Baseball: Willowbrook beats St. Francis with two big innings
Turns out there's something better than staging a stunning 7-run, game-tying, seventh-inning rally.
How about scoring 8 runs with two outs in the ninth inning to win the same game?
That's exactly what Willowbrook's baseball team did in Friday's 15-8 victory over St. Francis in the Class 4A Lake Park regional semifinals played at Wheaton's Lee Pfund Stadium at Legion Field.
After fifth-seeded St. Francis (21-13) broke a scoreless tie by scoring 7 runs in the bottom of the sixth, the 12th-seeded Warriors (18-16) battled through a 7-run top of the seventh to tie the game and eventually send it to extra innings.
Both teams were held scoreless in the eighth inning, but Willowbrook again exploded for 8 runs in the ninth to pull ahead for good.
"That was by far the craziest game I've ever played in," said Willowbrook starting pitcher Cam Zunkel, who had 2-run doubles in both innings. "To be down 7 runs and still have the energy and the fight that my team had behind me, that was crazy."
Zunkel and St. Francis starter J.P. Clifford cruised until the bottom of the sixth when the Spartans' Brett Whelton broke the ice with a 2-run single. Foster Heise, Nolan Peachan and Cam McNamara added run-scoring hits as St. Francis built a seemingly insurmountable 7-0 lead with only three outs to get.
"You definitely don't expect to give up a 7-0 lead," said Spartans coach Nick Hall, who used six pitchers trying to stop the bleeding. "You expect to close the door, but they just got a lot of hits. You just feel bad for the seniors that this will be the last time they get to put on their jerseys."
Willowbrook sent 12 batters to the plate in the wild top of the seventh and did the bulk of the game-tying damage with one out. A bases-loaded walk to Alec Michaelson, Zunkel's 2-run double and Mark Molitor's 2-run single pulled the Warriors within 7-5, and then they tied it when 2 runs scored on a wild pitch.
M.J. Ranieri singled in the go-ahead run in the ninth. Matt Garbacz, who was the winning pitcher in relief, and T.J. Geritano added 2-run hits on top of Zunkel's. Jon Kelso ended the second scoring burst with an RBI single.
Shane Walker drove in a run for St. Francis in the bottom of the ninth, but the Spartans couldn't match Willowbrook's comeback. Garbacz closed out the victory to send the Warriors to the regional final to face Lake Park at 11 a.m. Saturday in Roselle.
"We've had so many tough losses, and it's so easy to hang your head," said Warriors coach Vic Wisner. "But they've got the shortest memory, and they don't want to miss it when it turns around for them. It's just awesome to see it happen."
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