Scheuermann, Palatine strike a winning note
Palatine right-hander Eric Scheuermann knew if he threw a lot of strikes his teammates would support him by hitting a lot of them from Maine South.
It was the perfect formula for the host Pirates to have a ball and make baseball program history Thursday.
Scheuermann threw a 4-hitter and everyone in the Palatine lineup contributed to a 16-hit attack. It added up to a 12-3 regional championship victory in the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Phil Lawler Summer Classic.
"This was our goal the whole entire time, to get to state," Scheuermann said. "We've worked so hard."
It paid off in the first Elite Eight trip in the spring or summer for the Pirates (21-5). They will play at 10 a.m. Monday at North Central College in Naperville against St. Charles East (31-3), which is coached by former Fremd and Palatine assistant coach Dave Haskins.
A 4-run second inning put Palatine in command at 5-0.
"This year's team seems to play with a sense of calm and poise," said Palatine coach Paul Belo, whose team lost last summer's regional final to Warren. "They don't feel like they're out of any situation."
Scheuermann was the epitome of calm and poise. The junior-to-be, who was promoted to the varsity midway through the spring, didn't allow an earned run and had 9 strikeouts.
He threw 102 pitches and used his fastball and slider to get first-pitch strikes on 21 of 29 hitters from No. 8 Maine South. Eleven outs came on groundballs.
"He showed great command and great poise throughout - and he truly set the tone for the game," Belo said.
"I felt real confident and I went aggressively at every hitter," Scheuermann said. "We have a real good hitting team so I knew we were going to score runs."
Joe Walsh led the way by going 3-for-5 with a double, triple and 4 RBI.
"He really did some great things throughout the whole regional," Belo said.
No. 9 hitter Mark Sarti went 3-for-3 with an RBI double and a perfect bunt single. David Schalla hit a 2-run homer in the fourth to make it 9-1 and Kurt Becker and Mike Czarnik went 2-for-4.
Belo said Alex Miramontes would start Monday's opener in the pool-play/bracket format where a team needs to win twice to advance to Wednesday's semifinals. The championship is at 7 p.m. Thursday at Benedictine University in Lisle.
Belo said he hoped veteran standouts Dan Haze, Cody Bobbit and Jim Smearman could play next week. Haze and Bobbit missed the entire regional with groin injuries and Smearman was out the last two games with jammed fingers.
"If they aren't healthy enough to go we'll continue on with the kids who have worked hard and given us an opportunity to get there," Belo said. "We have a lot of depth. That's something we haven't had in years past."
Now the Pirates have done something that was never done in the past.
"It feels really good to accomplish it," Scheuermann said, "and get our team's name out there."