayden Christiansen, Richmond-Burton, fr., C Jordan Daugherty, Crystal Lake Central, sr., DH Carter Foat, McHenry, jr., SS Evan Geske, Woodstock, sr., SS-P Nick Gregory, Dundee-Crown, jr., OF-P Ryan Goudschaal, Prairie Ridge, jr., P Dylan Janke, Huntley, sr., C Dymitri Kanellakis, Cary-Grove, jr., OF Daniel Klein, Jacobs, sr., OF-C Brayden Klesch, Woodstock North, jr., 2B-SS Andy Krajecki, Hampshire, sr., OF Jacob Laha, Woodstock North, sr., 3B-P Jared Lindquist, Prairie Ridge, sr., OF Dom Listi, Prairie Ridge, sr., OF-P Josh Notriano, Johnsburg, so., OF-P Justin Oine, Marengo, sr., OF-P Eli Paplanus, Huntley, sr., P Derek Peters, Marengo, sr., P-2B Caden Pyszka, Hampshire, sr., 2B Hunter Rumachik, Huntley, sr., 1B-P Mason Schwalbach, Marian Central, so., C-IF Nick Sladek, Hampshire, sr., 1B-OF Drew Stengren, Cary-Grove, jr., C Jagur Streit, Harvard, jr, C Michael Talesky, Huntley, sr., OF Luke Uhwat, Richmond-Burton, sr., P-OF Ryan Weaver, Cary-Grove, so., OF-P Dalton Wood, Richmond-Burton, jr., SS