Whips nab 1st sectional title
BYRON -- Immediately following Hampshire's 7-5 sectional semifinal victory over Milledgeville on Wednesday night, Ryan Burke was sick.
The flu had hit Burke so hard that when he took the mound against Mendota for the Class 2A Bryon sectional baseball championship Saturday he still wasn't 100 percent.
By the end of the game, Burke made Mendota sick.
The sophomore infected the final 6 Trojans' batters and jacked a stabilizing home run as Hampshire won its first ever sectional with an 8-7 victory over Mendota (12-12). Burke's victory puts the Whips (18-13) into their first-ever supersectional game, They will play Chillicothe Illinois Valley Central at 4:30 p.m. Monday at RiverHawks Stadium in Rockford.
"I was looking for a fastball and I got it," Burke said of the pitch he sent over the left-field wall. "We were down by one and we had the momentum. We just kept getting hits."
Burke's home run, which also scored Bo Price, brought Hampshire to within 7-6 in the fifth inning. The Whips rallied in the sixth with a massive shot from the bottom of the order.
Going a collective 1 of 8 through the first 5 innings, the Whips' 6-9 hitters made it up in the sixth.
Catcher Tyler Bentley walked to open the inning and pinch runner Ron Laramie advanced to second on a wild pitch. James Goebbert, who had a RBI double in the first, scored Laramie with his second RBI double of the game.
Shortstop Brandon Gehringer laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Goebbert to third before Price singled Goebbert in for the winning run.
"There was a guy on second and I was just trying to get contact," Goebbert said. "He threw a curve ball inside. It wasn't hard."
Price's single was his fourth hit of the day as the junior second baseman went 4 of 4 with a double and 2 runs scored.
"We knew we had to come out today," Price said. "We needed runs every inning. We knew they weren't going to let down."
Mendota did not let up after Hampshire went up 4-0 in the first.
The Trojans scored 3 runs in the third and 4 in the fifth to go up 7-6.
After getting out of the inning, Burke responded with his home run in the home half of the fifth.
"He's a special player," Hampshire coach Steve Ream said. "He gutted it out. He didn't throw anywhere near where he is capable of. He didn't have the velocity."
Burke (6-2) threw the complete game with 7 earned runs on 5 hits. He retired the final 7 batters he faced.
IC 5, Westminster 1: Of the ways Immaculate Conception could have beaten Westminster Christian for the first baseball sectional title in the school's history, winning via the home run was the least likely.
The Knights had launched just 2 long balls all year, in part, due to the dimensions of their cavernous home field in Elmhurst.
However, No. 3 hitter Danny Muisenga nailed a Brandon Siewert fastball for a 2-run home run in the first inning and cleanup hitter Carlos Rodriguez clocked a cut fastball that didn't cut for a 3-run home run in the fifth to give IC a 5-0 lead.
The blasts were the first home runs of the year for each player and the third and fourth of the season overall for the Knights (14-18), who have won five straight playoff games.
The 5 runs were more than enough offense for sophomore starting pitcher Matt McMahon, who pitched IC to a 5-1 victory by notching his second win of the season at Warriors Field over Westminster Christian (25-10).
McMahon relied on his changeup to stymie the slumping Warriors, who managed only 4 hits Saturday and 14 hits in their last three games combined.
The loss denied a second straight sectional title for Westminster, which reached the Class A Elite Eight last year with mostly the same lineup. Moreover, the loss denied the Warriors a chance to reach the Class 1A state finals, their stated goal since losing in the quarterfinals last season.
"It's disappointing, obviously," Westminster coach Jeff Moeller said. "Our expectations were a lot higher. I still think we're a pretty darn good team. But you know how it is; It's not always the best team that wins… I'm not taking anything away from (IC). They're solid and they did what they needed to do, but I don't think we had our best game, that's for sure."
Siewert, one of two juniors in the senior-heavy Westminster lineup, got out of trouble in the third inning, stranding two Knights. Rodriguez didn't let him off the hook in the fifth, though.
In a 1-2 count with two outs and runners at first and second, Rodriguez jumped on a pitch that was left up in the zone and sent it sailing into the trees beyond the left-field fence.
"That second home run, I left the cutter up and then the other one was just a fastball inside," Siewert said of the two pitches that changed the game. "I realize, obviously, I'm not overpowering with speed and I need to hit my spots, and I didn't do that on two pitches. That was crucial."
The Warriors scored an unearned run against McMahon in the seventh and had runners at first and second. However, Casey Shcuring hit a groundball to third base. Muisenga fielded it and stepped on the bag to end the game.
The once-formidable Westminster Christian offense, which was averaging 10 runs a game as recently as three weeks ago, managed just 5 runs combined in two sectional games.
"The last two weeks of the season everybody on the team practically hit a slump," said Ben Palmer, who pitched the final 2 innings and struck the last 4 high school hitters he faced. "Everybody was hot at the beginning and middle and then we kind of just petered off toward the end."
-- Jerry Fitzpatrick
Geneva 2, Bartlett 1: With the wind blowing in and both pitchers spinning masterpieces, a "little thing" was going to make a big difference Saturday as the host Geneva Vikings and Bartlett Hawks squared off in the Class 4A Geneva regional title game.
And that "little thing" was about 125 feet -- a bloop RBI-single near the right field foul line by the Vikings' Ryan Payne that broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning and vaulted Geneva to Wednesday's Larkin sectional with a 2-1 win over the Hawks.
The Vikings hadn't had much luck against Bartlett lefty Kyle King (1-2), who had notched 10 of his 13 strikeouts and given up only 2 hits going into the sixth inning.
After two strikeouts to open the inning, Cory Hofstetter reached on an error and pinch runner Matt Krammer stole second base to get in position to score an unearned run on Payne's blooper.
The clutch hit set the table for Viking hurler Rodney Nelson to notch his fourth victory against only one loss, while also lifting Geneva to its second straight regional title and a 21-11 overall record.
But Nelson, who gave up only 3 infield singles and a bloop hit while fanning 6 Hawks, had to escape a bases-loaded jam in the seventh to seal the win.
With one out, Alex Van Ness hit a grounder to deep short that he beat out for a single and he went to second on Nick Quagliano's bloop single to center.
Both runners moved up a base when Tucker Erickson grounded out, then Kyle Burden coaxed a walk to load the bases.
Geneva second baseman Tyler Baert turned in a sparkling defensive play to close the door, going into the hole between first and second to grab George Tintera's hard ground ball, then threw across his body to nip the runner at first base.
Nelson helped his own cause in the third inning when he laced a one-out double into the right-centerfield gap. Pinch-runner Brian Cornick eventually scored on a passed ball to tie the game at 1-1.
Bartlett had opened the scoring with a run in the first inning, taking advantage of Geneva's misplay on a pick-off of Ryan Walker who had reached on an infield single. Walker eventually scored on Mike Derby's fielder's choice groundout.
Bartlett coach Rocco Marinucci saw his team's season end at 19-10, and he knew there was no room for error on this afternoon.
"George had a great at bat and he put the ball in play just like he was supposed to," Marinucci said. "The kid made a great play, just one more inch and it kicks off his glove and we score two runs, but that's the way baseball goes.
"Little mistakes or little missed executions were going to make a big difference today," Marinucci said in recapping how evenly matched the teams were. "Also, their hit could have gone foul, George's ball could have gone one more inch to the right."
-- Dave Heun
CL South 7, Jacobs 1: Crystal Lake South coach Brian Bogda was hoping for 5 solid innings from junior Tim Ambrose and then hand the ball over to senior left-hander Sean Wilson to complete the game.
That plan never materialized. Wilson wasn't needed. Ambrose was outstanding on the mound. Allowing 1 run while scattering 6 singles, Ambrose tossed a complete 7-inning game to lead the fourth-seeded Gators to a 7-1 win over third-seeded Jacobs In the championship game of the Class 4A Dundee-Crown regional Saturday in Carpentersville.
"Everything was clicking," said Ambrose. "My curve was really working and my change up was effective. I was able to spot my ball in good places and my defense was outstanding. It also helped to have great offensive support. I knew Sean was warming up. I just wanted to stay focused and keep myself calm. I was able to stay loose and just go out there and have fun."
The Gators (14-14) advance to the Class 4A Rockford Guilford sectional. They will play Prairie Ridge Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
Jacobs (14-15) tallied the initial run in the game on a RBI ground out by Nick Panvino in second inning. That's all the runs the Golden Eagles could muster off Ambrose.
The Gators tied the game at 1 in the third on a solo homer by Gavin Meyer. South scored 1 more unearned run in the inning to take the lead for good, 2-1.
South added 2 more in the fourth on a 2-run single by Ryan Kelley and scored a run in the sixth on a solo homer by Danny Walsh.
The Gators' power surge continued in the seventh as Wilson blasted a 2-run homer to give South a 6-run cushion.
Jacobs loaded the bases in the seventh but Ambrose induced Matt Igara to ground out to third baseman Wesley Evans to end the game.
Walsh and James Vazquez had 2 hits each for the Gators.
Mike Castillo, the losing pitcher, led the Golden Eagles with 2 hits.
"Their pitcher (Ambrose) pitched a great game and did a great job of keeping our hitters off balance," said Jacobs coach Eric Sanders. "Except for the 3 homers, South really didn't hit the ball that hard. We made some poor decisions defensively and that cost us."
-- Dave Hess
Prairie Ridge 8, Woodstock 4:Prairie Ridge was humming an old familiar tune Saturday afternoon.
The baseball program's six-year streak of regional titles ended last season, but the Wolves were back in a familiar spot Saturday after defeating Woodstock for the Class 4A Prairie Ridge regional championship, the school's seventh regional title since 2000.
Senior T.J. Swank (9-1) pitched 6½ innings of 4-hit ball, though the submariner did bean 6 Woodstock hitters. Nick Martini closed out the victory on the mound for PR.
The win sets up a battle between Crystal Lake schools at the Rockford Guilford sectional semifinals on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. Prairie Ridge (27-8) will face Crystal Lake South (14-14), which defeated Jacobs 7-1 at Dundee-Crown.
Prairie Ridge led 8-3 in the seventh inning when Woodstock put runners at first and second with one out, prompting first-year coach David Haskins to lift Swank in favor of Martini, who subsequently allowed a run to score on a bloop RBI single to right field.
However, the Kansas State signee struck out the next hitter before inducing a combacker he tossed to first baseman Pete Patras to seal the regional title.
"I thought we played phenomenal defense, great defense," Haskins said. "(Shortstop) Bobby Martin made one of the best plays I've ever seen in a high school game when he went deep into the hole and slid and still got the out."
Woodstock tied the game 3-3 in the sixth inning, but the Wolves exploded for a 5-run sixth.
Offensive leaders for PR included Swank, who tripled and drove in a run, Martini (2b, 3 RBI) and Nolan Jacoby (2-for-3).
Crystal Lake Central 5, Huntley 4:ŒSometimes the other team simply has your number.
Fox Valley Conference foe Crystal Lake Central had already beaten Huntley three times in Fox Division play this season. The Tigers made it four straight with a 5-4 win in the title game of the Class 3A Huntley regional on Saturday.
The Tigers (15-13) scored single runs in each of the first three innings and tacked on 2 more in the fourth against Huntley starting pitcher Tanner Funke (7-4), who allowed 5 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits with 4 walks, 2 hit batsmen and 6 strikeouts in 3½ innings.
The game was tied 2-2 before the Tigers scored a single run in the third inning and a pair in the fourth to take a 5-2 lead.
Huntley (20-15) answered with a single run in the fourth and loaded the bases against Central starting pitcher Connor Buxton in the fifth inning with two outs.
Reliever Adam Nisenson nailed Huntley's next hitter, Jimmy Gordon, to allow the Red Raiders to creep within 5-4. However, Nisenson got out of that jam and escaped another predicament in the sixth, when Huntley left the bases loaded without scoring.
Nisenson issued a walk with two outs in the seventh before he earned a save by inducing a flyball to end it.
"We just couldn't get the big hit," Huntley coach Andy Jakubowski said. "We stranded 11 runners on base. Crystal Lake Central is a solid baseball club that took advantage of our mistakes. We had a passed ball, a wild pitch and an error and they scored on all three mistakes.
The Red Raiders were limited to 5 hits. Gordon led the offense, going 1-for-3 with 3 RBI. Eliot Swiatly also went 1-for-3 and drove in a run.