Scandora, Wheaton North shut down St. Charles East

Scoring opportunities were squandered early but Wheaton North's baseball team cashed in when it mattered most Saturday afternoon.

The second-seeded Falcons (29-9) pushed across a pair of fifth-inning runs with the benefit of just one base hit and rode the right arm of junior pitcher Eric Scandora, who tossed a 5-hit complete game during their 2-0 triumph over fifth-seeded host St. Charles East (27-12) in the Class 4A sectional championship contest.

Scandora (8-3), who threw 101 pitches, struck out 5 and didn't walk a batter as he helped lead the Falcons to their second sectional title in 3 years - both of them coming at St. Charles East.

"We do like playing here," said Falcons coach Dan Schoessling. "Eric's been like that all year. He's a kid that going into the season we weren't sure what kind of year he was going to have - and he's had a great year.

"In tight situations, he's focused. He's able to hit spots and he's able to throw a couple different pitches."

Scandora was in control until the sixth inning when the Saints loaded the bases with 1 out. Tommy Laudadio led off with a single, Robert Wendt reached on an infield error and Johnny Erickson was hit by a pitch, setting the stage for cleanup hitter Ryan O'Dell.

O'Dell hit a hard grounder to Falcons shortstop Mike Small, who began a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat.

"Ryan did a nice job of squaring one up but he hit it right at them," said Saints coach Dave Haskins. "What are you going to do?"

Wheaton North had its own share of missed scoring chances, getting a pair of runners on base in each of the first 3 frames before coming away scoreless against Saints senior right-hander Wendt.

"Sure, it was frustrating," admitted Schoessling, "but you've got to give credit to the other pitcher in those situations. He had a lively fastball and good breaking pitch.

"We didn't get it done in those early innings but you've just got to keep putting guys on and eventually break through."

That's exactly what the Falcons did in the bottom of the fifth. Small led off with a walk, then took second on Jeff Schalk's 1-out single - his third hit of the game.

After both runners advanced on a passed ball, Small scored the game's first run on a wild pitch with Schalk taking third. Two batters later, catcher Ben Murrow delivered a run-scoring sacrifice fly to provide a little breathing room for Scandora.

"Getting that second run really helped a lot," said Schoessling. "It's a different game if it's a one-run lead there. They can do things different offensively that next inning so getting that sacrifice fly from Ben was huge."

"We kept trying to get runners on knowing that eventually we'd get them in," said Schalk, who as a freshman two years ago was a late varsity call-up on the Falcons' team that placed fourth in the state.

On Monday, Schalk and his teammates will get another chance to reach the state semifinals when the Falcons face Huntley at 7 p.m. in the Rockford supersectional at RiverHawks Stadium.

"It's going to be a big game played at a nice place and everything but we're going to take our same approach and come in and get our jobs done," said Schalk.

St. Charles East, meanwhile, saw its season end at home just 3 days after a highly productive 12-3 sectional semifinal win over top-seeded St. Charles North.

"Nobody thought we'd get this far this season," said Wendt, who allowed 5 hits and 4 walks with 3 strikeouts before Tommy Konrad pitched a scoreless sixth. "We surprised a lot of people."

"Robert had a great outing," Haskins said of his starting pitcher. "He threw some great pitches when he needed to and fielded his position extremely well. He fought on the mound and that's all I can ask of him.

"As a coaching staff, we'll definitely miss the seniors. They had a great season from where they were before and where they are now. They've done a great job, not just by wins and losses, but by building a better facility, working extremely hard and building team chemistry.

"We're proud of their efforts."