ECC 5, Black Hawk 4
They didn't earn any style points in the process, but the only thing that mattered to the Elgin Community College baseball team was the final score.
Though four Spartans were thrown out on the bases -- three of them at third base -- and 11 more were stranded over eight innings, ECC still managed to win the program's ninth consecutive NJCAA Region IV sectional title with a 5-4 victory over Black Hawk College in Elgin Monday.
The Spartans (28-14) advanced to Thursday's regional in Moline, courtesy of a walk-off walk drawn by catcher John Creely on a full count.
"That was not pretty, but we will take it, that's for sure," ECC coach Bill Angelo said.
Trevor Rutkowski led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a basehit to left field, but he was forced at second base after Kyle Standridge bunted back to Black Hawk pitcher BJ McKinney, who turned and fired.
One out later, McKinney, a lefty, intentionally walked Brad Porto, a right-handed hitter who was 3-for-4 on the day. That brought up Josh Ehlers, who also drew a walk to load the bases.
Creely, who entered the game in the eighth inning as a defensive replacement, took 3 balls from McKinney to start the decisive at-bat. "We were taking until (Creely) got 2 strikes there," Angelo said.
McKinney came back to work the count full with a pair of fastballs. He tried his luck a third time with the fastball, but the umpire called it low for a ball.
"Catching back there you know the strike zone pretty well," Creely said. "I knew it was a ball, so I just took it all the way.
"It was a little nerve-wracking because we'd get a lot of guys on base, then in some way we'd kind of screw it up. Then we pick ourselves up at the end of a big game. Going to the regional, hopefully we'll come out with another trip to Millington."
The Spartans will be seeking their fifth straight trip to Millington, Tenn., the home of the NJCAA Division II World Series. If they make it, they can look back on the fine relief work of Streamwood graduate Bob Diebold, who got the win with 1½ scoreless innings in relief of starter Jim Van Syckle.
With the score tied 4-4 in the seventh, Black Hawk (25-22) loaded the bases when Van Syckle hit a batter and surrendered consecutive hits to load the bases with one out.
Angelo signaled for Diebold out of the bullpen. He benefited right away from a Black Hawk mistake, when the first hitter he faced missed a squeeze sign. ECC shortstop Bryan Mason eventually tagged out Bryan Jordan as both dived toward the plate. Diebold then induced a flyball to escape unscathed.
"Coming out of the bullpen there's nothing else to do but pound the strike zone and hopefully get those outs with the bases loaded," Diebold said.