Baseball: Huntley, Crystal Lake South to meet for sectional title

Huntley and Crystal Lake South flexed their muscles at Wednesday's Class 4A McHenry baseball sectional at Petersen Park.

The Red Raiders utilized a 5-run first inning in knocking off the host Warriors 7-2 in the opener while Gators scored 10 runs in the last 3 innings in crushing DeKalb 13-2 in a six-inning contest.

The Fox Valley Conference powers will meet for a fourth time Saturday at 11 a.m. for the sectional crown. Huntley won 2 of the 3 regular season matchups on their way to the FVC title.

For the Red Raiders (32-6), the key hits in the 5-run first off McHenry starter Nick Morris were a leadoff double by Jeff Heinrich, RBI doubles by Noah Konie and Matt Rodriguez along with run-scoring singles by Adam Smylie and Joe Boland and a sacrifice fly by Brad Maurer.

McHenry was without Louisville recruit Bobby Miller, who was out with an ankle injury.

"We would have liked to have faced Miller because he is an outstanding pitcher," said Huntley coach Andy Jakubowski. "We were still prepared to play and had great approaches at the plate in the first inning."

Heinrich, the leadoff hitter, also reached on a pair of walks.

"We were really fired up to play," said Heinrich. "It was great to jump on them with a 5 spot. It took some of the pressure off."

Cam Reed worked the first 4 innings to earn the win. He gave up 2 runs on 4 hits.

"I had to gut this one out," said Reed. "I didn't have my best stuff. It was nice to pitch with a 5-run lead."

Kyle Morgan blanked the Warriors on 3 hits in 3 innings on the mound.

"I was able to mix my curve and fastball effectively," said Morgan. "I was able to spot all my pitches."

The Gators broke open a close game with a 6-run fourth. South (32-5) utilized the long ball as Scott Skvarek blasted a 2-run homer and Nick Wolski, 3-for-3 with 3 RBI and 3 runs scored, ripped a solo blast to right field.

"I had good swings all night long," said Wolski, "I went with the pitch which was a slider and got all of it."

The Gators, who benefited from 8 DeKalb (10-26) errors, tallied 4 more in the sixth. Wolski, Kory Olsen and Griffin Bright collected run-scoring singles.

Olsen, Skvarek and Bright delivered 2 hits apiece for the winners.

'We were very aggressive at the plate and on the bases," said South coach Brian Bogda. "Our philosophy is to pressure teams. I liked the way we swung the bats up and down the order."

Andy Engelking, who worked 5 innings to earn the win, struck out 3 with a walk and allowed 2 runs on 3 hits including a first-inning solo homer by Eric Nelson. Engelking benefited by 2 Gator double plays.

"I was a little nervous at the beginning of the game," said Engelking. "My defense was outstanding. All the double plays made me relax and I could just pitch."