Baseball: Scouting Mundelein in Class 4A baseball
Baseball: Scouting Mundelein in Class 4A baseball
Mundelein Mustangs (30-9) vs. St. Charles North North Stars (32-6)
What: Class 4A baseball state semifinal
When: Approximately 6:30 p.m. today (following 5 p.m. semi between Providence and Plainfield North)
Where: Silver Cross Field, Joliet
Mundelein's road to the state finals: Defeated Highland Park (9-0) and Libertyville (3-1) to win the Libertyville regional; defeated Lake Forest (7-6) and Warren (4-0) to win the Stevenson sectional; defeated Huntley (8-0) to win the Schaumburg Boomers 2 supersectional.
St. Charles North's road to the state finals: Defeated Glenbard North (16-4 in 5 innings) and Wheaton North (6-1) to win the Hoffman Estates regional; defeated Lake Park (5-4 in 8 innings) and Batavia (4-3) to win the Schaumburg sectional; defeated New Trier (4-3) to win the Schaumburg Boomers 1 supersectional.
Mundelein's state history: This is Mundelein's third trip to the state finals, following appearances in 1978 and 2002. The Mustangs finished fourth in 2002. Last year, Mundelein lost in the sectional final to Stevenson, 2-1.
St. Charles North's state history: This is St. Charles North's first appearance in the state finals. The North Stars have won five regional titles. Last year, St. Charles North lost in the sectional semifinal to Glenbard North 1-0.
Coaches: Todd Parola, Mundelein; Todd Genke, St. Charles North
Streaks: Mundelein has lost only two games (both to Warren) since April 16. St. Charles North had a stretch during the regular season in which it won 21 of 22 games.
Skinny: Coaches and players at Mundelein, a perennial contender for the North Suburban Conference Lake Division title, were bummed that back-to-back losses late in the season to Warren eliminated them from a shot at the league championship. The Mustangs have been on a mission ever since. They earned a tough win over rival Libertyville in the regional championship, rallied from behind to defeat Lake Forest in the sectional semifinal and avenged their two losses to Warren in the sectional championship. Mundelein, which has recorded at least 23 wins in each of the last 11 seasons and three 30-win seasons during that stretch, is looking to become the first North Suburban Conference team, and just the third team from Lake County (Waukegan 1971, Waukegan West 1983, Barrington 1986) to win a state championship. The Mustangs will look to ride pitchers Brendan Murphy, the Lake County all-area team captain and an Arizona State recruit, and Will Michalski, who pitched a complete-game gem in a supersectional win over Huntley. Murphy is 9-2 with 102 strikeouts in 63 innings and a 1.00 ERA. Michalski is 8-2. Murphy is also Mundelein's top hitter out of the No. 3 spot. He has a .426 average with a team-leading 52 hits and 33 RBI … St. Charles North, which has posted back-to-back 32-win seasons, also has a dominant ace in Jack Lambert, who is 12-1 and has 100 strikeouts in 74 innings. He has a 1.42 ERA. The offense is led by Zach Mettetal with a team-high 41 hits and 31 RBI. Brendan Joyce isn't far behind with 40 hits, including 14 doubles.
Next: Winner advances to Saturday's Class 4A state championship game (5 p.m.) and will face the winner of the other semifinal between Providence Catholic and Plainfield North. Loser plays the loser of that game in the third-place game at 3 p.m.
- Patricia Babcock McGraw