H-F Nine is Riding on Cloud Nine

Nine is a baseball number.

It's also the number of wins in a row for Homewood-Flossmoor, which is off to a red-hot start on the diamond.

The Vikings (11-1, 2-0) defeated Stagg 7-3 as Dan Lietz picked up the win. He went six innings, giving up three runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out five. Elon Chamberlain hit a two-run homer to spark the H-F offense.

On Wednesday, the Vikings opened up Southwest Suburban Red Conference play with a 7-5 win over Joliet Central. Justin Smith had three RBIs and also picked up the save on the mound. Then, onThursday, the Vikings beat Joliet Central again 12-4 as Lietz led the offense with three RBIs.

Viking Girls Place Second

The H-F girls water polo team took second in the 11th annual Mike Murphy Water Polo Tournament in Oak Park. The tournament featured some of the best teams in the state. The Vikings fell to perennial power Fenwick 9-4 in the championship match.

The Vikings went 2-1 in pool play, beating St. Ignatius and losing an 8-7 match to Stevenson. Hannah Ongman had two goals and Rebecca Mathes and Michelle Mayer each had one goal in the loss to Fenwick, while Sophie Schloen made six saves.

In a battle with defending state champion Lyons Township on Monday, the Vikings pulled out a dramatic 10-8 win in overtime. Annie Schloen put the game out of reach with a goal with 48 seconds left to close out the scoring.

Mayer had four goals, Annie Schloen and Ongman had two goals each. Sophie Schloen made 14 saves. The Vikings' record is 13-3.

H-F Boys Rule in the Pool

The H-F boys water polo team won the St. Patrick Invitational. The Vikings defeated Loyola 9-4 in the championship match. H-F also defeated Evanston (19-3), Libertyville (17-2) and Brother Rice (7-6) to go a perfect 4-0.  Luke Dobben led the way with 15 goals, while Shay Banton had 13.

On Monday, H-F dropped a 12-4 match to Lyons Township as Kevin Kuchta had two goals. On Tuesday, the Vikings beat Lockport 15-6. Banton scored six goals.

The Vikings record is now 16-3-2 overall and 6-0 in the Southwest Suburban Blue Conference.

Extra Points

Ohio State recruit Abieya Ehimwenman won the long jump and triple jump at the H-F Invitational as the Vikings finished second out of 21 teams. Rock Island won the event. Other winners for the Vikings included Leslie Esco in the 100 and the 400 relay squad.

* The H-F girls soccer team has won its first eight games. The Vikings beat Lincoln-Way North 2-0 on Tuesday as Kelly Lewers scored two goals and Kim Boehm recorded the shutout. On Thursday, the Vikings recorded another shutout and avenged last year’s regional final loss to Stagg with a 2-0 victory. Haley Hruska had a goal and an assist and scoring-machine Lewers netted another goal.