Lyons Twp. ends Streamwood’s special season

ROCKFORD — Streamwood’s special season came to an end Monday night in a 6-1 loss to Lyons Township in the Class 4A Rockford River Hawks supersectional, but not before the Sabres excited their fans one last time.

Held to a lone hit through the first six innings by University of Pennsylvania-bound senior Connor Cuff, the Streamwood faithful stood and cheered as their team came to bat in the top of the seventh, incited by towel-waving designated hitter Josh Harris.

The energy boost translated to back-to-back hits by Patrick Manning and Richie Gorski to open the inning, and the Sabres went on to score their first and only run of the game when Tim Cohen smashed a hard-hit groundball with one out.

“It’s part of our team that we always keep fighting,” said Cohen, one of 13 seniors on the roster. “That’s what it’s all about.”

It was just a glimpse of the thrills the determined Sabres gave their fans throughout four playoff victories that resulted in a Class 4A sectional championship, marking the deepest intrusion by a baseball team from Elgin Area School District U-46 since Larkin qualified for the Class AA state finals in 1991.

The Sabres were not the first team to be Cuff-ed at the plate this season. Cuff, who held back a devastating changeup until his second tour through the batting order, improved to 10-0 this season and 18-0 in two years by relying mostly on two-seam fastballs and curves.

“Halfway through the game I was just hoping we didn’t get no-hit,” Streamwood coach Steve Diversey said.

Lyons (35-4) advances to the state finals at Silver Cross Field in Joliet next Friday at 5 p.m. The Lions will play Mt. Carmel, which defeated Lincoln-Way East 9-7.

Cuff held the Sabres to 3 hits and got stronger as the game went on. Of his 7 strikeouts, 6 were notched from the fourth inning forward.

“The pace at the beginning was the most important thing,” said Cuff, who retired the Sabres on 12 pitches in the first inning. “I always try in the first inning to get them 1-2-3. We start off with a lot of intensity on defense, then our bats get into it.”

Lyons Township’s bats made a quick impression. After leadoff man Spencer Mahoney greeted Streamwood left-handed starting pitcher Dalton Lundeen (7-2) with a hard-hit single up the middle, No. 2 hitter Steve Heilenbach turned heads by turning on a ball. He drove it to the left-field wall, but Streamwood’s Alex Morrow was able to find the wall and make the catch.

However, no Sabre outfielder would get leather on Brian Rodemoyer’s ensuing 2-run blast to straightaway center field. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound right-handed hitter centered a 2-1 Lundeen fastball and deposited it 390 feet away.

The Lions moved to a 3-0 lead in the third inning. Mahoney’s flyball to the warning track in left-center field fell just out of the reach of a diving Manning for a triple. Heilenbach drove in the runner with a sacrifice fly to center field.

Meanwhile, Cuff was more stifling than the 91-degree game-time temperature at 7:34 p.m. The 6-3, right-hander was perfect through the first four innings, helped by center fielder Brian Kelley’s diving catch of Nick Pryor’s sinking line drive to end the third.

“They’re a good team and you have to tip your cap to them,” Pryor said.

Lyons was at it again in the fourth inning. Brian Kelley’s one-out double put runners at second and third. No. 9 hitter Dan Zehe sent a long flyball to the center-field wall, scoring Mike Pett from third for a 4-0 lead.

Because the sacrifice fly sent Manning all the way back to the wall, Lyons coach George Ushela tried to score Kelley all the way from second base on the play, but a perfect relay throw from Manning to shortstop Nate Pearson to Pryor at the plate nailed Kelley to complete an inning-ending double play.

“If the shortstop hesitates at all, Kelley’s probably in there,” Ushela said. “It’s a gamble we lost, but it’s a gamble that’s easier to make when you’re up 4-0.”

Streamwood broke up Cuff’s no-hitter with one out in the fifth when Cohen singled cleanly to left field. Pinch runner Zach Bucher reached second base on a wild pitch, but that was as far as he got. Harris gave the Streamwood fans a brief jolt with his long flyball to left-center field, but Kelley was there to haul it in and preserve the shutout for the moment.

A 2-run sixth inning against Streamwood reliever Dominick Tatone gave Lyons a 6-0 lead. Kelley’s RBI single made it 5-0 and Zehe delivered his second sacrifice fly of the game to complete the scoring for Lyons.

Though the postseason run fell us shy of a state trophy in Joliet, the Sabres collected sufficient souvenirs to remind themselves of the greatest season in school history, one which resulted in a shared division title in the Upstate Eight Conference and the program’s first regional and sectional titles.

“This team left its mark on Streamwood forever,” Diversey said. “I’ve been honored just to be a part of it. I knew this was a special group in the making four years ago. They put Streamwood on the map as a baseball program.

“I told them no tears or tears of joy only. They didn’t get this trophy, but they have a trophy and two plaques at home. It’s hard to get it all in one year when you’ve never done it before.”

The postseason run was personal to the now-graduated seniors in particular.

“This whole run was about more than just baseball,” Pryor said. “We were such a close-knit group. We just wanted to keep winning so we could keep hanging out and playing baseball together. I’m sad that it’s over, but I’m proud of these guys and everything we accomplished together. We had the whole town behind us.”