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PAGE 18 - PLAIN DEALER - WEDNESDAY. MARCH », IM4 Warriors look better than .500 on paper By Mike Lamb Plaindealer sports editor Last spring the McHenry Warrior baseball team failed to finish above .500 in both the Fox Valley Conference and overall, but the situation should change this time around for coach Brian Wilson. At least on paper. Wilson has the luxury of potentially having one of his better teams at McHenry. He has eight returning let- terwinners and six returning starters from a team that finished 8-11 and 6-6 in the FVC. Along with that group, the top three hitters last spring are returning. All Wilson needs to do now is get his team outside so he can see what his team looks like off paper. "Baseball is a sport played outside. You're very limited indoors. There are some things you can't work on because of space limitations," said Wilson. One of the phases of the game Wilson is anxious to look at outside is pitching. Wilson realizes a team can go only as far as the pitching can carry it, and pitching is one of the Warriors question marks. "Pitching, right now, is our bigger concern," Wilson said. "We have nine kids throwing right now. We'll throw everybody up to the first game." That first game is next Monday against Libertyville at McCracken Field. Pat Dunne and Ross Vehring are the Warriors only returning pitchers. Vehring was 1-0 last season with a 2.62 earn run average, while Dunne finished with a 1-1 record and 5.07 earn run average. Dunne is only a junior and Neither one pitched over 10 innings. Dunne and Vehring are also two of the top hitters returning. Vehring led the team last season with a .367 batting average, while hitting three doubles and two triples. Dunne hit .290, while Kevin Moore slugged .297. Tim Pankiewicz also helped out last year with a .283 batting average and slugging out five doubles and one triple. He also led the team with 13 stolen bases. Some talented juniors are also expected to help out in both pitching and hitting. Craig Hill, a junior, hit .370 on the freshmen squad. Last year he participated in track. Potential pitchers include juniors Steve Cun- nigham, John Bolger, Hill and Jeff Schuster. Senior candidates are Podpora, Kevin Moore and Bob Hawley. "Potentially, we have an extremely good hitting team, but that's on paper," added Wilson. "Every year we have been improving. We were 8-11 last-year. We're playing more ballgames this year. I would like to see us 14-7 -- 12-9 or 14-7. It all depends on how the pitching develops. We will be spending more time on pitching." Marian Central has been added in route to a larger schedule. Also, last year, games with Libertyville and Grant were rained out and are on the slate again this season. Wilson isn't expecting a FVC title from his squad, but he is looking for a finish in the top three. Again, pitching holds the key, according to Wilson. He is looking for Dundee-Crown, Woodstock and Crystal Lake Central as the top contenders. "Dundee was stong last year and are now combined with Crown. So they should be very strong this year," said Wilson. "Woodstock should have a good Continued on pogo 17 openers Baseball teams tune-up for (Plaindealer photo by Wayne Gaylord) Leonard Jensen makes a move to the -basket against a Crystal Lake Central player during his 1979-80 season with the McHenry Warriors. The 5-foot-10 guard ended his basketball career with Carroll College this past season. Mr. Basketball ends collegiate career By Mike Lamb Plaindealer sports editor WAUKESHA, Wise. - Every school has its Mr. Basketball. The player that can be counted on to score the points when needed. That player who can lead the team, make the assist, grab that key rebound, or make the outstanding play. For four years, McHenry's Leonard Jensen was Mr. Basketball for Carroll College. Before that, Jensen was a key performer on Ken Ludwig's McHenry Warrior squad that turned in a 18-9 record. His basketball career came to an end. He played his last season in a Carroll College Pioneer jersey. Like Ludwig did after Jensen's last high school season, Carroll coach Dave Fink is sorry to see the 5-foot-ip guard go. "He did everything for us," said Fink. "He ran our offense. He ran oUr team for four years. His desire to succeed and to do well and Continued on pago 17 Weather holds back Johnsburg's progress By Mike Lamb Plaindealer sports editor JOHNSBURG - One look at the list coach Jim Meyers prepared of his players for the upcoming baseball season would have to make the Skyhawk skipper smile every time he glances at it. The list shows 10 returning letterwinners and six returning starters. That's from a team that wait 13-10 and captured a regional championship last season. It also features the return of last year's top pitcher in Jeff Jayko. The righthander led the Skyhawks with a 6-3 record and a 1.96 earn run average. Steve Banaszynski, the number three pitcher last year, is also back. Also returning is the Skyhawks 1983 top hitter and starting catcher, Jim Bentz. He batted .355 for the season. The list of pluses goes on. But, while Meyers is pleased with what his team looks like on paper, he is still quite con­ cerned. He is concerned because the weatherman hasn't been cooperating. "The weather will become an important factor this season. This is the worst year I've seen. We haven't been outside yet," said Meyers. "Some teams have a slight advantage because they have indoor practice facilities." While the weather has been a hinderance, the Skyhawk squad has made the most of the situation and Meyers reports heavy competition for key positions. He is hoping that heavy competition will be the spark towards another suc­ cessful season. Last year was Johnsburg's first winning season in baseball and won its first regional title in that sport. Only a 2-1 loss to Immaculate Conception in the sectionals prohibited the Skyhawks from advancing further. The Skyhawks top goals this year is to cash in another win­ ning season and finish in the top three in the Northwest Suburban Conference. "I look forward to a good year. We have a good nucleus," said Meyers. But he also added he has three main holes to fill before the start of the season. One hole is left open upon the graduation of Jeff Hurckes who was the team's second leading pitcher and shortstop. The second hole is left open on Jeff Fowler's graduation. His 20 stolen bases last year led a team that swiped a total of 54 on the season. Meyers will be looking for someone to take over Fowler's lead-off spot in the batting order. Centerfield is the third spot. Rob Worzala filled that spot last year. As far as the pitching void left open, Meyers is looking for help from juniors Bill Pecucci and Bill Wade and seniors Jim Olekszy, Jeff Preston; Dale Zalke and Tim Adams. The infield features some good competition for spots. The only real position not with a question mark is third base. Joe Majercik filled that spot last year and is expected to fill it again this year. The outfield has four can­ didates; Peccuci, Preston, Wayne Peisert and Robby Robinson. "My philosophy is to put the best nine on the field," Meyers added. The Skyhawks will need its best nine on the field to fulfill their goal in the NWSC. Gone from the conference is last year's champion, Antioch. But Meyers says Wauconda is going to be tough, while Grant and Marengo always field com­ petitive teams. He says Marian Central could be a sleeper. The Skyhawks finished tied for fifth place last year with two other teams with a 6-8 record. Meyers figures pitching will hold the key to the conference title. 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