Baseball: 5 standout stats from the 2023 season in McHenry County

For the first time since 2016, the Fox Valley Conference was not represented in either the Class 3A or 4A State Tournaments.

Still, five FVC teams won regional titles, along with Marengo setting its school record (22-8) and winning a Class 2A regional for the first time since 2004.

Here are a few statistics that stood out from the 2023 baseball season in McHenry County.

Only 7

That was the number of earned runs allowed by Cary-Grove ace Ethan Dorchies, who threw a shutout for the Trojans to beat Prairie Ridge 1-0 in the Class 3A C-G Regional championship. Dorchies, a junior righthander committed to Illinois-Chicago, threw 62 2/3 innings and finished with an ERA of 0.782.

Dorchies’ only loss came in relief in a game against Burlington Central when he finished a suspended game, then started the regular game. He was nearly an automatic win when he stepped on the mound, finishing 9-1.

Twinning

Huntley center fielder Brayden Bakes said, “We’re basically the same person,” when talking about his twin brother Ryan. The two have been three-year standouts for the Red Raiders.

The Bakeses look identical in appearance and so do their hitting numbers. Here are their lines.

Player	Avg.	Hits	2B	3B	HR	RBIs	OPS
Brayden Bakes	.394	43	11	4	10	36	1.376
Ryan Bakes	.406	43	10	2	13	37	1.445

McHenry’s Cooper Cohn fields a throw against Brother Rice in last year's Class 4A State Tournament third-place game. Cohn returned to have an outstanding season for the Warriors this year. (Gary Middendorf - gmiddendorf@shawnedia.com/Gary Middendorf)

26 extra-base hits

The numbers for McHenry catcher Cooper Cohn, who FVC coaches voted to the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association All-Region team, were right with the Bakes brothers.

Cohn hit .408, with 12 doubles, two triples, 12 homers, 37 RBIs and a 1.321 OPS. Almost all the damage he inflicted came out of the leadoff spot. He also committed only three errors.

Marengo’s Caden Vogt throws a pitch during a Kishwaukee River Conference baseball game against Johnsburg Monday, April 3, 2023, at Hiller Park in Johnsburg. Marengo defeated Johnsburg 5-0. — Marengo’s Caden Vogt throws a pitch during a Kishwaukee River Conference baseball game against Johnsburg on April 3. He recorded 18 of his 123 strikeouts for the season in that game. (Gregory Shaver — gshaver@shawmedia.com/Gregory Shaver for Shaw Media )

123 Ks

Marengo lefthander Caden Vogt led the area in strikeouts for the second consecutive season, fanning 123 batters in 61 1/3 innings. If that number looks familiar, Vogt, who will pitch at McHenry County College next year, whiffed 122 hitters in 64 innings last year.

Vogt also set several offensive records for the Indians and led the area with 39 RBIs.

5 different categories

Offensive categories in which center fielder Zach Smith led Richmond-Burton this season, after not having played competitive baseball since before middle school.

Smith decided he wanted to play a sport in the spring of his senior year and worked hard throughout the winter. He wound up hitting .395, with seven doubles, three triples, three homers, 25 RBIs and 15 stolen bases for the Rockets. In all of those categories, except average, he led or tied for the team lead.

R-B graduated most of its lineup from the 2022 team that was Class 2A state runner-up, so Smith was a welcome addition. R-B started 1-8, but finished 15-13.