With the high school baseball season drawing to a close, what better time to peek to the future by taking a look at some of the sophomores who have made a name for themselves this year.
Two of the area's top performing sophomores are Burlington Central's Austin Jarvis and Hampshire's Ryan Burke.
As of late last week, Jarvis led the Rockets with a .377 batting average. He also had two home runs and 12 RBIs, but his biggest strength is likely his defense behind the plate as Central's catcher.
Meanwhile, Burke has taken over as the Whip-Purs' No. 1 pitcher and is making big contributions at the plate as well. He owns a 4-2 record with a 1.46 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings. He's also hitting .378 with 18 RBIs and 20 runs scored.
"We put Ryan up there on the mound against all the toughest teams in the conference," Hampshire coach Steve Ream said. "As just a sophomore he's doing a great job."
Several teams have a host of sophomores in their starting lineups. Among them is St. Charles North, which starts 10th-graders Ryan Richardson at shortstop, Kevin Borst at third base and Matt Stevens at catcher.
Aside from their important roles in the North Stars' defense, Richardson and Stevens are also making an impact at the plate. Richardson is hitting .368 with 12 RBIs and 16 runs scored, while Stevens leads the team with three home runs to go along with a .341 average and 15 RBIs.
"My philosophy is that it doesn't really matter what age a kid is," North coach Todd Genke said. "If I think he can come up and help us at the varsity level, we'll go ahead and bring him up."
St. Edward is another team with a young lineup as sophomores T.J. Madzy, Jordan Torres, Julian Ramirez and David Hoebbel have all impressed.
At South Elgin, catcher Kyle Kinyon has provided solid defense behind the plate, been a reliable force in the offense and occasionally stepped in as a pitcher. The Storm has also received solid contributions from sophomore pitcher Drew Buddle, who is 1-1 with a 1.79 ERA and is batting .480 in 25 at-bats.
Other area sophomores who have worked their way to becoming regulars are Larkin's Reid Ellis, St. Charles East's Ryan O'Dell and Streamwood pitcher Mike Diebold, who as the Sabres' top pitcher is 4-4 with a 3.55 ERA and 36 strikeouts this season.
Sabres stepping up -- With only three seniors who regularly see playing time, Streamwood's young squad seems to be hitting its stride at the right time. Winners of eight of their past 12 games through Friday, the Sabres have turned heads recently with a pair of victories against St. Charles North and other triumphs against South Elgin and Lake Park.
"This is kind of where I thought we'd be," Streamwood coach Steve Diversey said of his team's late-season push. "Being competitive is our goal, and if we can be competitive and get on the right side of the win column it's even better."
Up-and-down Whips -- Another of the area's youngest teams is Hampshire, which has only two seniors on its 15-player roster. That youth might be partly to blame for the Whips' inconsistent play of late.
Hampshire rallied from five runs down in the seventh inning to beat IMSA on May 5 before surrendering a five-run lead in the seventh during a loss against Marengo on Tuesday. The Whips bounced back to beat Richmond-Burton's standout pitcher Matt Salemi on Wednesday, but lost 12-2 against Burlington Central on Thursday. The roller-coaster ride continued with a comeback win against Indian Creek on Friday.
"It seems like we never know what's going to happen with this team," Ream said. "I guess the good thing is that we always seem to bounce back, but I'd kind of like to see a little consistency here at the end of the year."
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