Knights pull off Giant stunner
On the surface it was a shocker.
But that wasn't how Prospect, the 16th seed in the Class 4A Barrington baseball sectional, felt after it knocked out the top-seeded hosts of the Highland Park regional 11-5 in Wednesday's semifinal.
"You could just tell we have a lot of confidence going here," said Prospect coach Ross Giusti after his team's ninth win in 12 games.
"Honestly, I'm really not that surprised," said Prospect senior shortstop Jason Leblebijian, who went 4-for-4 in a 19-hit attack. "It's probably one of our best-hitting games all around. If you put up numbers like that there's no reason to lose the game."
Prospect (17-15) scored 10 runs the last 3 innings to wipe out a 3-1 deficit and roll into Saturday's 11 a.m. regional final against No. 8 St. Viator or No. 9 Barrington.
Sophomore Peter Bonahoom was 4-for-5 with a 2-run homer, his sixth, and 4 RBI. Sophomores Steve Dazzo (3 RBI) and Matt Molini had 3 hits, Miles Osei went 2-for-4 with a homer and John Coen had 2 hits.
"That's pretty much how we've been playing the last couple of weeks," Bonahoom said. "We came in with a lot of confidence and came in pretty hot."
Osei pitched into the sixth for the victory and John Larson got the save as Highland Park (24-9) lost seven of its last 11.
Elk Grove 6, Hoffman 2: Kyle Pfister (8-6) went 62/3 innings and Colin Semler's 2-run homer gave Elk Grove (20-15) a 5-0 lead after two innings in the 4A regional semifinal at Hoffman Estates (11-22).
"Kyle threw well and he attacked guys," said Elk Grove coach Terry Beyna. "We swung the bats pretty well and this one looked like the team of the first half."
Semler went 3-for-4, Donny Duschinsky had 2 doubles and 2 RBI and Carl Sugihara had 2 hits as the Grenadiers, the St. Charles North sectional's No. 2 seed, joined the 2006 Elite Eight qualifier as the only 20-win teams in school history. They'll play in Saturday's 11 a.m. regional final against No. 7 Wheaton Warrenville South or No. 10 York.
Don Rathje was 3-for-4 and Justin Harris, Chris Fett and Mike Kiviranta had 2 hits for No. 19 Hoffman.
Stevenson 6, Palatine 0: Palatine matched Stevenson in hits with 7 in Wednesday's Class 4A Fremd regional baseball semifinal in Palatine.
But twice as often, the Pirates were overmatched by Clemson-bound right-hander Scott Firth as Stevenson, the second seed in the Barrington sectional, won 6-0.
"A dominating performance," said Stevenson coach Paul Mazzucca after Firth had 14 strikeouts and no walks and threw 74 of his 98 pitches for strikes.
"What makes him so special is his off-speed stuff," said Stevenson shortstop Kyle Ruchim, who drove in the first 3 runs with 2 singles. "His change is great and his curveball, some kids were missing it by a foot today."
Firth hit 92 mph on the radar gun in the first inning and his fastball was consistently around 89-91 mph in his third shutout as Stevenson (27-6) advanced to Saturday's 1 p.m. regional final against No. 7 Fremd or No. 10 Glenbrook North.
Firth (6-1) went to a three-ball count on only two hitters and finished with what he thought was a career-high for strikeouts.
"The ball was definitely coming out of my hand really well," Firth said. "My curve was definitely really sharp."
No. 15 Palatine (17-18) left the bases loaded in the second and stranded runners at second and third in the fifth. Catcher Andy Prombo, the only senior starter, and Joe Campe went 2-for-3.
"Overall I was happy with the way we attacked him and I don't think we backed down in any way," said Palatine coach Paul Belo. "We couldn't recognize his off-speed (pitches) and that became our nemesis."