Dorsett delivers for Benet
After three uneventful trips to the plate, Benet catcher Matt Dorsett had everything on the line in the top of the seventh inning.
Game tied, bases loaded, two outs and a full count. Dorsett launched the next pitch to the right-center field fence, clearing the bases to give Benet an 8-5 lead over Naperville Central.
Redwings reliever Jake Norton shut the door in the bottom of the seventh, preserving Wednesday's 8-5 win and sending Benet to the Glenbard South regional final in the IHSBCA summer state baseball tournament.
Searching for its first berth into the summer Elite Eight, Benet will play Downers Grove South at 4:30 p.m. today in the regional title game.
"Just trying to hit the ball and I got lucky, I guess," Dorsett said. "You just have to keep playing hard and it'll come around."
Benet led throughout, including a 3-1 advantage on Connor Reilly's 2-run third-inning double. Sam Santa Maria and Nick Moore singled home runs in the fifth to extend the lead to 5-2, but Naperville Central rallied.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Redhawks tied it on Nick Linne's 2-run single and Matt Cmiel's RBI triple. Norton, however, stranded Cmiel at third to keep the game tied 5-5. Pitching in relief of Pat Callahan, Norton pitched 22/3 innings to earn the win.
"They started on Monday and Tuesday and they both pitched poorly, but they stepped up and pitched well enough today," said Redwings coach Jeff Bonebrake. "And Dorsett getting that huge hit was just a great at-bat."
Naperville Central had its chances late in the game but stranded a runner at third in each of the last three innings.
"We have some very fine individual talents," said Naperville Central coach Bill Seiple. "But getting all the pieces of the puzzle to kind of click together, we're not there yet. We've got to figure that out."
Downers Grove South 12, Willowbrook 0: Blasting 3 home runs in a 7-run first inning, the Mustangs rolled into the Glenbard South regional title game with Wednesday's five-inning win over their short-handed West Suburban Gold Conference rivals.
Kyle Engel started the game with a solo home run. The next six batters reached base safely, highlighted by a 3-run homer by Matt Wivinis and a 2-run shot by Clayton Johnson.
The lead grew to 11-0 in the fourth inning and 12-0 in the fifth. After Nick Burdi pitched 1-hit ball over 2 innings, Wivinis fired 3 hitless innings to send Downers South into today's final against Benet.
Downers South's stinging offense has scored at least 11 runs in all three games this week. Jacob Wolf also homered against the Warriors, who were without five players including three starters.
"We have not swung the bats like this all summer, especially up and down the lineup like that," said Mustangs coach Darren Orel.
Glenbard North 6, Streamwood 1: The 10th-seeded Panthers advanced to the Prospect regional final. Glenbard North will play top-seeded Prospect in a 2 p.m. title game today in Mt. Prospect.