It's Tournament Time in Lake Zurich!

The Northwest Suburban Baseball Tournament was held last week, and, as expected, Lake Zurich High School’s Sean Eder displayed his arsenal of pitching, hitting and defensive weapons to maximum effect. Pitching for the North Suburban Conference June 18, Eder was dominant against the West Suburban Conference, pitching hitless ball with a strikeout and a walk.

Eder mostly used his fastball, which ranges in speed between the mid- to high 80s. He also employed his slider four or five times in certain key situations. While there were college scouts checking out the tournament action, some of whom were undoubtedly focused on Eder’s savvy performance, the senior-to-be insisted that he blocks out that sort of peripheral information when he takes the field.

Eder was a dominant force offensively this past season on the high school’s varsity squad, and he displayed his power in the tournament game, going 2-for-2 with a homer and three RBIs as NSC defeated the WSC 10-6. Eder’s blast came off a curve ball with Vernon Hills’ Chris Marras on first base. It was a high-arcing fly that just cleared the fence in left-center field. 

Eder also made an outstanding defensive play later in the game when he shifted to right field. After diving for a sinking liner that bounced past him, Eder caught up with the ball and fired a perfect throw to second to get the runner. It was another example of just how multitalented he is.

Eder and teammate Michael Lutz figure to be the backbone of a very strong pitching staff for the Bears in the spring of 2012, and Lake Zurich should be a dominant force in their conference next season.

Several area tennis players performed well in the recent Chicago District Tennis Association qualifier held last week in Des Plaines. Martin Redlicki advanced to the finals in the Boys 18 singles despite being the tournament’s No. 13. After winning handily in his first two matches, Redlicki defeated the No. 7 seed, Chicago’s Benjamin Quazzo, 6-1, 6-1. That set up a quarterfinal matchup with No. 5 seed Brian Page of Wheaton. Redlicki encountered a stronger challenge from Page, but he persevered, winning 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 to earn a berth in the semifinal round. He was victorious over No. 3 seed Sam Bloom of Hinsdale, who was forced to withdraw with an injury after the first game of the first match, which Redlicki won.

Unfortunately, Redlicki succumbed to No. 4 seed Jared Hiltzik of Wilmette, 6-2, 6-2 to finish second-best.

Lake Zurich’s Samuel Komis is another up-and-coming player to watch. He finished second in the Boys 12 singles during the qualifier. Seeded at No. 3, Komis shut out his opponents 6-0, 6-0 in his first two rounds and then defeated No. 15 seed John Carroll of Hinsdale, 7-5, 6-2 in the round of 16. Komis then won easily over No. 7 seed Nicholas Marino of Northbrook, 6-1, 6-1 in the quarterfinals. Progressing to the semifinal round, Komis prevailed over No. 5 seed Daniel Mateescu of Westchester, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Komis was the defeated 6-3, 6-3 in the finals by No. 1 seed Gianni Ross of Burr Ridge.

Grant Thompson of Hawthorn Woods also played well, reaching the round of 16 in the Boys 16 singles. The No. 6 seed won a pair of matches, 6-0, 6-2 and 7-5, 6-1 before falling to No. 16 seed Jeremy Dixon of Oak Park, 6-1, 6-4. 

The boys and girls volleyball junior national championships will take place from late June to early July, and a number of Lake Zurich-area players have made the grade. The Adversity Volleyball Club in Vernon Hills is where the area boys and girls team are spending long hours practicing in preparation for the second-largest event in the volleyball season. The top 11 boys teams from Adversity, including five in the open division, will be going to the AAU Junior National Championships in Minneapolis. There will be eight girls teams from the elite program at Sky High Volleyball in Crystal Lake that will make the trip to the USA Junior National Championships in Atlanta. All told, there will be more than 300 boys and girls teams from around the country competing in both cities.

Founded in 1997, Adversity Volleyball Club boasts more than 130 players, ages of 15 to 18, mostly from the northern and northwestern suburbs. Sky High was started in 1989 by Scott and Sherry Harris, who have overseen its growth during the 22 years that they’ve run it. While volleyball has grown steadily in popularity over the last two decades, it has exploded over the last few years. There are now more than 40 volleyball facilities in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, whereas several years ago there were just a few.

The Adversity players from Lake Zurich who will make the trip to Minneapolis include Coulton Every and Mike Savio, as well as Carmel’s Mike Everding. The Sky High players from Lake Zurich heading to Atlanta include Natalie Gora, Alexis Hartman, Amanda Orchard, Layne Self and Ali Summers. The Carmel players are Haley Nedelka, Karrah Toby and Hannah Turner.

Correction: The Lake Zurich vs. Deerfield American Legion baseball game on June 30 will be played at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, not in Deerfield as previously mentioned.