Buffalo Grove 3, Mundelein 2

Pitchers aren't the only ones who have to hit their spots.

Hitters do, too.

Buffalo Grove junior James Hurley couldn't have picked a better time and place to drop a tie-breaking RBI single to right field in the top of the eighth inning of Thursday's Class 4A baseball sectional semifinal at Libertyville.

Mundelein junior Dillon Smith couldn't have hit a ball any better with the tying run at third and two outs in the bottom of the eighth.

Unfortunately for Smith and the Mustangs, his rocket landed squarely in the glove of BG third baseman Mike Ricciardi.

And the 14th-seeded Bison (14-14) continued their stunning two-year postseason run with a dramatic 3-2 upset victory over No. 2 Mundelein (28-6).

"I love it," Ricciardi said with his glove hand still ringing from the final out. "I love when it's tournament time up at the end of the year. It's great."

The Bison haven't exhausted all of their magic after last year's run as a 13th seed to their first Elite Eight berth. They won their sixth straight game and continued to put the retirement of coach John Wendell on hold as they advanced to Saturday's 10 a.m. sectional final with top-seed Carmel (31-5).

And senior right-hander Tom Moran (4-5) continued his postseason mastery with his third victory in a tense duel with Mundelein ace righty Eric Rohe (13-1).

"Unbelievable," Hurley said of Moran, who threw all 9 innings in Saturday's regional championship.

Unbelievable was also how Rohe looked as he used a nasty curveball to strike out 8 of the first 10 hitters. Then doubles by Evan Kander and Zach Borenstein, a single by Ricciardi and a double by Hurley put BG up 2-0 in the fourth.

"We saw the curveball a lot and I think we kind of adjusted to it," Hurley said after Rohe had 13 strikeouts and just 1 walk and threw 90 of his 133 pitches for strikes.

"Evan had a hit that was huge," Ricciardi said. "That brought him into the stretch and we started hitting after that."

Moran had a streak of 9 scoreless innings snapped when Colton Tortorello lined a leadoff homer to right-center in the sixth.

Then Mundelein had runners at first and second with two outs in the seventh when Kevin Barber hit a fly to deep right. John Bakun initially broke in and then raced back up the incline but the ball fell near the fence.

Pinch runner Vince Wong scored but Bakun quickly got the ball back toward the infield, which was crucial as courtesy runner Zack Adams slipped and fell as he rounded third and had to scramble back to the bag.

"He just lost his footing," said Mundelein coach Todd Parola. "I didn't even think there was going to be a play (at the plate).

"But that didn't lose the game. No one player or person lost this game, that's for sure."

Moran then got Tortorello for the seventh of his 8 strikeouts. Kander reached on the game's only error to start the eighth and moved to third on a wild pitch and one-out groundout.

Hurley then hit a blooper down the right-field line just out of the reach of Mark VanderVennet, who had come in to start the inning so Jay Mueller could warm up in case he needed to pitch.

"I'll take it," Hurley said. "At first I thought he was going to catch it but I saw him moving kind of slow and I was going, 'Drop, drop."

Baldwin singled to start the eighth and went to second on a passed ball. After a strikeout, Baldwin took third on Jack Walliser's fly to deep center.

But Smith's liner was snagged by Ricciardi to start another BG celebration.

"I was just hoping it was in 'Char's' mitt and he could make the play," Moran said.

He did. And BG gets to play again Saturday.