Erickson, Lake Zurich roll past Mundelein 13-3
On Friday, Ricky Erickson pitched the final inning for a save to lead the Bears into the Class 4A regional final.
On Saturday he extended the thought and simply tossed a complete game.
Meanwhile, the Bears took advantage of some Mundelein errors and Chas Evans put the game away with a 3-run home homer.
Lake Zurich rolled past Mundelein 13-3 and to win a regional final on its own field.
The Bears (25-9-1) next face North Suburban rival Stevenson in the Barrington sectional on Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. The Patriots got past Fremd 4-3 in 8 innings.
Erickson was in command all game, allowing 3 runs and with 7 strikeouts and 3 walks.
"I worked hard in the off-season and did a lot of lifting, keeping my legs strong," said Erickson, who threw 145 pitches. "I throw with my whole body and not just with my arm. I'm just able to go longer in a game.
"Last Monday, I threw 140 (pitches) against Stevenson; my arm wasn't even sore the next day."
Lake Zurich put pressure on Mundelein (25-9) in the first inning by loading the bases with one out, but losing pitcher Colin Franklin got out of the jam with a groundout and strikeout.
But in the next inning, the Bears broke through with 3 unearned runs without a hit thanks to 3 errors as Mike Miller, Parker Asmann and Sam Aslam each scored.
"We never regrouped and always battled uphill," Mundelein coach Todd Parola said. "Lake Zurich has quality hitters up and down their lineup.
"We've been pretty solid defensively. We definitely had some breakdowns defensively and offensively, they kept the pressure on us. Errors were the turning point of the game. We gave them the momentum and they capitalized."
Mundelein got a run back in the bottom half of the second as Colton Torttorello homered to right-center.
But Lake Zurich extended its lead to 7-1 in the third inning. Aslam (2-for-4) had an RBI single, followed by Evans (2-for-5) connecting for a 3-run shot over the left-field fence.
"It was a huge momentum swing to break it open," Evans said. "It gave Ricky (Erickson) some confidence to go out there and relax.
"I think (Franklin) gave me a change-up. It was supposed to go down and away, but it went up and in. I just picked it up and turned on it very well."
The Bears kept their scoring going the rest of the way, adding 2 more in the fourth and fifth innings, and single runs in the sixth and seventh.
Erickson led the way in a 15-hit attack going (3-for-5) with a run-scoring double. Tanner Witt went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Austin Cox finished 2-for-5.
The Mustangs' other runs came on Jay Mueller's solo home run and a Tyler Adams RBI groundout. Anthony Concelli went 3-for-3 for Mundelein.