Palmer helps rescue Leyden

Leyden was in deep trouble with a 5-run deficit in the bottom of the sixth inning of the Glenbrook South Class 4A baseball sectional semifinal Wednesday afternoon.

But the top-seeded Eagles dug deep to start a stunning rally which Eric Palmer capped by going deep against No. 4 New Trier.

Palmer’s 3-run homer to right field on an outside fastball was the exclamation point on a 6-run outburst which gave Leyden (28-5) a 9-8 victory in Glenview.

Palmer’s fourth homer of the year also gave him the victory as he improved to 7-1 with 1⅓ innings of relief against the Trevians (25-11). The Eagles advanced to a sectional final for the third time in five years and will play at 10 a.m. Saturday against the winner of today’s 4:30 p.m. semifinal between No. 2 Glenbrook North (31-3) and No. 3 Loyola (16-18).

Palmer had 2 hits, Carlos Olavarria went 2-for-3 with 3 RBI and Justin Stawychny went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI for Leyden, which took a 3-0 lead in the second inning. But New Trier started its comeback with 2 runs in the fourth, took the lead with a 4-run fifth and added 2 runs in the sixth.