McElroy in command for St. Viator

Tim McElroy had everything under control Wednesday afternoon for St. Viator.

The senior-to-be threw a complete-game 4-hitter as the eighth-seeded Lions (13-9) won 4-1 at No. 12 Elk Grove (13-9) in a Lake Park regional semifinal of the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Phil Lawler Summer Classic.

“He kept them off-balance all day,” said Viator coach Mike Manno. “He really commanded his fastball real well and moved it in and out. I thought he threw some good change-ups today.”

McElroy had 8 strikeouts and 2 walks and hit 1 batter as he threw 94 pitches. The only run he allowed was unearned as the Lions advanced to Friday’s 2 p.m. regional championship at Lake Park.

Because of District 211 rules not allowing athletic competition when the heat index reaches 100 degrees, No. 3 Schaumburg had its semifinal with No. 2 Huntley rescheduled to 9 a.m. today at Lake Park.

Viator got the only run it needed on a sacrifice fly by Andrew Ferrante (2-for-2) and added 3 runs in the fourth.

“Their guy handled us,” said Elk Grove coach Terry Beyna. “(In Tuesday’s 9-inning win over Bartlett) we were really, really sharp mentally. I give their pitcher a lot of credit but we also created some bad situations for ourselves and we might have kept the game a little closer if we had taken care of our own business.”

Palatine regional

With the heat index rising toward 100, top-seed Fremd and No. 4 Maine South had their semifinal which started at 10 a.m. suspended in the first inning. The game was rescheduled to 8 a.m. today at Fremd with Maine South leading 1-0.