Baseball: Aurora Christian will play for Class 1A championship

PEORIA - The postseason is all about surviving to be able to advance. That's what it took for Aurora Christian to reach the IHSA Class 1A state baseball championship game with a 13-8 victory over Ottawa Marquette on Friday at Dozer Park.

"It was not the prettiest of wins," Aurora Christian coach Andy Zorger said. "At this point you grind it out and find a way. Fortunately, our offense was able to get us a cushion and give us a chance."

Aurora Christian will face Valmeyer (31-9) in Saturday's title game, scheduled for 9 a.m.

The Eagles (32-2) had just 7 hits and all but the final two with two outs in the top of the seventh were singles. A two-out triple by Sam Tickel was followed by a home run from Jake Kuntzendorf to set the final margin.

Kuntzendorf turned on an 0-1 fastball from Marquette pitcher Hunter McAlpine and dropped the ball deep on the lawn berm beyond Dozer Park's left-field fence.

"He threw me a curve ball and I let it go (for a strike)," Kuntzendorf said. "I thought he'd come back with a fastball and he did right at the belt."

Zorger said the homer gave his team some breathing room after twice seeing a 7-run lead shrink to 3.

"That was a big exhale for sure, for me at least," Zorger said. "It lets (reliever Hunter Thompson) relax so if he gives up a few hits it's not a big deal."

Thompson set Marquette down in order in the bottom of the inning. In the previous two innings when the Eagles scored Ottawa Marquette responded with 4 runs in the bottom of the inning.

Aurora Christian broke through with 7 runs in the second, charging Ottawa starter Bryce Foster with 6 runs before getting their first hit off reliever Shane Reynolds.

"It just wasn't our day and our kids knew it wasn't our day after something like that happens," Marquette coach Todd Hopkins said. "But they were like pests and kept hanging around. This is no disrespect to them, but I thought we were going to get them."

Just as Aurora Christian took advantage of second inning plate patience, so too did Ottawa Marquette (30-3). The Crusaders scored their 4 runs on just 1 hit off Aurora starter Eric Hernandez, who pitched 3-plus innings.

"I was trying to get in a groove and couldn't find it," Hernandez said. "The walks hurt us but the offense came through. It was a good team win right there."

Now, the Eagles need just one more to send the seniors off with the first state championship in program history and only the second for an Aurora school (Aurora Central Catholic won the 1983 Class A title).

"It means everything. It's the perfect way to end a career," Kuntzendorf, a sophomore, said. "Our team is doing everything we can to send these guys off (with a championship)."