A ‘grand slam’ kind of day for Streamwood
Alex Morrow hit the ball about the only place a ball was going to go over the fence for a home run Thursday.
With the wind blowing in from left field, Morrow hit a grand slam down the right-field line in the third inning to lift Streamwood to a 7-2 victory over Elgin in the Class 4A Hoffman Estates regional semifinals.
“Very surprised,” said Morrow, a senior. “I was looking for a double at most on that hit. It just kept curving out. Next thing you know it went over the fence.”
The game was played at Elgin because of field conditions at Hoffman Estates. The top-seeded Sabres (27-6) will play the winner of today’s semifinal between No. 2 South Elgin and No. 3 Larkin. Streamwood coach Steve Diversey said he still was not sure if the regional championship game will be played Saturday or Monday due to Elgin Area School District U-46 graduation ceremonies scheduled for Saturday.
Whenever the game is played, Streamwood will be looking to win its first regional title.
The fifth-seeded Maroons (5-28-1), who were batting first because Streamwood was the higher seed, took the lead in the top of the first. Shaiquelle Hayes led off with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch and went to third a groundout. Lee Jackson doubled to right field to score Hayes. Jake Bartelt reached on an error and it appeared Elgin had a good chance to increase the lead with runners on first and third with just one out. But with Jacob Meyer at the plate, Bartelt tried to steal second and was thrown out by Sabres catcher Nick Pryor. Jackson tried to score from third after Pryor’s throw got to shortstop Nate Pearson, who tagged out Bartelt and fired home in time to get Jackson and end the inning.
“I’ll take the blame on that one,” Maroons coach David Foerster said. “That hurt a little bit. It was a big momentum play.”
The Sabres tied the game in the second on a run-scoring single from Josh Harris. They then scored five in the third to break the game open. Nate Pearson scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Richie Gorski. After back-to-back walks allowed by Elgin starter Alex Doty loaded the bases, Morrow took an inside fastball and managed to hit the ball the other way and it carried over the right-field fence for a grand slam and a 6-1 lead. It was Morrow’s seventh home run of the season.
“I was able to muscle it out of here,” Morrow said.
The Maroons got a run back in the fifth on a run-scoring single from Hayes. Streamwood added another run in the fifth as Tim Cohen scored on a throwing error.
Dalton Lundeen (6-1) earned the victory, pitching a complete game. The junior left-hander allowed 7 hits and 2 runs. He walked 1 and struck out 5.
“Dalton settled in after we tied the game,” Diversey said. “He kept his command going. He did a nice job for us as a junior winning a big game.”
Doty (1-6) suffered the loss. The right-hander went 5 innings, allowing 7 hits and 7 runs (6 earned). He walked 2 and struck out 2.