Baseball: Tasty victory as Grayslake Central polishes off Lakes
Victory alone is sweet enough for Grayslake Central junior first baseman Benton Troehler.
Who needs cheesecake?
"I'm not a big fan," Troehler said after going 2-for-4 with a double and 3 RBI, as he and his teammates ousted top-seeded Lakes 10-3 in a Class 3A semifinal of the Lake View sectional at Kerry Wood Cubs Field in Chicago on Wednesday. "It's not my thing."
It's teammate Coby Moe's - and most humans' - thing.
"You got to like cheesecake," Moe said.
Grayslake Central likes how postseason success tastes. After the fifth-seeded Rams won their own regional, coach Troy Whalen noted to his seniors that they won their last game on their home field. The team gets a plaque on a school wall, too.
Said Whalen: "I told the guys, 'We just had one heck of a meal, at a Hugo's or Gibsons. Think about the best steak you can have. But guess what? They bring that dessert cart out and then you find room for that cheesecake.'
"That's been the fun theme with the guys: Let's keep eating cheesecake."
The Rams will settle for crumbs if it means winning another sectional championship. Grayslake Central (21-15) takes on No. 2 St. Viator (21-15) in Saturday's 1:30 p.m. final. Whalen's squad will be trying to win its sixth sectional title since 2006.
The Rams earned their championship-game berth by beating Lakes (18-16) for the fourth time this season. They swept the three-game series from the Eagles in Northern Lake County Conference action.
Like he did Saturday in the regional final against Antioch, Moe played a huge part with his arm.
The sophomore righty pitched 3⅓ innings of 1-run ball in relief of starter Justin Shepley and earned the win.
"Coby didn't have his best stuff because he's coming off three-days rest," Whalen said. "I didn't want to go to him that early (two out in the third), but there is no tomorrow."
Moe also triggered an inning-ending, 1-4-3 double play that got the Rams out of a jam in the bottom of the fifth, after they had just scored 4 runs in the top of the inning to take a 5-3 lead.
"Momentum shifted," said Lakes coach Bob Holst, whose team built a 3-1 lead thanks to RBI singles by Jason Volpe and Tommy Jones in the second and Jack Christensen in the fourth.
Grayslake Central's fifth included a go-ahead, RBI fielder's choice by Troehler and run-scoring single by Shepley.
In the bottom of the inning, Moe allowed an infield single to Volpe and then hit Jones. But Moe got a strikeout for the first out, then speared Matt Grubb's bouncer up the middle and started the double play.
"The ball was hit hard," Moe said. "I was just trying to stick my glove out there and knock it down, maybe get the out at first."
"That was the key to the game," Whalen said. "Then all of a sudden we come out the next inning, put some guys on and took advantage of some mistakes."
Grayslake Central blew the game open in the sixth, scoring five more times. Kyle Allen drew a bases-loaded walk, before Ben Fitzgerald lifted a sacrifice fly. Troehler doubled in two more with a shot off the top of the fence in the left field.
"Situational hitting," Troehler said of the Rams' big inning, which also included Tony Crews' bunt single. "Just trying to put this one away."
Troehler, Crews, Shepley and Ben Kordek each had 2 hits for Grayslake Central.
Lakes got a pair of hits each from Quinn McQuade, Christensen and Volpe, and Brandon Khan doubled. Sophomore starting pitcher Joe Glassey (5 strikeouts) left after 4⅓ innings and the bases loaded. All 3 runners scored, two on wild pitches.
"The ball was starting to come up a little bit," Holst said of Glassey. "He was at 70-some pitches so I figured I'd get him out of there. He threw better than I thought he would. I thought he threw well."