advertisement

Baseball: Huntley headed to state semifinals

When Nick Laxner is on his game, his Huntley teammates better be on their toes.

Laxner pitched the Red Raiders into the semifinals of the Phil Lawler Summer State Tournament for the first time, shutting out Fremd 5-0 in a swift 75 minutes Tuesday at North Central College.

Laxner was efficient, needing only 78 pitches in the complete game 5-hitter, throwing 52 for strikes. His infield handled 12 ground ball outs, something they are used to doing with Laxner, who started Huntley's regional and sectional championship games this spring.

"He works in and out," first baseman Adam Smylie said. "They are always reaching and get jammed. It's pretty easy because you know they won't be hitting hard ground balls because they don't barrel it up very much. They are always hitting kind of weak ground balls so we just have to be ready and make plays for him."

Huntley (17-6-3) will play Brother Rice at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Boomers Stadium in Schaumburg. The winner plays either Plainfield South or Naperville Central for the summer state title Thursday night.

"Kids are real excited, I'm real excited," Huntley coach Andy Jakubowski said. "It's good for the program, good for the kids and gives them some more exposure and gives us a chance to play for a summer state title and bring it back home to Huntley. That's what we're here for."

The Red Raiders got to Fremd sophomore Victor Fujui for 3 runs in the second. Smylie led off with a walk, went to third on a hit-and-run single by Brad Maurer and scored when Laxner helped himself with a single to right.

Eric Maurer, the No. 9 hitter, kept the rally going with a run-scoring single to left, and Jeff Heinrich made it 3-0 with his single up the middle.

Fremd got out of the inning on a rare double play. On a single to center by Alec Coss, Fremd center fielder Alec Honickel came up throwing home, and catcher Nathan Hill tagged out both Eric Maurer and Heinrich at the plate trying to score on the play - similar to White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk against the Yankees way back in 1985.

Fujui settled down after that and held the Red Raiders scoreless until they plated 2 insurance runs in the sixth on hits by Smylie, Denny Smith and Laxner.

"He pitched well," Fremd coach Chris Piggott said. "He's got a good future. That inning he was getting the ball up and getting it over the plate, and against a good hitting team you've got to hit your spots. He did settle down and threw well after that."

Fremd's best threat against Laxner came in the sixth when 2-out singles by Tom Josten and Eric Bennes brought the tying run to the plate. Will McCabe hit the ball hard but right at right fielder Brad Model for the third out.

"I was just trying to work outside corner," Laxner said. "I would come back with an off-speed and they would be off-balance."

Laxner also led the offense with 2 hits, giving him 4 in the last two days after he said he went all summer with just 9. All but one Huntley player had a hit.

"He was outstanding," Jakubowski said. "He commanded the zone, changed speeds real well. We made plays behind him."

Fremd (16-7) returned to the field against Naperville Central and lost 7-3, ending its summer season. Naperville Central also eliminated Warren 3-1 earlier Tuesday and will play Plainfield South in the first state semifinal at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

St. Charles North (15-3) also lost twice Tuesday to see its best summer season come to a close. The North Stars lost a pair of heartbreakers, first 2-1 to Plainfield South when St. Charles North left the bases loaded and could not score in both the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings. Brother Rice then blanked the North Stars, 4-0, breaking open a tight game with a 3-run sixth inning.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.