Vanessa Buske hits walk-off slam for McHenry softball: Wednesday’s Northwest Herald sports roundup

Softball

McHenry 5, Larkin 3: At Elgin, Vanessa Buske smacked a walk-off grand slam as the fourth-seeded Warriors (21-8) beat the No. 6 Royals in a Class 4A Larkin Regional semifinal Wednesday. McHenry advanced to face top-seeded Huntley in the final Thursday.

Buske went 4 for 4 with two homers and five RBIs and also earned the win in the circle. She gave up three runs on five hits in five innings, striking out six. Natalie Bender threw two scoreless innings in relief, and Tatum Kornfeind had two hits.

Woodstock North 1, Burlington Central 0: At Maple Park, Jo Jo Vermett provided the game-winning hit and was the winning pitcher as the No. 3 Thunder (21-8) defeated the No. 5 Rockets (15-19) to advance to the Class 3A Kaneland Regional championship. North will meet No. 6 Kaneland for the title at 11 a.m. Saturday.

The game ended with a Central runner being thrown out at home by North second baseman Georgia Sedlack.

Vermett had an RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the sixth for the game’s lone run. The hit scored Krista Herrmann, who singled with two outs, stole second and reached third base on a wild pitch.

Vermett threw seven scoreless innings, giving up six hits with nine strikeouts and one walk. Isabelle Reed took the loss for Central, striking out 13 over six innings. She allowed just the run on five hits and two walks.

Allie Botkin went 3 for 3. Kendall Glonek added a double.

Cary-Grove 14, Chicago Amundsen 4 (6 inn.): At Cary, the No. 9 Trojans (14-20) earned a spot in the Class 3A Cary-Grove Regional championship with a win against the No. 7 Vikings. C-G will play No. 2 Wauconda for the title at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Megan Koski was 4 for 4 with a double, two runs and two RBIs, Maddie Crick (2 for 4) had a home run and three RBIs, and Becca Weaver (2 for 4) tallied a double, three runs and one RBI. Aubrey Lonergan added a double, three runs and two RBIs.

Dundee-Crown 15, Lake Zurich 1 (5 inn.): At Carpentersville, the third-seeded Chargers (19-15) rolled to a win in a Class 4A Dundee-Crown Regional semifinal. D-C moves on to play No. 2 Barrington in the final at 4:30 p.m. Friday.

McKayla Anderson earned the win and hit a homer with three RBIs. She gave up one run on four hits in five innings, striking out eight. Faith Dierwechter (3 for 4, two RBIs) and Jordyn Jeffs (2 for 4, RBI) both hit two doubles and scored two runs. Brianna Hamblen added a double, two runs and two RBIs.

Girls soccer

Burlington Central 5, Belvidere North 3: At Belvidere, the top-seeded Rockets scored the final two goals to break a 3-3 tie and beat the No. 2 Blue Thunder in their Class 2A Belvidere Sectional semifinal.

Central (13-8-2) advances to face No. 1 Boylan in the championship at 4:30 p.m. Friday.

Mekenzie Rogers recorded a hat trick and scored the game-winning goal in the second half, assisted by Mia Kerr. Sydney Batts and Lily Batani also scored, while Annie Magan and Eva Samulian added assists.

Boys lacrosse

Huntley 17, St. Charles East 9: At Huntley, the top-seeded Red Raiders (16-5) advanced to the Huntley Sectional championship with a win against the fifth-seeded Saints.

Huntley will face No. 2 Naperville North or No. 3 Neuqua Valley for the title at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

Wheaton Academy 17, Cary-Grove 3: At Cary, the fifth-seeded Trojans (14-5) ended the season with a loss to the top-seeded Warriors in a Cary-Grove Sectional semifinal.

Libertyville 9, Crystal Lake Central 2: At Woodstock, the fourth-seeded Tigers (15-4) lost to the top-seeded Wildcats in a Marian Sectional semifinal.

Girls lacrosse

Downers Grove North co-op 15, Huntley 9: At Hoffman Estates, the third-seeded Red Raiders (16-5) saw their season come to a close with a loss to the second-seeded Trojans in a Hoffman Estates Sectional semifinal.

Baseball

McHenry 22, Round Lake 0 (4 inn.): At McHenry, the top-seeded Warriors (27-7) coasted to a Class 4A McHenry Regional semifinal win. McHenry advances to face No. 4 Grant or No. 7 Dundee-Crown in the final at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Owen Micklinghoff was 2 for 2 with four runs scored and five RBIs, Payton Sensabaugh (2 for 3) had two doubles, two runs and two RBIs, and AJ Chavera (3 for 3) drove in two. Kaden Wasniewski (2 for 2) added a double and two RBIs.

Kadin Borck fired four strikeouts in two innings.

Jacobs 11, Larkin 1 (5 inn.): At Barrington, the No. 2 Golden Eagles (22-12) defeated the No. 6 Royals in a Class 4A Barrington Regional semifinal. Jacobs will meet No. 3 Barrington or No. 5 Streamwood in the final at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Braden Behrens allowed only one run in five innings, giving up six hits and striking out three. Andrew Deegan (2 for 2) had a home run, double, two runs and three RBIs. Nate Gerritsen (2 for 4) had a double, two runs and two RBIs, and Brandon Koth had two hits and drove in two runs.

Huntley 25, Jefferson 1 (4 inn.): At Huntley, the top-seeded Red Raiders (27-7-1) rolled to a Class 4A DeKalb Regional semifinal win. Huntley will play No. 4 DeKalb or No. 7 Rockford East in the championship at 4:30 p.m. Friday.

Griffin Goldstein went 3 for 3 with a double, triple, three runs and three RBIs to lead the offense. Alex Behles had a pinch-hit two-run home run, Kyle Larson (three runs) and Marco Stawski each drove in three runs, and Ryan Dabe (3 for 3) had a double and scored three times.

TJ Jakubowski, Quinn Drews and Dylan Visvadra had two RBIs apiece. Mason Leske struck out six over two innings, allowing a run.

Burlington Central 12, Belvidere 0: At Belvidere, Chase Powrozek tossed a one-hitter with 14 strikeouts as the second-seeded Rockets (23-9) won their Class 3A Belvidere North Regional semifinal. Central will meet No. 8 Boylan or No. 6 Belvidere for the title at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Powrozek threw 52 of 77 pitches for strikes and walked two in the shutout. Brady Gilroy had a home run and two RBIs, Michael Person (2 for 3) had two doubles, two runs and an RBI, and Jake Johnson and Zane Pollack both drove in two runs.

Hampshire 8, Guilford 3: At Rockton, the second-seeded Whip-Purs (23-10) advanced to the Class 4A Hononegah Regional championship with a win against the No. 6 Vikings. Hampshire will play No. 2 Hononegah or No. 5 Harlem for the championship at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Calen Scheider, Wilson Wemhoff (1 for 2, double) and Eric Jackson each drove in two runs for Hampshire. Ari Fivelson was 2 for 3. Jack Schane allowed three runs (one earned) on five hits in seven innings. He struck out five and walked two.

Grayslake Central 2, Woodstock North 0: At Grayslake, the No. 15 Thunder (8-23-1) fell to the No. 2 Rams in a Class 3A Grayslake Central Regional semifinal to end their season. Bob Gerloff allowed only two runs on four hits over 5 2/3 innings for North.

Aiden Sofie had two of three hits against the Rams starter Jadon Dumas.