Game Balls: Top performances from the week in high school sports

Travis Anderson

One of the emotional leaders of the defending Class 3A state champion Edwardsville Tigers, Anderson returned from a stress fracture in his right ankle to win the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles as Edwardsville captured the title in the Winston Brown Invitational on Saturday at Edwardsville High School.

Addison Barnouski

The Panther senior led at the plate and the pitcher’s circle in a two-win week for O’Fallon. In a 5-1 conference win over Belleville West, Barnouski was 2-for-2 at the plate with two RBI. She allowed just one earned run while striking out four. In a 3-1 win over Centralia the day before, she again allowed just one earned run while striking out 11. She helped herself at the plate by going 2-for-3.

Cameron Bauer and Dillon Weiss

Opposing pitchers had no luck with Weiss last week as the senior outfielder went 10-for-13 (.769) with two doubles and three RBIs over a red-hot three-game stretch. The Truman State football and baseball recruit is hitting .397 with six doubles, 13 RBIs and a team-high 23 runs scored. Bauer went 5-for-9 in three games last week with a double, his first career home run and two RBIs. The slick-fielding senior shortstop and Alabama recruit pushed his team-leading batting average to .423 with six doubles, one homer and 11 RBIs.

Sam Calhoun

Calhoun played a major role in helping the Maroons take the team title at the Belleville East Tennis Tournament on Saturday. Calhoun won the No. 5 singles flight after teaming with Austin Quandt to win the title at No. 3 doubles Friday.

Paige Cates

The sophomore had a career day in Saturday’s 9-3 win over Dupo. Cates surrendered no earned runs and allowed just four Dupo hits, three of which came on bunts. She also struck out 10 batters, while walking two in the sixth inning.

Ty Dill and Austin Sweet

Freeburg baseball

Freeburg senior shortstop Ty Dill and first baseman Austin Sweet each drove in five runs during a 3-1 week for the Midgets. Dill, headed to Lindenwood-Belleville, hit .533 (8-for-15) with two runs and five RBIs. Sweet was at .462 (6-for-13) with three doubles, a home run and five RBIs. As of Monday, Dill led the Midgets with a .462 with seven doubles and one home run. His 25 RBIs were second to team-leader Keegan Baxmeyer’s 26. Sweet was at ,.429 with one homer and 12 RBIs.

A.J. Epenesa

One of the premier athletes in the state, Epenesa continued to excel in the discus with a throw of 206 feet 5 inches — the best in the nation by a high school athlete this spring —as he helped the Tigers win the Winston Brown Invitational on Saturday. Epenesa’s throw is the second longest in state history according to the Illinois High School Association record book.

Kiri Evans

The junior finished her day at Dupo just a home run short of the cycle while driving home three runs and scoring two more. Evans raised her season average to .456 with 18 RBIs, both of which rank second on the Maroons. Her 25 runs scored is a team high.

Bradley Harrison

The senior left-hander continued his mound magic this season by tossing a one-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts last Thursday in a 10-0 Southwestern Conference victory over Belleville West. The Southern Illinois University Carbondale recruit is 7-0 with a 0.30 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 46 innings, but also is one of the Panthers’ top hitters. He’s at .344 with eight doubles, two home runs and 20 RBIs.

Mariya Hudson

A key member of the Comanches girls team that has won back-to-back state championships, Hudson looks to be in top form as Cahokia goes for a three-peat next month. A junior, Hudson won the 100-, 200- and 400-meter titles last week to help Cahokia to a third-place finish in the Alton Invitational.

Emily Holten

Holten banged in two goals Saturday night as the Kahoks gained an impressive 3-2 triumph over visiting Ursuline. Holten, a junior striker, leads the club in goals (12) and assists (eight). It was a strong week for Collinsville, which also conquered host Granite City 2-1 on Thursday to register its sixth consecutive Southwestern Conference championship.

Dominic Macaluso

The Panthers No. 1 player, Macaluso provided a major upset in the top flight at the Belleville East Invitational on Saturday. Macaluso defeated previously undefeated Alex Lescoulie of Carbondale 7-6, 4-6, 6-2 in the title match.

Katie Rogers

Rogers, a freshman who was promoted to the varsity six games into the season, continued to pile up goals as she accounted for the only score in the Knights’ 1-0 win over Althoff on Thursday at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville. Rogers leads Triad with 12 goals and also has chipped in with two assists.

Nick Stevenson

Stevenson had 17 kills and seven digs as the Maroons clinched a second straight Belleville City title with a 25-21, 25-21 win over Althoff earlier in the week.

Dylan Wilson

The sophomore left-hander has emerged as one of Central’s best pitchers this season, crafting a 5-0 record and 0.45 ERA. Wilson has shutouts in four of his five starts, including a three-hitter against Carlyle last Tuesday in a Cahokia Conference victory that included 11 strikeouts. He also shut down Columbia on eight hits in a 2-0 victory for another conference win and has 41 strikeouts in 31 innings.

Lexi Touchette

Touchette was 2-for-4 in a 3-2 win over Wesclin, then led the hit parade in the Eagles 10-0 win over Carlyle Thursday. She was 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles, two runs scored and four RBIs. Columbia improved to 13-3 on the season.

Kassidy Smith

In a double header sweep of Roxana Saturday, Smith went 3-for-5 with a double, home run and five runs batted in. She also had laid down three sacrifice bunts.

This story was originally published April 26, 2016 at 2:00 AM with the headline "Game Balls: Top performances from the week in high school sports."