Max effort lifts Stevenson in fading light
Max Golembo delivered after the Stevenson and Rolling Meadows baseball teams almost maxed out on daylight in their Class 4A Stevenson regional semifinal Thursday.
Golembo’s hit in the bottom of the 12th lifted seventh-seeded Stevenson to a 5-4 win over the No. 10 seed.
Golembo finished 4-for-7 with a double, as the Patriots improved to 21-13 and advanced to Saturday’s 11 a.m. regional final against No. 2 Glenbrook North in Lincolnshire.
Zach Novoselsky tied the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh. Novoselsky, Adam Walton (2 doubles) and Steve Galanopoulos (double) each went 3-for-6 for Stevenson, which had 4 double plays.
Eli Greenspon, the Patriots’ fourth pitcher, threw 1 inning for the win.
Grayslake North 6, Von Steuben 2: At Vernon Hills, Tom Elias went the distance on the mound, and Carl Russell doubled twice and knocked in 3 runs, as the Knights defeated the 11th seed in a Class 3A regional semifinal.
Elias (4-3) allowed 3 hits and 3 walks, while striking out four. Nick Carmody had a double and 2 RBI for the Knights, and Mitch Kwiatkowski went 2-for-3 with a double.
No. 7 Grayslake North (14-16) will play No. 2 Vernon Hills in Saturday’s 10 a.m. regional final.
Antioch 11, Ridgewood 4: At Antioch, Adam Warner went 2-for-3 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI and scored twice for the fifth-seeded Sequoits.
David Meade pitched 5 innings, striking out five and allowing 3 earned runs for Antioch, which earned a berth in Saturday’s 10 a.m. regional final against No. 4 Lakes.
For No. 12 Ridgewood, David Parker went 2-for-3 with a home run and 2 RBI. Pete Mroz was 3-for-4 with a run scored.
Grant 5, McHenry 3: At McHenry, the Bulldogs captured the Class 4A regional semifinal, scoring twice in the fourth and fifth innings to go up 4-1.
Jared Helmich improved to 9-1, as he allowed only 1 earned run in a complete-game effort. He struck out four.
Grant (21-11) was led offensively by Helmich and Tino Torres (RBI), both of whom had 2 singles. Jordan Villarreal had a double and an RBI, and Simeon Lucas singled and knocked in a run.
Grant will play in Saturday’s 4 p.m. regional final against Cary-Grove at Petersen Park in McHenry.
Marian Central 6, Wauconda 3: At Marian Central, the host Hurricanes secured a spot in Saturday’s 10 a.m. Class 3A regional championship game against top-seeded Prairie Ridge.
Mundelein 10, Zion-Benton 0: At Mundelein on Wednesday, the Mustangs won their Class 4A regional opener in five innings, as Matt Langlie pitched 4 for the win. Ryan Borucki tossed the fifth.
Mundelein got a triple from Jordan Bregenzer and a double from Jordan Wiegold.