Elgin Community College nails down sectional title

There is only one reason Kyle Horvath transferred to Elgin Community College.

And he definitely didn't leave the warmth of Hill Community College in Dallas, Texas to play in Saturday's windy 56 degree Elgin weather.

Horvath wants to play in the World Series.

Saturday, he and his Spartan teammates came one step closer to the program's sixth straight NJCAA World Series appearance with a 9-5 victory over Morton in the sectional title round of the Region IV tournament.

The Spartans now travel to Freeport for the Region IV tournament next week at Highland Community College.

"This is exciting to play in my first college regional experience," said Horvath, who finished 5-for-5 with a home run, and 2 doubles. "With the wind, coach (Bill Angelo) challenged us to go to the opposite field. When our bats get going, no team can really hang with us."

Morton certainly had its share of troubles attempting to hang with Horvath and the Spartans (36-16). Angelo's hitting challenge was met almost instantly.

Catcher Austin Licon doubled to score leadoff hitter Zach Blanchette, an Elgin High product, and give the Spartans a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.

Blanchette added runs in the fourth and seventh innings as ECC never trailed in the game.

"With the wind, we were trying to stay back and hit some good line drives," Angelo said.

Horvath didn't exactly hit a line drive in the sixth, but he did get the type of at-bat Angelo was looking for. Horvath nailed a 3-run home run to score Greg Stolzenburg and John Creely ahead of him and extend the Spartans' lead to 8-3.

The 3-run inning was the most productive for the Spartans on the day, as they also scored a pair of runs in the first and in the fifth.

"I thought we'd have more hits," said Burlington Central grad Brad Porto, who went 2-for-5. "Horvath had a good day, he really led us. "(Morton's pitchers) were going off-speed a lot, so we were looking to go to the opposite field."

ECC's 14 hits were supplemented by a strong pitching effort from starter Brad Allen. Allen, from Geneva, surrendered just 3 runs in 6 innings of work and improved to 6-2 on the season with the victory.

"Coming in, we felt good with what we had on the mound," Angelo said. "That's what he does, he gives us a chance to win. That's all we can ask from our starting pitcher."

Angelo also credited the defensive effort of second baseman Jorge Garza. Garza, who played at Rockford Boylan, was placed in the starting lineup after an injury left the Spartans short-handed in the infield.