Winds of fate favor LZ in regional semifinal
Jon Carlson admittedly didn't clobber the baseball. But on a wind-howling-out day at the start of Friday's Class 4A regional semifinal at hitter friendly Lake Zurich, a player didn't necessarily have to muscle up to hit the ball over the right-field fence.
The problem for Carlson and his Rolling Meadows teammates was that during the middle innings of their game against Lake Zurich the wind started blowing in from right.
"Thank God," Lake Zurich's Ricky Erickson said.
So instead of Carlson hitting a 3-run, go-ahead homer off Erickson in the top of the seventh, his long flyball was squeezed by right fielder Logan Matthews, who caught the ball above his head with his back brushing the fence.
"I put my head down," Erickson said. "I thought it was gone, especially with the short porch."
Two batters later, Erickson held his head high and so did his teammates, after his game-ending strikeout allowed Lake Zurich to escape with a 5-4 win in a battle of conference champions, earning the Bears (24-9-1) a berth in Saturday's 11 a.m. regional final against Mundelein.
Erickson earned his fourth save, with ace Chas Evans throwing 5-plus innings in improving to 8-0. Evans allowed 7 hits, including solo homers to Ben Kamperschroer (3-for-3) and Dan Lauria.
The Kentucky-bound Carlson (7-2) went the distance, allowing just 5 hits, including back-to-back homers by Tanner Witt and Erickson and a pair of bunt singles.
"He didn't have the command that he's had in the past, and he didn't have the overpowering fastball, but he gave up 5 hits," Mustangs coach Jim Lindeman said of his 6-foot-5 lefty, who struck out eight and walked six.
"He battled, and he showed why he's the kind of pitcher he is."
As they did in the North Suburban Conference championship game last week, Witt and Erickson homered on consecutive pitches. Witt drove a pitch over the fence in right, and Erickson followed by hitting his home run down the right-field line, giving the Bears a 2-0 lead in the first.
"He was a good pitcher," Erickson said of Carlson. "Our plan was to go opposite field, because he throws hard, and just get hits to right."
But Mid-Suburban League champ Rolling Meadows (18-15) answered with Kamperschroer leading off the third with his shot over the fence in right. Two batters later, Lauria went deep to right-center.
The pivotal inning proved to be the Lake Zurich fourth, which started when Tyler Schmitz reached on a dropped-third strike. Mike Miller then beat out a bunt, and Austin Cox sacrificed both runners up.
Parker Asmann singled to center, scoring both runners, and took third on the throw home.
After Carlson wild-pitched Asmann to third, Sam Aslan perfectly executed a suicide squeeze, fighting off a shoulder-high pitch, and legged it out for an RBI hit.
"It was a perfect opportunity right there after we scored 2 runs," Aslan said. "I'm a good bunter so I knew Coach was probably going to be having me get the squeeze down. Then I got the high curveball and somehow managed to get it down without popping it up."
Lake Zurich held the 5-2 lead into the seventh, but Kamperschroer and Dan Wenzel started the inning off reliever Asmann with singles. Erickson came on and walked Lauria to load the bases. After Ted Metzger lifted a sacrifice fly, the lefty-hitting Carlson - who along with Owen Stiff went 2-for-4 - pulled a pitch to deep right.
Matthews hustled to the warning track.
"When he hit it, I thought it was gone, for sure," Matthews said. "I didn't think I had a chance."
"I was out in front of the ball a little bit, but I felt like I had enough on it," Carlson said. "But I guess I didn't."