Wrap: Cool, calm Johnsen closes the deal for Fremd

For a few minutes Thursday, the Fremd baseball team looked like its impressive season might come to a crashing halt.

With Fremd clinging to a 1-run advantage, junior closer Matt Johnsen was called in to relieve starter Jason Ford, who had given the Vikings 5½ solid innings, giving up 1 earned run on 3 hits.

For many, the pressure would be too much to bear.

Not for Johnsen, a 5-foot-10 left-hander.

With nerves of steel, Johnson got Matt Vanderbilt to pop out to first baseman Mike Tauchman to end the Warriors' rally in the sixth.

Then Johnsen set No. 9 Deerfield down in order in the seventh to secure a 3-2 victory for the No. 7 Vikings in Class 4A regional semifinal action at Mundelein.

Fremd (17-9) returns to Mundelein to meet the second-seeded Mustangs for the regional title at 10 a.m. Saturday.

"It's just fun out there," Johnsen said. "I've been in this situation before and have gotten used to it. I think I've adjusted to it pretty well."

"(Johnsen) has done a great job all year for us coming out of the pen," said Vikings coach Chris Piggott. "He's done outstanding."

Other than the sixth inning jam, Ford was nearly flawless, hitting his spots to perfection.

"Having a solid defense behind me really helped me out today," Ford said. "I just got into the groove and the defense behind me made the plays."

The game was scoreless when Tauchman blasted his first home run of the spring in the bottom of the third.

Tauchman took Deerfield starter Sam Dickstein (6 innings, 3 earned runs, 6 hits) deep to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead.

"My first at-bat I kind of got away from my game and swung at the first pitch," Tauchman said. "I just wanted to be patient and wait for a ball I could drive."

The Vikings scored again in the fourth thanks to an RBI double by catcher Tyler Gregory that drove home Anthony Concialdi, who had walked.

In the fifth, Vikings senior Sean Freed drove home what proved to be the winning run when his infield single scored Ryan Shober to increase the lead to 3-0.

"It was huge," Ford said. "If I gave up a run, we would still be winning and that makes it a lot easier for me out there."

Highland Pk. 12, Prospect 7: Nothing could slow down Highland Park's bats, not even a third-inning trip to the umpire by Prospect coach Ross Giusti.

With Jason Stein digging in, Giusti approached the man in blue and asked him to inspect the leadoff hitter's bat.

"It came off like it was plastic or rubber," Giusti said of Stein's first-inning double. "I don't know if it's a new line of bats or what, but it didn't sound normal. It seemed like the ball was jumping off the bats differently."

With a team batting average hovering near .370, the Giants have been crushing the ball unlike any team Prospect (16-14) has faced this season. Led by Stein (3-for-4), Johnny Lindquist (2-for-3) Anthony Kopp (2-for-3) and A.J. Nathan (2 RBI), Highland Park pounded out 11 hits as it defeated the 11th-seeded Knights 12-7 in a Class 4A Stevenson regional semifinal.

The Giants will face Rolling Meadows in Saturday's 10 a.m. regional championship.

"One through nine they could hit the ball solid anywhere," said Prospect junior Jason Leblebijian, who went 3-for-3 with 3 RBI.

Faced with the unenviable task of facing Highland Park's red-hot bats was senior left-hander Dominic Pugliese.

"I thought my stuff was a little bit flat," Pugliese said after allowing 9 hits in 4½ innings. "But give them credit, they're one of the best hitting teams we've faced all year."

Kansas State-bound Jimmy Risi (3 RBI) greeted Pugliese in the first inning with a 2-run home run that curled into the right-field foul pole, and Lindquist (3 RBI, 3 runs) hammered a leadoff shot over the fence in left-center in the fourth.

"Dominic hit his locations but he didn't have any of his overpowering stuff," Giusti said.

Highland Park right-hander Jon Menke struck out three while allowing 6 hits and 7 walks in 5¿ innings.

Back-to-back, two-out walks to Ross Axley and Matt Smith in the second resulted in 2 runs when Leblebijian floated a single into short center.

Leblebijian knocked a two-out RBI double in the fourth, and senior Griffin Rebecca (2-for-4) cleared the bases with a two-out triple in the sixth, but giving up 5 walks, 5 hits and 8 runs in the fifth were too much for the Knights to overcome.

"We've had one inning that's absolutely killed us this year," Giusti said. "It's been our Achilles' heel."

-- Matt Beardmore

Maine S. 4, Maine W. 0: Maine South pitcher Nick DePaul didn't let the cold, windy conditions bother him at the Glenbrook North Class 4A regional.

As a matter of fact, he thrived on them.

DePaul hurled a 3-hit masterpiece as the Hawks, the No. 11 seed in the Niles West sectional, avenged a regular-season loss to Maine West by beating the Warriors 4-0 in the regional semifinal.

"He's stoic out there," said Maine South coach Bill Milano of his pitcher, who struck out six and walked two in a complete-game victory.

"Not a lot bothers him. He's focused."

Maine West starter Garrett Glover didn't make it out of the first inning as the visiting Hawks (11-15-1) scored all the runs they needed with a 3-spot.

"We've leaned on him all year," said Maine West coach Joe Pederson of Glover, who walked five batters before being relieved with two outs and the bases loaded.

"He's set the tone for us all season, but he just didn't have it today."

After his initial warmup, DePaul had to sit on the cold bench for about 35 minutes as the Hawks sent nine men to the plate in the first.

A single by Tommy Muck drove in 1 run, and walks to Peter Engle and Craig Hoffman forced in 2 more.

"I was a little nervous (before taking the mound)," DePaul said. "I played catch to loosen up."

Once on the hill, DePaul faced little trouble until the fourth, when the Warriors (17-6) had a chance to break through.

Singles from Mike Santa Maria and Sean Willett and a walk to Paul Solka loaded the bases with two outs, but a called-third strike to ended the threat.

A long home run to left center by sophomore Ronnie Muck in the sixth put the icing on the cake for the Hawks, who were defeated earlier in the year by West on the slaughter rule.

"That (loss) was a big motivational factor," Muck said.

Jimmy Ward pitched a strong game in relief for sixth seed Maine West, taking over in the second inning and at one point retiring 10 batters in a row.

"He (DePaul) pitched well," Pederson said. "He attacked us early in the count and kept getting ahead. We took too many strikes, and our inability to take the ball the other way hurt us."

-- Bill Esbrook