Vernon Hills, Stevenson move on to sectional
Vernon Hills baseball coach Jay Czarnecki said Tyler Feece didn’t have his best stuff Saturday.
It was good enough, though.
Feece found a way to get outs when he needed them in pitching the second-seeded Cougars to a 2-1 win over No. 7 Grayslake North in the championship game of the Class 3A Vernon Hills regional.
Vernon Hills (28-7) advanced to the Grayslake Central sectional and will play at 4 p.m. Thursday against the winner of the Deerfield regional. No. 3 St. Viator and No. 10 Deerfield will play Monday.
Feece (11-2) pitched out of several jams, including a bases-loaded situation in the fifth, when he induced the Knights’ dangerous Adam Gomski to fly out to center field to end the inning. MJ Crowley pitched the final innings, allowing 1 hit, a walk and no runs while striking out two for his fourth save.
Grayslake North (14-17) struck first in the top of the first, as Carl Russell got the Knights’ RBI.
Vernon Hills responded in the third when Jake Boyer singled to lead off the inning. Crowley followed with a single. After Eric Lang’s sacrifice bunt, Chris Marras hit a line shot to right field that allowed Boyer to tag and score.
Austin Hagen then hit a chopper that was fielded cleanly, but the throw to first bounced away. Crowley’s base running allowed him to score what proved to be the game-winning run.
Stevenson 7, Glenbrook North 2: The seventh-seeded Patriots upset the No. 2 seed to capture their own Class 4A regional, as Scott Irving pitched 4 innings for the win, allowing 2 earned runs and striking out five.
Matt Allen tossed the final 3 for the save, allowing no runs and 1 hit.
Max Golembo went 2-for-3 and scored twice for Stevenson (22-13), which earned a berth in Thursday’s 4:30 p.m. sectional semifinal at Glenbrook South. The Patriots will play the winner of Monday’s 10 a.m. regional final between Carmel and Highland Park.
Jon Savarise went 2-for-4 with an RBI for Stevenson, and Zach Novoselsky knocked in a pair of runs. Jack Karras had a double for the Patriots.