Baseball: Cary-Grove defeats Antioch for 3rd regional championship in a row
Oskar Freund’s two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the first inning put his team ahead early, and Cary-Grove’s bats never slowed down as the Trojans defeated the Sequoits 13-3 in six innings in the Class 3A Antioch Regional final, earning their third straight regional championship.
When Freund again stepped up to the plate with two outs and two runners in scoring position in the fourth, Antioch hoped to avoid further damage by intentionally walking him to load the bases.
It didn’t work.
Antioch starter Ben Clausen attacked C-G catcher Francis Panko with a pair of strikes. Despite being down in the count, Panko smacked a single to center field and drove in two runs, putting the Trojans ahead comfortably 7-1.
“I got pretty excited,” Panko said. “I thought, ‘Just sit back, do my thing, do what I know how to do,’ and I did exactly that.”
Good offense can be contagious, and C-G recorded 14 hits, receiving at least one hit from each spot in the batting order. Brock Iverson drove in a run on an opposite field double in the fifth inning, and his sixth-inning walk with the bases loaded closed out the run-rule victory.
Iverson, Panko, Landon Barnett, Keenan Krysh (three runs, four RBIs), and Evan Frangiamore each tallied a pair of hits for the Trojans.
First-year coach Kyle Williams shared what he thinks has helped give the Trojans their recent success.
“The biggest thing that I give them credit for that I try to just continue is they love each other, and they love the game,” he said. “And it comes through when times are tough that they pull together and somebody steps up and finds a way.
“They’re a special group that plays hard and really cares a lot about each other.”
Despite the final score, the Trojans did play through some self-inflicted adversity in the game.
Starter Kaden Norman didn’t throw a first-pitch strike to the first four batters he faced. He then hit a batter with the bases loaded, and the Sequoits jumped out to a lead.
The Sequoits’ other two runs also scored on bases-loaded walks.
Credit to Norman (six strikeouts in five innings with one earned run allowed), who settled in nicely with catcher Panko and turned in a solid outing.
“That first inning was a little rough,” Norman noted. “Once I realized that I had the ball in my hands to control the game, I went out there and I pitched. I couldn’t have done it without Francis back there. Just an absolute wall, picking me up when I don’t throw my best pitches.”
Antioch leadoff hitter Nathan Yeager reached base in all four of his at-bats while scoring twice, and Jackson Mozina drove in two runs.
“We talk often about using failure as an opportunity for growth,” said Antioch coach Francis Fracek, whose Seqoits will look to grow on a second-place finish in the North Lake County Conference next year. “I’m very proud of the way our guys competed all year.”
The loss also closes out North Lake County Conference Player of the Year Evan Schmidt’s time with the team.
“I’m just thinking about all of the good memories I have with the boys on this field. It’s been a long journey since freshman year. Coaches said it would go fast, but I didn’t think it would go this fast,” Schmidt said. “I’ll definitely miss time with the team. It’s not necessarily even the baseball part, but just being with the boys, going through ups and downs, and becoming better people.”