Leibforth home run not enough for St. Charles East

The only question was whether it was fair or not.

Wheaton North junior Trey Martin was as sharp on the mound as his fifth-inning blast down the left-field line was prodigious.

The Falcons' right-hander made only one true mistake -- a 3-run home run to St. Charles East senior Dan Leibforth -- in pitching his club to a 12-4 victory at home in the Class 4A Wheaton North regional baseball final.

With its first regional title in three years, second-seeded Wheaton North (21-13) advances to the Larkin sectional Thursday to face St. Charles North, which turned back Lake Park at Elk Grove.

The Saints, the No. 11 seed, bowed out at 18-14.

"It kind of felt like it sealed the deal," Martin said of his 2-run bomb in the fifth that gave Wheaton North a 9-3 lead.

Martin allowed only 3 hits in six innings, earning his fifth win of the year without a defeat.

"They're a good hitting team," Martin said of St. Charles East. "You can't go for strikeouts against them. I was letting them put the ball in play and having the defense take care of them."

Wheaton North banged out a dozen hits on the day, and senior Matt Palackdharry augmented a first-inning 2-run home run with a third-inning triple that tied the game at 3-3.

The Falcons' DH gave his squad the lead for good on a bloop single by Ryan Javech. Jack DeAno extended the Wheaton North to 5-3 with a fourth-inning sacrifice fly, and the Falcons seized total command with their 4-run fifth.

Wheaton North banged out a dozen hits on the afternoon, and the 2-run blast by Martin was preceded by an Aric Dama run-scoring single that was misplayed in the outfield allowing a second runner to score.

"I think, first of all, it's a great day for our seniors," Wheaton North coach Dan Schoessling said. "Trey pitched an outstanding game. We got good counts to hit in."

Wheaton North closed out is scoring in the sixth when Wade Cervenka plated a pair with a triple, and Dama had his second RBI with another single.

After Leibforth gave St. Charles East its only lead with one swing of the bat in the second, the Saints did not score again until Mike Hoscheit drove home Ryan O'Dell with two outs in the seventh.

"The bounces went our way two days ago (against Willowbrook), and they didn't today," St. Charles East coach Mark Foulkes said. "I knew we needed more (runs after the Leibforth home run). They're nine tough outs, without a doubt."