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Baseball: Oakton advances to Region IV Final Four
Updated: May 21, 2012 6:45PM
Oakton’s baseball team advanced to the NJCAA Division II Region IV Final Four after winning a sectional title on its own field Sunday.
The Raiders (41-17) earned the crown with a 5-4 victory over Moraine Valley. Freshman Brett Synek (Glenbrook North) led the way, finishing 3-for-3 with three RBI — including his school-record ninth home run of the season.
Synek also scored the winning run, crossing home on an RBI single by sophomore Dan Lauria (St. Patrick) in the seventh inning. Sophomore pitcher Nick Vidas (Taft) picked up the win, pitching five scoreless innings.
Oakton began play in the double-elimination sectional with a 7-5 loss to Prairie State on Saturday, but the Raiders stormed back later in the day, defeating Moraine Valley 11-3 to reach the final.
“We’re very excited about advancing to the Final Four,” said Oakton head coach Bill Fratto. “It would be pretty special if we made it to the national tournament (in Enid, Okla., May 26 to June 2). That’s never been done before in school history.”
The Raiders open play in the Region IV finals, at Elgin’s Spartan Field, against Madison College (Wis.) at noon Friday. The double-elimination tourney also includes Kankakee Community College and Black Hawk College.
Men’s tennis
For the seventh time in the last 11 seasons, Oakton is competing in the NJCAA National Championships, being held in Plano, Texas, through Friday.
Led by No. 1 singles player Nick Adamovic (Prospect) — who was named Region IV Player of the Year — the Raiders qualified for nationals during the NJCAA Region IV Tournament in late April.
Men’s track
Oakton’s 3,200-meter relay squad — Kenny Alferes (Maine West), Todd Brady (Notre Dame), Martin Chavez (Maine West) and Haider Sheikh (Maine West) — is competing in the NJCAA Division I National Championships, in Levelland, Texas.
The meet is set to conclude today.
The foursome earned its trip by posting a national-qualifying time of 7:57.22 on May 7.
