Moline tops Palatine 4-0 for state title at MCC

Focusing on what was at stake for Palatine kept Zach Demmon from worrying about the slight ache in his right shoulder Sunday morning.

Demmon was trying to give Palatine a chance to win twice and repeat as American Legion baseball state champions. The big right-hander was minimizing the damage by Moline's potent offense at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake.

Demmon's six-inning stint would normally be good enough for Palatine to win. But it wasn't this time as Sam Welvaert threw a 3-hitter and retired 15 of the last 16 hitters to give Moline (36-6) a 4-0 victory and its first state title.

Demmon allowed only 3 earned runs on 9 hits with 6 strikeouts and 1 walk. He threw 67 of his 110 pitches for strikes and came out after Austin Michna singled to start the seventh.

"It was a very valiant effort by Zach," said Palatine coach Jeff Ryder.

"I had a little bit of shoulder pain after awhile," said Demmon, who will play at Wisconsin-Platteville, "but I wanted to give it my best shot and I wanted to hang in there for my team."

Unfortunately for Palatine (32-10), it didn't have many shots to avoid its first shutout of the summer against Welvaert in a game that lasted an hour and 55 minutes.

The righty, who is just two years removed from Tommy John surgery and pitched this spring at Southeastern Iowa Community College, threw 65 of his 102 pitches for strikes and had 9 strikeouts and 2 walks to send Moline to the Great Lakes Regional starting Thursday in Mattoon.

"He'd drop the hammer down and it was a good pitch," Demmon said of Welvaert using his curve at any time in the count.

"He also hit his spots really well," said Tyler Gregory, whose two-out double in the third was Palatine's first hit.

Welvaert escaped a two-out jam in the fourth on Clint Terry's bunt single and 2 walks. The only other Palatine baserunner was Zach Kolakowski's two-out single in the eighth.

"That's as well as he's pitched since his sophomore year in high school (on the Moline varsity)," said Moline coach Jim Zacharewicz. "What we saw from him as a sophomore is what you saw today."

An unearned run in the first on Eric Ashcraft's sacrifice fly was all Welvaert needed. Grant Jasper homered in the third and Tim Wages had an RBI single in the fourth.

A two-out RBI single in the seventh by Drew Osborn was the only hit Jack Andersen allowed in 2 relief innings. The junior-to-be at Fremd had 2 strikeouts.

"I couldn't be more proud of these boys," Ryder said. "They have a lot of guts and they didn't give up. We'll try to fight for it again (next year) and Moline should represent Illinois very, very well."

Gregory is too old to return next summer but the workhorse catcher was a big part of a memorable two-year run.

"It's been a lot of fun and these are great guys I've played with," said Gregory, who will be a sophomore at Notre Dame. "After not playing at all this spring I missed baseball and I wanted to make it a great year."