Sunday Slam: Hersey Baseball Keeps Rolling with Phil Lawler Summer Classic Title
Barrington Grad Beaubien Wins CDGA Amateur Title; Hersey Alum Hess Takes Over Boys Basketball Program on Interim Basis
The success Hersey baseball is enjoying right now reminds Wally Brownley of what he experienced as a player when Schaumburg won the 1997 Class AA state title.
“These guys just love it,” said Brownley, who has been at Hersey for 17 years and took over as head coach in 2018. “In the late ‘90s at Schaumburg we were just baseball junkies. That’s all we did in our spare time … and these guys are the same way. They can’t get enough of it.”
Hersey also can’t get enough of winning after a spring with a school-record 29 victories, Mid-Suburban League and regional titles and its first trip to a sectional championship game since 2004. Now it can add an Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association (IHSBCA) Phil Lawler Summer Classic championship to its resume.
The Huskies won the title game 5-4 over Lake Park in dramatic fashion when Chase Ries tripled home Bennett McNeill with the tiebreaking run in the bottom of the eighth inning. They joined their 1984 team, Prospect in 1982 and Schaumburg in 2003 as summer champions from the MSL.
Diego Garcia, who went 4-for-4 in a 7-3 semifinal win over Glenbard West, won the Jack Kaiser MVP. He had a slash line of .529/.636/.765 and played all three outfield spots during the tourney to win the award named after the legendary head coach from Oak Park-River Forest.
“It was a lot of fun and another step in the right direction to get guys believing a little bit,” Brownley said. “We return a ton but we found some guys who are really going to help us.”
Some of Hersey’s top players had travel or other baseball commitments so the Lawler Classic success underscored the depth of the program. Ries, McNeill, Drew Thomas and Brady Klehr all had 2 hits in the championship game. Jack Goergen got the win with 1⅔ innings of relief and kept the game tied with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh.
Title-game starter Jack Sancya allowed 1 run and 4 hits in 4 innings and for the summer he had 10 strikeouts and 2 walks with a 1.27 ERA in 11 innings. Sancya didn’t pitch as a freshman because of a broken arm and was 6-3 primarily with the frosh-soph team as a junior.
“We’re excited about him,” Brownley said.
Junior-to-be Keegan Luxem, one of the known commodities off a Daily Herald All-Area season, started against Glenbard West and allowed 1 hit and 1 run with 4 strikeouts in 3 innings. Lefty Charlie Arvanitis finished with 4 solid innings and made an impression along with the hitting of Marcus Krecu. Senior-to-be Evan Fahey played shortstop in the final two games and will also be a big part of the pitching staff next spring.
And that will give Brownley the depth he’s looking for with talented returnees that include all-area picks in Division I pitching prospect Jeremy Allen, outfielder Brandon Pflomm and Luxem and honorable mention all-area picks Will Hickey and Chuck Meister in the infield.
“It gave us an opportunity to see some of these guys and find out not just who can play on varsity for us next year, but who can be on the JV team, too,” Brownley said. “Other than practice it’s our first game-look at some guys. I’m very, very impressed with a few of them.
“Why we had success last year is the guys behind the starters who just kept pushing them. That competition breeds success.”
Brownley knows all about that from his experience as a junior on Schaumburg’s state championship team that had three Major League Baseball draft picks in Mike and T.J. Nall and Paul Reuer and was led by Paul Groot, the winningest baseball coach in MSL history, and assistant Tom Mueller.
“I tell them the story all the time that in 1997 I was very proud I was on the team, but I was the 10th guy and didn’t start as a junior because we were so freaking good,” said Brownley, who went on to a successful college career at Augustana. “My senior year we were right there again in the sectional final. I see the same thing with our guys.”
Brownley also instilled a sense of Hersey pride. He understands today’s reality of players spread out all over in the offseason with different travel programs but didn’t like some subtle separation he saw at his own practices. Instead of players in a myriad of travel shirts he told his players they could wear a shirt with any sport or activity on it as long as it said Hersey.
“We’ve built togetherness,” Brownley said. “Playing for Paul and ‘Muells’ they let us take some of the ownership and that’s something our kids took and ran with this year. One of my favorite things is watching them come together as a family.”
And helping make it as happy as possible are long-time assistants Kevin Kelley and Tim Lazzarotto. Brownley lauded the addition of Fremd grad and former Lakes head coach Bill Rosencrans to work with Joe Pardun on the JV.
“It’s awesome to see and the future is bright,” Brownley said. “I can’t wait. I wish it was February 25th already and we were rolling into the spring season.”
Kevin Kelley was also part of Prospect’s 1982 summer title as an assistant to Larry Pohlman. Kelley also was on the staff at Lake Park in the 1980s and started the summer team and coached current head coach Dan Colucci.
Barrington’s Beaubien Wins 103rd CDGA Amateur Championship
Bobby Beaubien, a 2019 Barrington grad, aced the test of 162 competitive holes of golf in a six-day span. The fifth-seeded Beaubien won the prestigious 103rd Chicago District Golf Association Amateur Championship on Thursday when he beat third-seed Danny Fisher 6 and 5 in the 36-hole match play final at Lake Forest Country Club.
"It’s awesome," Beaubien said in a CDGA release. "I really didn’t think I’d ever be in the position to say that I won this event, but it’s really cool to have won [it] and be able to add my name to the list of all of the people that have won the event. It’s pretty special, I’m pretty happy."
The 22-year-old Beaubien, who is entering his final year on the Illinois Wesleyan golf team, shot a 1-under-par 141 (70-71) in Monday’s stroke-play qualifying to finish in a three-way tie for third. That put him in the 16-man match play field where he won three matches on Tuesday and Wednesday to face Fisher in the final. Beaubien didn’t advance to match play in his other CDGA Amateur Championship attempt in 2021.
Beaubien took control against Fisher, who plays for Miami University (Ohio), on the back nine of the first 18 holes for a 5-up lead.
"It obviously left me in a pretty comfortable position heading into the second round," Beaubien said. "But, once I got into the second round, I just reset and treated it as a new match; that way I could focus on the match as a whole. I didn’t really try to push anything or get too defensive."
Beaubien had also played in an event in the Quad Cities before the CDGA Amateur. Next up on the CDGA schedule is the 92nd Illinois State Amateur Championship on July 18-20 at Bloomington Country Club.
Hess Takes Over Hersey Hoops on Interim Basis
David Hess was a leader on the court for Hersey basketball as a Daily Herald All-Area guard in 1999. Now, Hess gets a chance to lead his alma mater as the school announced via Twitter on Thursday he will be the interim head coach for the 2023-24 season. Hess replaces Austin Scott, who resigned in early May.
Hess, who played at Millikin, brings head coaching experience to the position. He went 41-46 from 2006-09 at Tuscola, about 30 minutes south of Champaign, and won 37 games and a regional title in his first two seasons. He was 6-24 in 2018-19 at Elgin before returning to Hersey as an assistant.
Hess was also an assistant coach for nine years at Stevenson under recently retired head coach Pat Ambrose. The program won three state trophies during that span and a Class 4A title in 2014-15 with current New York Knicks standout Jalen Brunson. Hess also spent a year as a varsity assistant at Hersey for Don Rowley and was an assistant for a year at Lane Tech.
In his senior year at Hersey, Hess averaged 14 points and 3 assists a game and made 78 3-pointers at a 43.5 percent clip. One of his teammates was former Prospect head coach and current assistant John Camardella.
Prospect’s Baysingar, Hersey’s Mrowicki Win Lester Award
Will Baysingar of Prospect and Meghan Mrowicki of Hersey received the 2023 Howard Lester Award from District 214. The annual awards go to one male and one female senior athlete for their superior athletic and academic achievements and character.
Baysingar is the first three-time IHSA state wrestling medalist in Prospect history as he finished second at 132 pounds in 2022 and 2023 and third at 106 pounds in 2020 (there was no IHSA state meet in 2021 because of COVID). Baysingar won three Mid-Suburban League titles, was a three-year captain and earned a wrestling scholarship to Illinois.
He also earned a 4.5 GPA, was a member of the National Honor Society and in 2022 earned the prestigious Eagle Scout award from the Boy Scouts of America.
“Will has a work ethic unlike any other and is one of the strongest student leaders in our building,” said Omar Alebiosu, who was Prospect’s athletic director last year, in a statement from District 214. “His presence always brings joy, positivity and his energy is captivating.”
Mrowicki was an all-state soccer and basketball player at Hersey who overcame surgery for a torn ACL in early 2022 to return and earn all-state, all-area and all-MSL recognition in both sports as a senior. She was a starting guard as the basketball team finished fourth in the state in Class 4A and the Notre Dame-bound soccer player set the program record for goals in a season.
“Meg is one of the greatest athletes to ever walk the halls of Hersey,” said Hersey athletic director Julia Barthel, who was also an assistant basketball coach. “Meg’s ‘team-first’ attitude, fearless competitiveness and resiliency are what make her one-of-a-kind.”
The awards honor the legacy of Howard Lester, who worked 42 years in education and served as the District 214 coordinator of health, physical education, athletics and driver education. Buffalo Grove High School's gymnasium is named after Lester in recognition of his lifetime dedication to young people.
Young Leaves Fenwick After Two Seasons
Former Schaumburg basketball star Tony Young won regional titles in each of his two seasons at Fenwick. This year’s team went 21-13 and reached the sectional championship game.
But Young and the school decided to go their separate ways and Fenwick announced David Fergerson will be the interim head coach for 2023-24. Young’s son Zion, who will be a junior, transferred to Schaumburg.
“To be honest, the administration and I saw different directions for the program,” Young said in an in-depth interview with Melvin Tate of the Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest. “We had different ideas on what we wanted to do, and we just decided it wasn’t going to work.”
Young was a Daily Herald all-area guard as a junior on Schaumburg’s 2001 Class AA state title team and was the all-area captain as a senior before going on to a successful playing career at Southern Illinois.
Former Grayslake Star Brauer Ends Successful Baseball Coaching Run
Eric Brauer didn’t want to be in a win-lose situation so the 2000 Grayslake High graduate stepped down as head baseball coach at Lincoln-Way East. The 41-year-old Brauer won 458 games in an 18-year run that included stops at Marquette in Michigan City, Indiana and Chicago Christian.
“I have 13 more years until my three kids graduate high school,” Brauer said as he announced his decision on Twitter last week. “There will always be another chance to coach if I want to do that again down the road, but I will never get another chance to be present for Audrey, Adeleine and Beau.”
Brauer was 135-32 in five seasons at L-W East with three regional titles and a sectional title and 31-9 record this past year. He was 256-86 with 8 regional titles in 9 years at Chicago Christian. His final team there won its first 32 games and finished 40-2 and third in the Class 2A state tournament.
Brauer was a basketball and baseball standout and a golfer at Grayslake (before Grayslake North opened). He also played baseball at Valparaiso.
Mundelein Teaching/Coaching Legend Don Miller Passes Away
Don Miller, one of the original staff members when Mundelein opened in 1960 and a member of the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association (IWCOA) Hall of Fame, passed away June 22 at age 91. Miller was at Mundelein for 43 years as a history teacher, guidance counselor, head wrestling coach and assistant in football, basketball and softball.
Miller, a 2000 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee, led the Mundelein wrestling program from 1961-85 and 1994-2001 as he won nearly 350 dual meets and 7 conference and 13 invitational titles. From 1964-71 the Mustangs won 103 of 111 duals and had four undefeated seasons. He also coached nine state placewinners, led by runner-up finishes from Don Wagemann (155 pounds in 1971) and Jim Wagemann (167 in 1972), and IWCOA 1998 Hall of Fame inductee John D’Ambrosio.
Miller played football and baseball at Macomb High School and started wrestling in college at Western Illinois, where he was second in the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference as a senior.
Miller taught and coached for one year at Stronghurst High School and for five years at Avon. He came to the northern suburbs and was at Libertyville for one year before moving to Mundelein. He lived in Wauconda for 53 years.
His obituary said, “Don dedicated his life to education and to the betterment of his students and athletes. He taught and coached for 50 years. Don was a hard worker who put himself through school, working at Kroger's Grocery for 8 years as well as racing boats on the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. Don cared deeply for animals and donated to numerous shelters and causes throughout the world. He was selfless, quick-witted, loved to joke, and somebody you could always count on.”
Minor League Baseball Updates
A look at how some local players are doing in the minors:
Cardinals right-handed reliever Ryan Loutos (Barrington) is 2-1 with a 3.67 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 34 ⅓ innings over 26 appearances. He has 4 holds and a save in 24 games with Class AAA Memphis and in his last 4 outings through June 29 he allowed only 1 run and 4 hits in 6 ⅔ innings with 9 strikeouts and 2 walks. At the end of May, St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Jeff Gordon said Loutos “heads the list of potential bullpen fill-ins” for the big club.
Pirates righty Quinn Priester (Cary-Grove) had arguably his best pro outing June 24 for Triple-A Indianapolis with a career-high 11 strikeouts and 2 walks while allowing 3 hits and no runs in 6 innings vs. the Colorado Rockies Albuquerque affiliate. Priester got a no-decision but is 7-3, 4.36 in 15 starts with 76 strikeouts in 74 ⅓ innings.
White Sox lefty Brooks Gosswein (Barrington) was promoted to AA Birmingham on June 16 and is 0-2 there with a 3.24 ERA in 3 starts and 8 ⅓ innings. Overall he is 1-5, 3.93 in 13 games (11 starts) with 50 strikeouts in 52 ⅔ innings.
A’s third baseman Brett Harris (Hersey) has a slash line of .264/.378/.397 at AA Midland with 4 homers, 14 doubles, 3 triples and 43 RBI.
Tigers righty Quinn Gudaitis (Hersey) is 3-4, 6.35 in 21 games at Class AA Lakeland. Gudaitis has 20 strikeouts in 28 ⅓ innings.
Mariners lefty Eric Stout (Wheaton St. Francis) had an impressive start and victory June 25 for Triple-A Tacoma. Stout allowed 2 hits in 5 shutout innings with 8 strikeouts and no walks at El Paso. He is 2-0, 4.32 in 18 games and 33 ⅓ innings with 36 strikeouts.
Reds righty Ryan Nutof (South Elgin) is 2-1, 5.51 in 31 games with 30 strikeouts in 32 ⅔ innings for Triple-A Louisville.
Bits and Pieces
Mundeleln grad Ryan Borucki has made 4 relief appearances for the Pittsburgh Pirates since he was called up from Triple-A on June 18. Borucki had scoreless appearances of 1⅓ innings vs. San Diego on June 29 and 1 inning vs. Milwaukee on June 30. The lefty is 10-9 lifetime in six seasons and started this season in the Cubs system.
Rolling Meadows grad Max Christie is one of three returnees on the Los Angeles Lakers summer league roster along with Scotty Pippen Jr., and Cole Swider. Christie played 41 games as a rookie and averaged 3.1 points, 1.8 rebounds and 12.5 minutes.
The third annual benefit for the Vaughn McClure and Jeff Dickerson foundation raised more than $245,000 for their charitable causes, according to a tweet from the foundation’s Twitter account.
Peoria Richwoods girls basketball coach Todd Hursey resigned in May after going 271-87 in 12 seasons with a 3A state title in 2018. Shamar Hill was named his successor last week.
Thanks for covering these stories which we do not see enough of in The Daily Herald.