USF dominates all-conference team

JOLIET -- University of St. Francis dominated the all-conference selections nearly as much as it did the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball regular season as six Saints earned first-team all-league honors, one was named Player of the Year and one more was named to the honorable mention squad.

In addition to the player recognition, USF coach Gordie Gillespie was named the CCAC's Coach of the Year after leading the Saints (41-9, 18-2) to their first conference title since 1997.

Junior right fielder Dan Higgins led the honors brigade by capturing the CCAC Player of the Year award. Higgins, who missed nearly all of his sophomore season with a fractured foot, led the Saints to the CCAC title with his team-high .456 batting average, a team-best nine home runs, 21 doubles and 44 RBI.

Also earning first-team recognition were junior first baseman Steve Kehr, junior designated hitter Karl Gotsch, sophomore catcher Pat Grady, junior pitcher Erik Panek of Lemont and sophomore pitcher Brandon Kvistad.

Kehr finished the regular season with a .392 batting average, 16 doubles, 6 home runs and 43 RBIs. He also topped all Saints' regulars defensively with a sparkling .989 fielding percentage, committing only four errors in 362 total chances.

Gotsch was one of four USF regulars to hit over the .400 mark. He finished with a .439 average, belted a pair of home runs and collected 25 RBI. He also was the Saints' backup catcher.

Grady was USF's number one catcher and compiled a .422 batting average with five home runs and 38 RBI. He also led the Saints with 6 triples.

Panek completed the regular season with a perfect 7-0 pitching record and posted a 3.39 ERA. He completed six of 10 starts and fired one shutout. He also led the staff with 60 strikeouts in 66.1 innings.

Kvistad notched an 8-1 record, losing only the nonconference season finale at Lewis on April 30. His eight victories tied Joe Koehler for the most on the staff. He completed five of nine starts and also hurled one shutout.

Senior outfielder Brian Davis was named to the honorable mention list. Davis clubbed seven home runs and drove in 41 runs for USF.

Minooka 22-25-25, Plainfield North 25-21-19 -- At Plainfield, the Indians rallied for the Southwest Prairie Conference victory.

Robert Krumlinde had 18 kills, 2 blocks and 2 aces for Minooka. Matt Phillips finished with 9 kills, 3 digs, 2 blocks and 2 aces. Nick Alexander and Ryne Jacobson had 4 blocks. Ron Cerevic produced 4 digs and Matt Omatto 2. Alexander downed 4 kills and Jacobson 3.

Other scores -- Argo 22-25-25, Lemont 25-20-23.

Kirincich honored -- Minooka High School's Jessica Kirincich was a senior softball player at Millikin University. She batted .377 with 8 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, 22 RBIs and 25 runs. She was 9-for-9 in stolen bases.

The former Minooka two-sport athlete earned second-team all-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) honors. She starred in basketball and softball for Minooka.