The players on the Sun-Times All-Area baseball team all have different success stories. Some have been four-year standouts, others have gradually built up their acclaim, while others have emerged out of nowhere.
Then there are Oak Forest freshman outfielder Tim Barry and Brother Rice sophomore shortstop Kevin Koziol, who have already established themselves among the Chicago area’s best players.
There’s also Neuqua Valley senior outfielder Jason David, who survived a near-fatal car crash less than a year ago and couldn’t even throw a baseball in early March. But he tied the school record with 11 home runs and led the defending state champions in RBI.
Of all the tremendous pitchers in the area, Player of the Year Bryan Roberts of Benet, Mundelein right-hander Eric Rohe and Sandburg right-hander Greg Billo stood out.
Relatively unknown heading into his senior season, Rohe established himself as one of the area’s most dominant pitchers by winning his first 13 games. That included nine complete games and six decisions where he didn’t allow an earned run.
‘‘It’s been awesome,’’ said Rohe, who will play at Carthage. ‘‘It’s so exciting, probably the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life.’’
Billo, a St. Joseph’s recruit, lost one varsity game in his career and led Sandburg to the Class 4A supersectionals by going 12-1 with two saves.
Illinois recruit Roberts averaged nearly two strikeouts an inning.
Of all the huge statistics Stagg junior first baseman Justin Ringo posted, perhaps his 1.200 slugging percentage was most impressive.
The left-handed hitting Ringo didn’t hit his first homer until the 11th game, but when he connected he didn’t stop until he clubbed an area-high 15. Ringo also had 14 doubles, walked 35 times to 12 strikeouts and hit .538.
‘‘He hits the ball hard almost every time,’’ Stagg coach Matt O’Neill said. “And when he doesn’t, sometimes I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’’’
Brother Rice’s middle infield of four-year starting second baseman Mike McQuillan, an Iowa recruit, and Koziol were the biggest reasons why the Crusaders were the top-ranked team for much of the season. The left-handed hitting McQuillan, a four-time all-Catholic Blue selection, broke his own school record for runs scored (50). Koziol tied the school record with 11 home runs and led the team with 48 RBI.
Like McQuillan, Lake Zurich third baseman Joey DeBernardis has been a standout since his freshman season. In each of his four seasons, the Penn State recruit has hit .400-plus. This season he hit a school-record 13 home runs, slugged 1.125, batted .542, drove in 56 runs and had a 0.82 ERA.
Schaumburg left-handed hitting catcher Dominick D’Agata was one of the best defensive backstops in the state, and a fixture in the Saxons’ lineup for three seasons. The Purdue-bound D’Agata batted .476 with seven homers while throwing out more than 60 percent.
In the outfield, few players made a bigger splash than the 6-1, 205-pound Barry. His 73 RBI rank second in the state single-season record book (80 is the record), to go along with 13 homers, 15 doubles and a .495 batting average.
Joliet Catholic’s John Ruettiger did it all for the top-ranked Hilltoppers. Headed to Arizona State, the athletic Ruettiger batted .488 with 59 runs, 15 doubles, 39 RBI and drew all the big-game pitching assignments, going 9-1 with two saves.
In the utility slot, Illiana Christian’s Braden Kapteyn was dominating. The 6-4 Kapteyn, who’s headed to Kentucky as a third baseman, batted close to .600, had 16 doubles and seven homers, and slugged 1.072. Throwing an 88-92 mph fastball, Kapteyn went 8-2 with 93 strikeouts.
Sox finally whack Zack
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