Baseball: Delgado times it right in Antioch's dramatic win

Better late than never.

And boy, was the Antioch baseball team running late on Saturday afternoon.

The Sequoits were just about out of time, and chances; or in baseball terms, outs and strikes.

Antioch was down to its final out and its final strike in the Class 3A Lake View sectional championship game against Prairie Ridge at Kerry Wood Cubs Field in Chicago.

The Sequoits had been fighting from behind most of the game. And they were behind again, down by a run when left fielder Austin Delgado came up to bat with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

He had two runners on, at second and third, but he fell behind 0-2 in the count.

"It was very nerve-wracking," Delgado said. "It was crazy. But our coaches kept us up the whole game. It was a matter of not doubting ourselves."

Delgado kept believing that he would get a pitch that he could hit. And he finally did.

He got a fastball from Prairie Ridge reliever Ben Harris, and while late in the game by perhaps all other standards, it was at just the right time for him. Delgado ripped that fastball to right center field and brought in two baserunners for a theatrical 8-7 sectional championship come-from-behind win.

It is the first time in school history that Antioch (20-13) has won a sectional title in baseball. The Sequoits next face Nazareth at 4 p.m. on Monday in the North Central College supersectional, with a berth in the Class 3A state finals on the line.

"Everybody thought we were going to lose to these guys. And we were down the whole time," Delgado said. "To come back like we did was so huge.

"This was so fun. To get the winning hit, it's crazy. I don't even know what to say."

Antioch coach Chris Malec, a former baseball star at Antioch himself who remembers playing in a sectional championship game loss, had plenty to say about Delgado.

A role player as recently as last season, Delgado now has the chance to play in college.

"He was kind of a situational guy for us last year and he did a great job on himself over the off-season," Malec said of Delgado. "He turned himself into a pitcher, he's done a great job in left field, he's hit everywhere from 2 to 9 in our lineup so he's been versatile. It's awesome the year he's had, and now this. You've got to feel so good for a kid like that."

Malec was feeling good about all of his players, and the tremendous resiliency they showed from start to finish against Prairie Ridge. The Sequoits were down 3-0, 4-3 and 7-3 at different points throughout the game. And they rallied each time to either tie the game or stay within striking distance.

"We've been a team that's not afraid, and if they get down, they don't give up," Malec said. "They're a group that just keeps playing and they really support each other. Up and down the bench they were cheering for each other. They just don't quit. They're great kids.

"There's not many situations like that where you're down (to your last strike) and you win the game. Things looked bad there, but we kept at it. I think we just had the attitude that with two guys on and you're on a different surface (artificial turf), in a bigger stadium with all these people, in moments like that, crazy stuff happens. Sometimes it comes down to the last at-bat, and it did."

First baseman Jack Gillespie also had a big moment for Antioch. He blasted a 3-run homer in the bottom of the third inning to provide the Sequoits' first rally of the day, tying the game at 3-3.

Meanwhile, Delgado and Colin Wieska each finished with 2 hits apiece.

For Prairie Ridge, Hunter Morlock had 3 hits while Alexander Powers, Dominic Listi and Harris each had 2 hits.

"With two outs ... and they just came back like that," a stunned Harris, who was trying to close the game from the mound, said of Antioch. "We were wanting to put that game away and go home as champions.

"This is tough. But this was a great season. We were playing our best baseball in the postseason."

Prairie Ridge finishes its season with a 21-14 record.

"I'm still kind of in shock," Prairie Ridge coach Glen Pecoraro said. "We were up 7-3 and all of a sudden that disappeared. But even going into that seventh inning up 7-6, we had our closer Ben Harris and he's been our guy all year and we felt good about that. We just misplayed a couple of balls there that cost us in those last couple innings.

"But these guys played their hearts out. I'm proud of them. They played their best baseball at the end of the season and we had a chance to win at the end. That's all you can ask for."