Gaulke, Cary-Grove overcome Larkin in 9-2 victory
The first-inning line drive that ricocheted off Cary-Grove pitcher Stuart Gaulke's pitching hand didn't knock him out of the Class 4A DeKalb sectional title game, but it did get the Trojans' attention.
A Cary-Grove error and 2 straight hits by Larkin - the second one a screamer off the bat of Justin Kalusa, which left a swollen, red welt on the back of Gaulke's right hand - staked the Royals to a 1-0 lead with no outs.
"We were sort of sleeping in the beginning," Gaulke said. "It was kind of nice because then we woke up."
Gaulke took 12 practice pitches, remained in the game and proceeded to retire 12 of the next 13 Royals he faced. He allowed a second unearned run in the fifth inning but otherwise held the Royals to 1 additional hit, a walk and a hit batsman to complete a 3-hitter with the help of two running catches at the wall by center fielder Kendall Konrath.
Meanwhile the Cary-Grove offense outlasted the left-handed Kalusa through four innings, then attacked the right-handed Larkin bullpen for 7 runs to record a 9-2 victory.
The sectional title is the second for the Trojans, who last won a Class AA sectional title in 2006.
Cary-Grove (30-8-1), which set a school record with 30 wins for the first time in program history, advances to play Batavia (30-6) in the Rockford supersectional at RiverHawks Stadium on Monday at 5 p.m. Batavia defeated Wheaton North 6-4 to win the St. Charles North sectional Saturday.
Gaulke (7-1) was visibly pained after he was struck by the line drive, but he played through it and got stronger as the game progressed.
"I iced between innings, but it seemed to tighten up so I just let it be after that," the senior said of the bump. "It wasn't that bad. It actually almost helped me. I was throwing better after I got hit."
Kalusa was tough on Cary-Grove's four left-handed hitters. He kept the Trojans off the scoreboard for three innings by holding their lefties to 1 hit and a walk in 6 official at-bats. However, he walked five in 4-plus innings, including back-to-back free passes in the fourth inning to Kegan Mascarella and Nick Hammonds.
With two outs, No. 9 hitter Mark Thomson grounded a ball through the shortstop hole to score Mascarella from second, tying the game 1-1.
"We hadn't really hit the ball hard our first few at-bats," Thomson said. "I was just trying to hit the ball and see where it goes."
Kalusa was lifted after he walked Luke Mottashed to open the top of the fifth. "I was getting tired. I was leaving a lot of balls up," Kalusa said.
After courtesy runner Alex Hembrey stole second base, Cary-Grove No. 3 hitter Chris Waylock greeted right-handed reliever Brandon Anderson with a run-scoring single. Waylock hustled all the way to third when the throw from right field overshot the Larkin catcher. Senior Matt Nelsen drove in Waylock with a single, and Hammonds gave the Trojans a 4-1 lead with a groundout RBI.
Cary-Grove scored 3 more runs in the sixth against Larkin reliever Jon Meidel. Thomson opened the inning with a solo home run to left, his third of the season, for a 5-2 lead, Waylock singled home a run and Gaulke increased the lead to 7-2 with a sacrifice fly.
"We finally started getting our timing down and we hit the ball hard," Waylock said.
Pinch hitter Corey Bruns singled in a run in the seventh and later scored on a wild pitch to make it 9-2.
Larkin's Luc Geier hit the ball to the warning track in both the second and fourth innings, but Konrath made running catches on the warning track in the left-center and right-center field gaps, respectively. "I thought I had a chance, so I just went for it," Konrath said.
After the game rookie Royals coach Matt Esterino made a point of thanking outgoing Larkin athletic director Jim Juliano for giving him the chance to lead the program. Larkin (22-17) made its deepest playoff run since 1991.
"It really means a lot for him to take a chance on me as a first-year head coach," Esterino said of Juliano. "I'd like to thank him and the seniors, all 10 of them. I'm a little choked right now to be honest. They were so big for us to really establish a program. They put us on the right path and gave us a lot to look up to."
Gaulke pitched instead of senior Matt Nelsen (10-0), who was held back due to shoulder soreness. Coach Don Sutherland said his staff will weigh the pros and cons between Nelsen, Sean Kaveney and Corey Bruns (9-3) before deciding on a pitcher to face Batavia on Monday.
"We'll see how Nelsen feels," Sutherland said. "Corey, who has not pitched on three days rest, told me today he thinks he can go. Kaveney is a good left-handed pitcher who has pitched well for us this year, so we've got some options. Stu really helped out with those seven innings today."