Libertyville edges out Prospect
As the leadoff hitter in Libertyville’s lineup, Nick Coutre is very patient. But Coutre eschewed that trait and delivered a game-winning single in he bottom of the seventh to lift Libertyville past Prospect 6-5 in Class 4A regional semifinal play at Palatine.
“I had a brutal day at the plate, so I was just trying to put the ball in play,” Coutre said. “Coach told me to look for my pitch and I didn’t. I knew he was going to throw a fastball, so I knew the first pitch was my best chance.”
After struggling at the plate all day, Coutre came up with two outs and the bases loaded. He hit the first pitch from Prospect’s Jordan Fedro and the ball dropped into short left field to score Alex Gough, who had walked earlier.
Libertyville (24-11), which will met Palatine in Saturday’s regional final, was able to tally three times in the first inning off of Prospect ace Jack Landwehr.
“I was happy that we came out of the gate well against a quality pitcher,” Libertyville coach Jim Schurr said. “We knew he could stick it in our ear — and the majority of the game, he did.”
Anthony Mack struck first for the Wildcats, driving a 3-2 pitch over the fence in the first inning to make it 1-0.
“It was beautiful,” said Mack, who had 3 hits and 2 RBI. “All I could look forward to was coming out here and playing. I am a major pull hitter and I was worried about the wind. But it ended up working out well for me.”
After Libertyville loaded the bases with two outs, Prospect coach Ross Giusti came out of the dugout to point out that the Wildcats had batted out of order. Michael Coutre was supposed to be hitting, but Justin Guanarccio was at the plate with a 3-2 count on him.
After conferring, the umpires correctly ruled that Coutre could be inserted into the batter’s box, with a full count. He then delivered a single on the next pitch to drive in 2 runs and make it 3-0.
Landwehr then kept the Wildcats in check while Prospect (16-20) began to find its offense after leaving the bases loaded in two of the first three innings and coming away empty.
Shane Joyce changed all that when he tied the game with a 3-run homer in the fourth.
“We had already been through the lineup twice,” Joyce said. “I knew If I hung in there something would happen, and it did.”
Prospect came away with a pair of clutch hits in the fifth. Zack Tucszak singled home Dan Kavanaugh. Tuczak later scored on Tom Flahaven’s single as the Knights led 5-3.
But Landwehr left the game after the fifth inning after throwing over 100 pitches and suffering from cramps in both of his legs.
“Both my calves started to cramp up in the fourth inning,” Landwehr said. “I tried to battle it out, but my pitch count was high and I couldn’t go any further.”
Libertyville rallied to tie the game in the sixth. Michael Coutre walked, stole second and scored on pinch hitter Kevin Calamari’s single. Victor Scarpone, who was running for Calamari, then raced home on Mack’s double.
Prospect missed an opportunity to take the lead in the top of the seventh. With Tuczak on first after getting hit by a pitch, Kevin Kern hit a long flyball to deep center that landed on the warning track and bounded over the fence for a ground-rule double. Nate Cote, who’d relieved in the sixth, then got a strikeout and a groundout to end the threat.
“It was a lot of goofy things today,” Schurr said. “I was proud of the way our kids battled and overcame adversity.”
“It was tough,” Giusti said. “This team fought and battled all year. We said we weren’t concerned about our record coming into the playoffs. We played a tough schedule and we were just concerned about getting better and we did just that.”