Baseball: Zagula, Mundelein slam St. Charles North
Mundelein baseball coach Todd Parola waited until the last minute to write Zack Zagula's name on the lineup card before Friday's Class 4A semifinal in Joliet.
It turned out to be one of the best decisions the 22nd-year coach ever made.
Zagula, a right-handed batter who hadn't started a game since the regional round and had only pinch hit of late, stepped to the plate in the fifth inning with one out and the bases loaded and hammered an opposite-field grand slam over the right field fence to key a 6-run inning that vaulted the Mustangs to a 10-4 victory over St. Charles North.
"It was the greatest feeling of my life," said Zagula, who was in the cleanup spot despite entering the game batting .191 with no home runs. "I just stepped in the box, was trying to stay calm, took a deep breath and swung at the first fastball I got."
The victory sends Mundelein (31-9) to its first appearance in a baseball state championship game. The Mustangs will play for the Class 4A title against two-time defending state champion Providence (32-9) at approximately 7 p.m. The Celtics defeated Plainfield North 7-4 in the first semifinal at Silver Cross Field.
Zagula's blast keyed a 6-run, 5-hit fifth inning for Mundelein, which had trailed St. Charles North 4-1. The Mustangs scored their first run of the inning on a double by Nick Stricker. They scored their sixth and final run of the inning on a single by catcher Reid Rubio, which gave them a 7-4 lead.
Flipping the lead seemed to flip a switch within Mundelein lefty starting pitcher Brendan Murphy, an Arizona State recruit. After being "hit as hard as he's been hit all year," through the first four innings by the North Stars, according to Parola, Murphy stiffened. He recorded 4 of his 8 strikeouts in the fifth and sixth innings. Zack Zentz pitched a scoreless seventh inning to complete the win.
"I just got fired up," said Murphy (10-2). "We were down 3 runs and then all the sudden I come out the next inning and we've got a 3-run cushion. So I was just like I'm going to pound the zone and focus on my mechanics when I was pitching and it worked. I tried to stay down in the zone, I got outs when I needed to and we won."
St. Charles North coach Todd Genke said he had no doubts in the fifth inning about sticking with Lambert, who was pitching on three days rest, after he walked Murphy to load the bases for Zagula.
"He's our best and we wanted to stick with him," Genke said of Lambert (12-2). "I still thought the pitch was a really good pitch. I still can't believe the ball left the ballpark, I really (can't). I thought it would maybe go over (right fielder) John (Legare's) head, but I can't believe it went out.
"We got beat with our best on the mound and coming in that's what we were going to do. Our best was on the mound. I have to give them a lot of credit, they barreled up some baseballs and made us pay for a couple of mistakes we did make."
Mundelein took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Murphy's single that scored Stricker. However, St. Charles North (32-7) scored twice in the second inning to take the lead, keyed by Zach Fick's run-scoring single. The North Stars added a third run in the third inning on a single by designated hitter Brenden Norberg - a late lineup addition himself in place of ill Oregon commit Sam Faith - and added an unearned run in the fourth inning to take a 4-1 lead.
The Mustangs added 3 insurance runs in the seventh inning to salt the game away, thanks to consecutive doubles by Brett Parola, Rubio and Jake Breitenreiter.
The North Stars will try to complete their season on a winning note in the third-place game against Plainfield North (33-4) at 5 p.m.
"We came down here with a purpose and we still want to be one of the teams that wins their last game of the season," Genke said. "These guys will come back just as hard and we'll do everything we can to finish our season strong and get that last win for these guys."