Baseball: St. Charles North overcomes obstacles for 1st state trip

So close for so many years, St. Charles North is finally heading to the state baseball tournament.

That the North Stars (32-6) got to Silver Cross Stadium in Joliet where they will face Mundelein (30-9) at about 7:30 p.m. Friday in the second Class 4A semifinal isn't surprising.

But how they did it, overcoming the disappointment of so many seasons before, and also a devastating injury midway through this year, certainly is - then winning three straight 1-run games including two walk-off wins in the postseason.

"It's been a remarkable thing to see those kids go through that," St. Charles North coach Todd Genke said. "We've been really relying on our seniors and they have been the glue. It's been such a fun group to watch."

The North Stars won regional championships in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2014 and 2015. Each of those were highly talented rosters, including teams that won 33, 32 and 30 games.

None of them were able to win a sectional title.

This year's North Stars finally did, beating Batavia 4-3 in a game they trailed 3-2 in the sixth inning.

St. Charles North then won the supersectional by the same 4-3 score, this time trailing New Trier 3-0 in the sixth inning. The North Stars scored two runs in the sixth and two in the seventh, the final two on Sam Faith's hit when the junior was down to his last strike.

Genke said he's still on cloud nine.

"With social media the Twitter and Facebook is just blowing up," Genke said. "So many alumni have reached out to me. So many coaches in the conference and in the area have reached out to me to congratulate us on this run."

The North Stars made it to state without their top pitcher and No. 3 hitter coming into the year, junior Tyler Mettetal. A South Carolina recruit, Mettetal underwent Tommy John surgery last month after leaving abruptly from a start against Geneva.

That's the type of loss not many teams can overcome. The North Stars were able to slide Jack Lambert (12-1, 1.42 ERA, 100 strikeouts) into the No. 1 spot in the rotation, have pitchers like Ryan Litavecz and Tim Hasto take on bigger roles, and find a way to win big games in the postseason. Litavecz is 4-2 with a 2.12 ERA and Hasto is 5-0 with an 0.52.

Hard-throwing closer Christian Sidoti also is able to pitch multiple innings. He is 4-1 with a 1.68 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 25 innings.

"When Tyler got hurt they could have pouted, they could have said this is not our year," Genke said. "Obviously that hasn't happened. We have really rallied around the fact we haven't had Tyler. These kids have stepped up."

Genke also had to reshuffle his lineup. Luke Corcoran moved up into the No. 2 spot and Tyler Mettetal's brother Zach came up to hit third.

John LeGare moved down from No. 2 to No. 5 where he has provided another big bat in the middle of the order, providing protection for cleanup hitter Kyle Novotney.

One spot that didn't change was Brendan Joyce at leadoff. He's batting .381 with 14 doubles and 40 runs scored, the later two numbers the team high by a wide margin. Zach Mettetal is batting .369 with a team-best 31 RBI, while the senior leaders Genke likes so much are all producing: Joyce, Cocoran (.375 average), Novotney (.327) and LeGare (.356, team-high 3 home runs), among others.

Genke also has had some encouraging words for Tyler Mettetal.

"I gave him a hug (after the supersectional win) and I could tell it has been really hard on him," Genke said. "It has been bittersweet. He's happy for his teammates and his brother but he wants to be out there like anybody else does. His rehab is going well and he's staying positive and right now he's his brother's biggest fan. He's done a really nice job in a difficult situation. You have to feel for him especially having a twin brother be such a big part of what we are doing."

Against Todd Parola's Mundelein Mustangs, St. Charles North faces a team making its first state appearance since 2002.

Brendan Murphy, a 6-foot-4 junior left-hander, leads the Mustangs on the mound with a 9-2 record, 1.00 ERA and 102 strikeouts in only 69 innings. Will Michalski is 8-2 with a 2.12 ERA.

Murphy also is the toughest out in the Mundelein lineup with a .426 batting average, a team-best 16 doubles and 33 RBI, and tied for the team lead with 2 home runs. Jake Breitenreiter has a .387 average and Jeff Morton is hitting .372.

The North Stars got their only look at the Mustangs on Monday night when they beat Huntley 8-0 just after St. Charles North's win over New Trier at Boomers Stadium.

"Don't know a whole lot about them," Genke said. "It's interesting because when you play in a conference and play a team 3 times, you get to know them well. It poses some problems knowing what their lineup is like, what they do on first and thirds, how is their catcher? We were able to get some of that information (Monday), but we know they are a quality team."

Friday's winner will play either Providence (31-9) or Plainfield North (33-3) for the state title at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. The North Stars faced Plainfield North in a nonconference game this spring in a game rained out in the third inning.