Cary-Grove upends defending state champ Prairie Ridge
It took a powerful lineup to knock off a powerhouse.
The hard-hitting Cary-Grove baseball team entered Saturday's Class 4A regional title game with 27 wins and the top seed, yet the Trojans didn't feel like favorites.
Not only was Cary-Grove tasked with beating defending state champion and No. 2 seed Prairie Ridge on its home field, where the Wolves had won 28 straight, the Trojans fell behind in the first inning when Nolan Jacoby ripped Matt Nelsen's 0-1 fastball for a 2-run home run.
"I looked at (Nelsen) after Jacoby hit that home run, and I knew Matt wasn't affected it by it," Cary-Grove shortstop Chris Waylock said. "He knew we had offense and defense protecting him."
Cary-Grove simply shrugged off the early deficit and broke out the bats to win its third regional championship in six seasons.
The Trojans scored a run in the second inning, took a 4-2 lead with 3 runs in the third, immediately answered a Prairie Ridge run in the fourth and broke the game open with a 6-run sixth to win 11-5 in Crystal Lake.
The Trojans battered four pitchers from Prairie Ridge (29-8) for 13 hits, and the Wolves helped out by issuing 6 walks and committing 3 errors. Cary-Grove played spotless defense to win its first regional championship since 2006, when it advanced to a Class AA supersectional.
Cary-Grove (28-8-1) will play Huntley (30-6-1) in a DeKalb sectional semifinal on Thursday at 4 p.m.
Nelsen raised his record to 10-0 by limiting the Wolves to 8 hits in 6 2/3 innings. He is 18-0 the past two seasons combined. "His curveball is usually sharp and has a lot of break to it," was how catcher Luke Mottashed explained Nelsen's effectiveness. "In the off-season he changed how he throws it and gave it a lot more bite. His changeup is always consistent and he's able to spot any of those pitches when he needs to."
Nelsen was lifted in the top of the seventh after the right-hander hit a batter with two outs and allowed 3 consecutive singles. Stuart Gaulke struck out the only batter he faced looking at a curveball to end the game.
The Trojans pulled within 2-1 in the second inning on junior Eric Chandler's RBI basehit with the bases loaded against Prairie Ridge starting pitcher Brett Loeding, who had pitched 4 1/3 innings in Friday's semifinal victory over Grant.
Logan Olson relieved mid-at-bat in the bottom of the third. Behind in an inherited count, he walked Waylock. Nelsen followed with a single, and Olson's errant pickoff throw to first base with the second baseman covering went down the right-field line, allowing Waylock to tie the game 2-2.
Nelsen scored on a groundout by Corey Bruns to put Cary-Grove ahead 3-2. With two outs, Nick Hammonds drilled a solo home run to the batter's eye in center field.
"He's been pulling off the ball, so the most satisfying part of that for me is that the home run went to center field," Cary-Grove coach Don Sutherland said of Hammonds' homer.
The Trojans answered a run-scoring double by Jesse Shuklas in the top of the fourth with Nelsen's RBI single. The pitcher helped himself yet again by keying the 6-run sixth with a 2-run double to the center-field wall. Waylock scored a third run on the play when the relay to the plate got by the catcher, upping the lead to 9-3.
"I've been seeing the ball real deep and hitting to all fields," said Nelsen, who went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI. Today, I got my pitch again - low."
Prairie Ridge coach Dave Haskins tipped his hat to his Wolves as well as the Trojans.
"The kids played hard and we had a great year," Haskins said. "We accomplished one goal. We didn't accomplish another one. But give credit to Cary. They played well, they put the ball in play and things happened."