Baseball: Timothy Christian tops Lisle in 10 innings
It was clear no one was eager to let this one go.
Players, coaches and fans lingered long after Jimmy Brush's walk-off single gave Timothy Christian a 4-3 10-inning victory over Lisle in Saturday's Class 2A Timothy Christian regional championship baseball game in Elmhurst.
Everyone seemed to savor a tense game that finally ended when Jimmy Allen led off the bottom of the 10th with a single and stole second. After a flyout to center, Brush sent a ball down the left-field line that brought home Allen with the title-sealing run.
Winning their first regional title since 2007, the Trojans (16-12) advance to the Lisle sectional semifinals to face DePaul College Prep at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Benedictine University.
"That's kind of the moment you want to be in," Brush said. "It's a great feeling. This has been our goal all season and we're anxious to keep it going."
Lisle (16-15) surged to a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth on back-to-back successful squeeze bunts by David White and Alec Van Volkenburg. Allen and Brush also combined in the bottom of the inning to tie the game as Allen reached on an error, stole second and scored on Brush's single.
Three scoreless innings followed, with the teams combining for seven stranded runners.
"In a game like this you have to make all the plays, and they made one more play than we did," said Lisle coach Pete Meyer. "I really wanted these guys to win a regional title. I really feel like they deserved to win one."
Two errors allowed Max Sokolowski to single home a run for Lisle in the first inning. Patrick Roelofs tied it with a second-inning RBI single, and Connor Gwaltney followed with a sacrifice fly to give Timothy Christian a 2-1 lead.
Allen and Lisle starter Zach Heidenry - both sophomores - pitched deep into the game, with Allen going 9 innings and Heidenry 8 innings. Roelofs, who went 3-for-3, was the winning pitcher after throwing a scoreless top of the 10th.
"This team has bounced back all season long, and they did it again here today," said Timothy Christian coach Jim Snoeyink. "We just keep battling all the time."
IC Catholic Prep 3, St. Joseph 1:
The Knights advanced to the Class 2A Lisle sectional semifinals with a victory in the St. Joseph regional final. IC Catholic Prep plays Latin at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Benedictine University. The Knights scored all their runs in the bottom of the first inning. Amari Reed and Austin Reed both drove in runs. Austin Reed was the complete-game winning pitcher, striking out 11 and walking two in a 2-hitter with no earned runs allowed.
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