Mundelein meets the challenge against Grayslake North

In a potential one-and-done baseball game against upset-minded Grayslake North, Mundelein's Reese Dolan wasn't done, even if his regional semifinal start lasted just five batters.

"It was a nightmare," said Dolan, who walked three batters and retired only one before going to play right field. "But my teammates picked me up. I can always count on them."

Dolan picked himself up - and his teammates.

And when the junior sprinted off the field following his diving catch to end the third inning and was greeted by his happy teammates, it was clear the Mustangs were over their slow start.

Third-seeded Mundelein won 13-10 at Lake Zurich on Wednesday in a game that featured 11 pitchers and lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes. Sam Osisek (3-for-5, 3 doubles, 6 RBI) and Luke Peterson (4-for-4, double, 4 runs scored, RBI) paced the Mustangs' 14-hit attack.

Mundelein (26-8) will play the winner of today's game between No. 6 Lake Forest and No. 11 Lake Zurich in Saturday's Class 4A regional final at 11 a.m. Sophomore ace Brendan Murphy, who threw an inning against Grayslake North, is expected to start.

No. 15 Grayslake North (17-19) jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning, with Dolan's bases-loaded walk to Danny Yates starting the scoring. Bobby Krebs' RBI groundout greeted reliever Jake Breitenreiter, before Knights starting pitcher Brendan Taskovic (2-for-3) delivered a two-out, 2-run single.

Mundelein's Zach Zagula and Grayslake North senior George Deligiannis traded RBI doubles, and the Knights took a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the second.

"Our bats were alive," said Deligiannis, who was 2-for-2, walked twice, scored twice and was hit by a pitch. "It's always great to start out like that. We just need to learn to add (runs). That's what those guys are going learn next year. They're going to work all this off-season and just be adding runs (next year). That's what (Mundelein) did really well."

Take the Mustangs' second inning. Dolan led off with a home run to right field. Osisek's 2-run double and Nick Brune's 2-RBI single capped a 5-run frame, and Mundelein had the lead for good at 6-5.

"(The homer) felt awesome," Dolan said. "I owed (my teammates) something. For these seniors, it could have been their last game."

The 4 runs charged to Dolan were unearned. At the plate, he finished 2-for-3 with a walk.

"We told him before the game we're going to have a short leash, no matter who started," Mundelein coach Todd Parola said. "I thought he did a good job of bouncing back. He made a great play in right field, and the home run ignited us in the second inning. That was key. He could have had his head down and been feeling sorry for himself."

Dolan's diving grab robbed Kyle Baker of a hit.

Mundelein was up 9-5 in the sixth, but Grayslake North didn't go down quietly. After Jake Damore's RBI double and an error put runners on first and third with none out, Parola went to the lefty Murphy. He got back-to-back strikeouts before hitting Krebs to load the bases. A fly out ended the threat.

Then in the bottom of the sixth, Mundelein tacked on four more runs. The Mustangs took advantage of 2 errors, while Osisek smacked another 2-run double.

Down 13-6 entering the seventh, Grayslake North rallied again. Patrick Betti, Mundelein's seventh pitcher, got the final out on a strikeout but not before Yates' 3-run double made it a 3-run game. Mundelein pitchers walked nine and hit five batters.

"It's been an Achilles' heel for us lately," Parola said of the free passes. "Fortunately, we swung the bats well enough to put up 13 runs. And I thought we hit some balls hard that they made good plays on."

Each of the four pitchers used by Grayslake North allowed at least one hit.

"Obviously (Mundelein) is a really good team and a really good program," Knights coach Andy Strahan said. "They hit. They hit off-speed stuff in fastball counts. Everything we threw, no matter where it was, they hit it hard."