Baseball: Turek swings into action for state-bound Aurora Christian
Aurora Christian senior Clark Turek turned frustration into elation with one state-qualifying swing of the bat in Lisle on Monday.
The Eagles had runners at the corners with one out in the bottom of the ninth when Turek hit a line drive over the drawn-in center fielder to walk off Forreston 2-1 in a Class 1A supersectional at Benedictine University.
"I was in that situation two times earlier in the game," said Turek, who previously was 0-for-4. "To go out there and do that feels good to make up for it."
The victory advances Aurora Christian (31-2) to the Final Four in Peoria for the first time in school history. The Eagles will face Ottawa Marquette (30-2) at Dozer Park on Friday at 10 a.m.
"It's awesome," said 11th-year Aurora Christian coach Andy Zorger. "It's a great group. Just a lot of fun to be with. In March I wouldn't have predicted we'd be doing this but they've played great. It's the epitome of a team. We have no superstars; We've got a bunch of good players. It's just really cool to see it come together."
It almost did not come together for Aurora Christian despite numerous opportunities. The Eagles only scored 2 runs, though they put 18 men on base via 12 hits, 3 walks, 2 hit batsmen and an error.
"It was a frustrating game," Aurora Christian second baseman Sam Tickel said after going 4-for-5 with 2 doubles. "We hit the ball better than them. We just kept fighting through."
Aurora Christian took a 1-0, first-inning lead when leadoff man Eric Hernandez pulled a home run down the right-field line against Forreston starting pitcher Brandon Schneiderman for his first varsity round tripper.
Forreston (27-3) evened the score in the third inning against Aurora Christian right-hander Jake Kuntzendorf when Mike Heinz lined a two-out, opposite-field single to right field.
Aurora Christian put at least one runner in scoring position in every inning between the third and the eighth, but failed to score. Forreston relief pitcher Josh Flick got out of a bases-loaded, fifth-inning jam by fielding a comebacker he momentarily dropped.
Flick's defense bailed him out in the sixth by nailing a runner at the plate after a perfect relay throw from right field. He stranded two runners in scoring position in the seventh inning with a strikeout. In the eighth, Flick got Hernandez to line into an inning-ending, line-drive double play.
"It was probably the best game of my life, just the back and forth between the two teams, the competitiveness, just trying to grind out a run," said Flick, who hit MJ Stavola with a pitch to open the bottom of the ninth.
Tickle followed with a sacrifice bunt and legged it out for a hit. Kuntzendorf then hit a flyball to center field, allowing Stavola to tag and advance to third base. That set the state for Turek and the biggest hit in Aurora Christian baseball history.
The ninth-inning rally made a winner of pitcher Hunter Thompson. He threw 2 scoreless innings in relief of Kuntzendorf, who went 7 innings and held the Cardinals to an earned run on 3 hits and 4 walks while striking out 13.
"It's special," Kuntzendorf said of Aurora Christian's first trip to state baseball. "Teams after us are going to ask who was on the team and how they did it. And we're not done yet. We're going down there with the attitude that we're going to win state."