Wrap: Good fortune helps Rohe earn 13th 'W'

Mundelein has been riding the back of its ace, Eric Rohe, all season.

On Wednesday, in IHSA regional play on their own field, Rohe's teammates were happy to finally return the favor.

Rohe guided the second-seeded Mustangs to an 11-3 victory over No. 18 Palatine and kept his record on the mound spotless at 13-0. But his effort wasn't quite as pretty as usual.

Heading into the game, Rohe's earned run average sat at an eye-popping 0.75. He hadn't given up more than 2 runs in a single game all season.

And the 10 hits he gave up to Palatine? A season high. By far.

Then again, the 11 runs the Mustangs scored themselves rank near the top of their offensive production for a single game this season.

Talk about good timing.

The one time Rohe needed a bit of a bailout, his teammates were there. Several times over.

Now, Mundelein will face the winner of today's game between No. 7 Fremd and No. 9 Deerfield in Saturday's Class 4A regional championship.

"This is probably one of the worst games I've pitched this year," Rohe said. "I couldn't get my curveball over the plate. I had to go to my fastball and they (Palatine) are a fastball-hitting team.

"Most of our games, we haven't hit the ball that much and were pretty much relying on me to throw strikes and get the job done. Today was different. The team hit the ball and scored some runs and helped me out this time.

"I rode their backs today."

Third baseman Jamie Baldwin provided the biggest lift.

He went 3-for-3 with a home run and a double. His fourth-inning shot, which soared over the left-field fence and scored three runs, keyed a 6-run fourth inning for Mundelein that broke open the game.

"We're not really a big-run team," Baldwin said. "We usually win close games, low-scoring games, like 1-0, 2-0, 2-1.

"But today, we started hitting the ball well and just got some confidence behind us. We had a lot of confidence anyway, just because Eric was pitching. He started a little slow today, but we still felt really comfortable with him out there. We always feel like we're going to win when Eric is on the mound."

Mundelein also got some big hits from Jay Mueller, who belted 2 doubles, and Jack Walliser, Alex Ahonen and Brad Media -- each of whom also added a double.

Byron Skinner led Palatine with 3 hits while Jeff Emerich and Myles Sylverne added 2 hits.

"Our kids took tremendous approaches at the plate and we were real happy with how they stayed patient and saw the ball. We had a really good plan (for Rohe)," Palatine coach Paul Belo said. "That fourth inning (for Mundelein) was just really rough for us."

Palatine third baseman Tommy Galvan also had it rough.

In the fifth inning, Mueller rifled a shot toward third base that smacked off Galvan's head. Galvan fell to the ground and stayed there.

He eventually walked off with help and retreated to the dugout. Belo said that the ball hit part of Galvan's glove, which lessened the blow to the top of his head.

Buffalo Grove 12, Lake Zurich 9: At Barrington, Matt Stadler's 3-run double in the fifth put the 14th-seeded Bison up for good, as they shocked the Bears.

Joey DeBernardis went 3-for-4 with his 13th home run and a double but couldn't save No. 3 Lake Zurich, whose season, which included winning the North Suburban Conference title, ends at 26-8.

Andrew Diederich was the winning pitcher for Buffalo Grove, pitching 3½ innings in relief. The Bison will play Saturday at 11 a.m. for the regional championship against the winner of today's game between No. 6 St. Viator and No. 10 Barrington.

Zach Borenstein was 3-for-4 with a triple and double for Buffalo Grove.

Rolling Meadows 6, Stevenson 5: Stevenson's home crowd went from cheering to dead silence and shock in about four minutes Tuesday.

Rolling Meadows was down 5-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning.

But two swings of the bat changed that.

Kyle Gaedele hit a 2-run homer over the center-field fence and Jon Carlson followed with a solo shot, as the fourth-seeded Mustangs came from behind to stun No. 13 Stevenson 6-5 in the teams' Class 4A regional semifinal in Lincolnshire.

"I just wanted to get a good pitch to hit because I knew they were going to (throw) a first-pitch fastball," said Gaedele, who started on the mound and pitched 4 innings before moving to shortstop.

"We were down the whole game and Stevenson was playing hard and battled. They were winning the first couple of innings and had the momentum, but two home runs like that create momentum for the next game."

Rolling Meadows (18-11) advances to play the winner of today's game between No. 5 Highland Park and No. 11 Prospect at 10 a.m. Saturday at Stevenson

Carlson's walk-off shot went over the right-field fence for his first homer of the year. Ted Metzger, who came on in relief in the top if the seventh, earned the win.

Kyle Ruchim breezed through the sixth inning, but gave up the 2 homers in the seventh.

"I left both pitches up in the zone and they both got crushed," Ruchim said. "We played well the whole way and we had the momentum going up to the last inning.

"This is going to give me motivation for next season."

Rolling Meadows coach Jim Lindeman was elated to see his team's season continue.

"That was an exciting finish to a ballgame that we shouldn't have probably won," Lindeman said. "It was a thrilling victory for us and I'm looking forward to playing on Saturday.

"The key for us was that Kyle (Gaedele) kept us in the ballgame."

In the top of the fourth, Stevenson (15-16) scored three runs to give starting pitcher Matt Robin a 4-1 lead.

But in the bottom of the inning, Ben Sabal singled for Meadows' first hit. The Mustangs sent eight batters to the plate, tying the score thanks to three hits and three consecutive walks.

In the top of the seventh, Stevenson took a two-run lead. Bill Dorn hit a shot down the right field line for a triple. After Dan Morales walked, a wild pickoff throw allowed Dorn to score and Morales to advance to third.

Matt Goll hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Morales and it appeared that Stevenson was on its way to win.

"You know what, I'm doing fine," Stevenson coach Paul Mazzuca said. "I cannot be more proud of my ballclub. If we're going to lose in a playoff game by them hitting two home runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, then I'm going to tip my hat to them and wish them luck. My team left it all on the field."

-- Irv Solomon

Grayslake C. 12, Gordon Tech 3: At Wauconda, the third-seeded Grayslake Central Rams pounded out 13 hits in their Class 3A regional semifinal over the No. 14 Gordon Tech Rams.

Matt Schmidt and Shawn Tobie both tripled and doubled for Grayslake Central (19-13), while Jordaan Williams, Kurt Schmidt and Angelo Gargano all had a pair of singles.

Grayslake Central advances to Saturday's 11 a.m. regional final against the winner of today's game between No. 6 Richmond-Burton and No. 12 Wauconda.

Aaron Snyder allowed 3 unearned runs over 5 innings in earning his fifth win. Kevin O'Rourke tossed 2 scoreless innings.

Carmel 12, Lake Forest 2: At Warren, the top-seeded Corsairs received home runs from Bobby Lyne and Kevin Hendricks in their Class 4A regional semifinal.

Lyne was 2-for-3 with 3 RBI, 2 runs scored an a stolen base, as Carmel Catholic (29-5) earned a berth in Saturday's 3 p.m. regional final against the winner of today's contest between No. 8 Libertyville and No. 12 Warren.

Donald Stopka had a double and 2 RBI for the Corsairs, while Jeff Moree (7-0) pitched a 5-inning complete game. He struck out eight and allowed 6 hits.

David Holmes was 2-for-3 with an RBI for the 16th-seeded Scouts.

Marengo 5, Vernon Hills 3: At Grayslake North, a seventh-inning rally for the fourth-seeded Cougars fell short, as the No. 13 Indians pulled off the upset in the Class 3A regional semifinal.

Brad Schnitzer hit a 2-run homer for Vernon Hills in the bottom of the seventh.

Marengo, which jumped out to a 4-1 after three innings, advance to the regional final and will play Saturday at 10 a.m. against the winner of today's game between No. 5 Lakes and No. 9 Grayslake North.

P.J. Marsek and Nick Mazza each had 2 hits for Vernon Hills.

Prairie Ridge 6, Grant 2: At Prairie Ridge, Michael Heesch struck out 10 and scattered 4 hits in a complete-game effort, as the top-seeded Wolves advanced to Saturday's 10 a.m. regional final in Crystal Lake.

Prairie Ridge will face the winner of today's game between No. 2 McHenry and No. 3 Woodstock.

Gerik Wallsten hit his seventh home run of the season for Grant (12-18). Kyle Stroup suffered the loss.