Kaneland survives last-ditch Wheaton Academy rally

The margin of error for Kaneland had totally disappeared.

But Jordan Bock ensured the Knights' baseball season would be prolonged for at least two more days.

The right-hander induced Wheaton Academy slugger Jake Lindstedt to pop out, stranding the potential game-tying run at second base in the Knights' 9-8 Memorial Day victory in Maple Park on Monday.

The Knights (21-12), the No. 4 seed, will face top-seeded Burlington Central (24-8), whom they defeated in regular-season play, Wednesday at the Class 3A Hampshire regional.

Fifth-seeded Wheaton Academy had its season close at 28-7.

"It's too bad it had to be a play-in game," Wheaton Academy coach Brad Byrne said.

Trailing 9-3 after the fourth inning, the Warriors' Brett Albaugh - who was tagged with the hard-luck loss - scored Luke Kram and Bryce Sandberg to polish off 5 unanswered runs.

"I felt like they were going to pitch outside," Albaugh said of his opposite-field drive to the base of the right-center fence. "They were throwing low and away the whole game and the right fielder was playing super shallow."

But the Warriors' season came to a sudden close when Bock induced the innocuous popup to shortstop.

It marked the conclusion of a most improbable Kaneland victory.

But good things happen when contact is made in the sport of baseball. Not a single Kaneland batter was retired via strikeout in the Knights' 25 official plate appearances.

"They're a good hitting team," Byrne said. "They don't miss the baseball at all."

The Knights would score all of their runs in the opening four innings - on an equal number of hits.

Jacob Bachio and Matthew Rosko would have the two defining hits for Kaneland: 2-run singles in the first and fourth innings.

It was the only hit the Knights' mustered in the fourth inning.

Joe Panico and Jacob Violett had the only other hits for the Knights: run-scoring doubles in the Knights' 5-run first.

The Kaneland first-inning outburst was needed after Kram plated a pair in the Warriors' 3-run first with a two-out double.

"It was great," said Kaneland starting pitcher John O'Sullivan, who was credited with the win. "After that first inning - it was a little rough in the field (all 3 runs were unearned) - we came back and put five on the board. (The Warriors) were throwing the ball around a little bit. We will take what we can get."

Kaneland scored 2 runs in the second without the benefit of a base hit.

"We just needed more and more insurance," Bachio said. "We knew we were going to keep scoring. We kept tacking on."

"We made some plays that we would like to have back," Byrne said of the Warriors' 4 errors.