High school baseball: 2021 Northwest Herald All-Area Team

First Team

P–Nathan Chapman, Jacobs, jr.

Chapman was 5-0 with one save for the Golden Eagles, who were 25-8 overall, 15-3 in the Fox Valley Conference (one game out of first place). He finished with a 2.01 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. “He was dominating all year long,” Jacobs coach Jamie Murray said.

P–Joey Hagen, Johnsburg, sr.

Hagen was chosen as the Kishwaukee River Conference Player of the Year for his efforts on the mound and at the plate. The lefty was 5-0, with a 1.40 ERA as a pitcher, with 35 innings pitched, 64 strikeouts, 15 walks and 18 hits allowed. He batted .479, had an on-base percentage of .570 and an OPS of 1.373, with two homers, 11 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. He will play at Eastern Illinois University.

P–Eric Lin, Huntley, sr.

Lin went 6-0 for the 32-3 Red Raiders and had 2.2 strikeouts per inning pitched. He finished with a 1.37 ERA and a WHIP of .729. He struck out 79 hitters and walked only five in 35 2/3 innings. Lin also was 1 for 1 in save opportunities. He will pitch at Triton Junior College next year.

P–Dylan Petrey, Hampshire, sr.

Petrey produced one of the most eye-popping stat of any area player ever, striking out 81 batters and walking two in 49 2/3 innings. He was 6-1 with a 1.41 ERA, a WHIP of 0.685 and was named to the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 3A All-State team. He will pitch at McHenry County College.

P–Matt Porter, Prairie Ridge, sr.

Porter was tough on the mound and as the Wolves center fielder when he was not pitching. The lefty had a 5-1 record, with a 2.59 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings, with a 1,292 WHIP. In the supersectional, he followed a rough second inning with four strong innings as the Wolves beat St. Francis, 5-4. Porter batted .381 with 27 RBIs and stole 26 bases in 30 attempts. He will play at Lake Land College in Mattoon next season.

C–Hayden Christiansen, Richmond-Burton, jr.

Christiansen had 33 extra-base hits for the 25-6 Rockets, whose season ended in the Class 2A Richmond-Burton Sectional championship game. He hit .505, with 11 homers (which tied Nate Roberts’ school season record) and 47 RBIs, both area-best totals. He also had seven triples and 15 doubles and struck out only five times. Christiansen was the Rockets starting catcher as a freshman in 2019. Christiansan was named to the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 2A All-State team. He is committed to NCAA Division I Xavier.

Corner IF–Ryan Weaver, Cary-Grove, sr.

Weaver tied for the team lead with 15 RBIs and hit .390, with an on-base percentage of .465 for the Trojans, who finished third in the FVC. The lefty also was C-G’s ace on the mound, where he had a 2-1 record and 41 strikeouts and 11 walks in 24 innings. He had an ERA of 3.92. Weaver will pitch at Illinois State University.

Corner IF–Brandon Hanley, Huntley, jr.

Hanley caught and played third base for the 32-3 Red Raiders, and hit in the cleanup spot most of the season. Hanley hit .367 and led the Fox Valley Conference champions with 33 RBIs. He had three home runs and committed only two errors for the season.

Middle IF–Alex Milone, Prairie Ridge, sr.

Milone hit .340, drove in 24 runs for the Class 3A state runner-up Wolves from their No. 2 spot and stole 21 bases in 24 attempts. Prairie Ridge coach Glen Pecoraro considered Milone the best defensive shortstop in the area, he had 12 assists in the sectional championship victory. “He was the heart and soul of our team,” Pecoraro said. Milone will play at Milwaukee Area Technical College.

Middle IF–Kyle Washington, Jacobs, sr.

Washington hit .378 with five homers and 28 RBIs for the 25-8 Golden Eagles. “He was the best hitter in the conference all year,” Eagles coach Jamie Murray said. “Teams pitched around him all the time and he still produced.” Murray also considered Washington as solid of a defender as anyone in the league. Washington will play at Morton College, a junior college in Cicero.

OF–Ryan Bakes, Huntley, so.

Bakes wound up in the leadoff spot and hit .378 for the Red Raiders, with five homers and 29 RBIs and a team-best 33 runs. He and Brandon Hanley traded off catching duties, with Bakes playing left field when he was not behind the plate. Bakes made only one error for the season. He is committed to South Carolina.

OF–Will Komar, Prairie Ridge, sr.

Komar had a .548 on-base percentage and was one of the fastest players in the area with 39 stolen bases in 43 attempts and 35 runs scored. He was ideal in the leadoff spot the Wolves, who were Class 3A state runners-up. Komar hit .420 and was an adept bunter. He speed also helped in the outfield, as he was in center field when Matt Porter pitched and in right field on other days. Komar also hit .500 with runners in scoring position. He was picked to the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 3A All-State team.

OF–Griffin Taylor, Richmond-Burton, sr.

Taylor was a huge part of R-B’s devastating lineup from the No. 3 spot, where he hit .478 with 29 extra-base hits and knocked in 41 runs. Taylor hit six homers, had 12 doubles and 11 triples and scored 45 runs for the Rockets, who averaged 10.2 runs per game. He had only two errors in the outfield. He will play at McHenry County College.

Util.–Mason Schwalbach, Marian Central, sr.

Schwalbach led the Hurricanes’ offense with a .508 batting average with nine doubles, six triples and three homers (58.1% of his hits went for extra bases). He led Marian with 22 RBIs and struck out only once. He sported an OPS of 1.658. He will play at McHenry County College.

Second Team

P–Michael Moise, Huntley, sr.,

P–Joey Mrowiec, Richmond-Burton, jr.

P–Michael Person, Burlington Central, fr.

P–Matt Smolzer, Jacobs, sr.

P–Caleb Zautke, Crystal Lake Central, jr.

C–Owen Brock, Prairie Ridge, jr.

Corner IF–Anthony Edge, Jacobs, so.

Corner IF–Gavin Micklinghoff, McHenry, jr.

Middle IF–Felipe DeAvila, Woodstock North, sr.

Middle IF–Tyler Castro, Huntley, sr.

OF–Ricky Powell, McHenry, jr.

OF–Nate Freeze, Crystal Lake South, sr.

OF–Brett Green, Cary-Grove, sr.

Util.–Josh Notriano, Johnsburg, sr.

Honorable Mention

Dylan Bremer, Prairie Ridge, sr., 3B

Steve Churak, Cary-Grove, sr., P-DH-3B

Cooper Cohn, McHenry, so., 2B-C-P

Justin Colon, Dundee-Crown, sr., IF

Jack Gilroy, Burlington Central, sr., OF

Christian Graves, Marengo, so., 1B-OF-P

Justin Gritmacker, Alden-Hebron, so., P-SS-C

Tyler Jacobsen, Jacobs, sr., C

Jake Jakubowski, Huntley, sr., P

Bobby Jannusch, Cary-Grove, sr., P-OF

Kyle Kaempf, McHenry, jr., SS-P

Ryan Kelly, Huntley, jr., DH-C

Ryan Kempf, Crystal Lake Central, jr., C

Kyle Klenske, Marengo, sr., OF-3B-P

Austin Leonard, Hampshire, so., C

Gavin Loiselle, Woodstock, jr., P-IF

Dayton Murphy, Crystal Lake South, fr., 2B

Peyton Sensabaugh, Marian Central, fr., C-OF-P

Clark Shulfer, Woodstock, jr., P-IF

Toby Splitt, Cary-Grove, jr., SS

Parker Swanson, Prairie Ridge, sr., P

Nick Tampa, Dundee-Crown, sr., OF-P

Ryan VanWitzenburg, Crystal Lake Central, sr., OF

Michael Vitellero, Huntley, jr., P

Caden Vogt, Marengo, so., 3B-P

Connor Wallace, Richmond-Burton, jr., SS-P

Alex Wojnicki, Woodstock, sr., OF

Lazlow Ziebel, McHenry, sr., P