Baseball: Five area teams remain alive in quest for state championship
The last time Maine South advanced to the baseball state finals, there was only one class and there were eight teams that made their way to the finals.
That was in 1966. The Hawks battled their way to the state title game, only to lose to Glenbrook North and finish second in the state.
The 2026 baseball finals begin Friday, with Maine South making its first appearance in 59 years. The Hawks will be playing in Class 4A.
Maine South will be playing in Joliet at Slammers Stadium. They will be joined in 4A by defending state champion Libertyville, Naperville Central and Mt. Carmel.
In Class 3A, which will also be in Joliet, Crystal Lake South, St. Rita, Triad and East Peoria will compete.
In Class 2A, Harvest-Westminster from Elgin will be playing in Champaign. Freeburg, Ottawa Marquette and St. Joseph-Ogden will also be competing at Illinois Field.
Maine South, long known as football power, is hoping to add baseball to its list of accomplishments. The Hawks (25-15) are happy to have broken through to the finals after losing to Libertyville in the supersectionals last year.
“It’s nice when you got a school that’s got football and baseball on the map,” Maine South coach Brian Lorenz said. “It’s something we have been working on very hard since I got here 10 years ago.”
Maine South is led by CSL South co-player of the year Luka Stojakovic, a catcher who is committed to Creighton. Evan Adamczewski, who has scored 53 runs and has 20 extra base hits, along with Nate Cera, who has six homers, Sean Sladky and Braden Cremins key the offense.
Connor Griffin, who was the top hurler in the CSL, Sam Higgins, Jack Gianikos and Henry Murphy lead the Hawks’ pitching staff.
Naperville Central will meet Maine South in the 4A semifinal at 4 p.m. Friday. The Redhawks (30-9) are making their fourth appearance at the state finals, winning state titles in 2006 and 2010.
Naperville Central enters the game on a 15-game winning streak. Michale Page leads the Redhawks with 49 hits. Grant Umbright has 30 RBI and 4 home runs. Ryley Orlanes, Cooper Page and Ryan Pall also have been strong offensively.
Umbright, who is 9-1 with 71 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings, tops Naperville Central on the mound. Max Denson and Decker McDonald have also come up big for the Redhawks.
Libertyville (29-10) has won 12 consecutive playoff games heading into its 7 p.m. semifinal against Mt. Carmel (30-10). The Wildcats seek to become the first back-to-back 4A state champion since Edwardsville in 2022 and 2023.
Libertyville coach Matt Thompson is excited to have his team, which will meet Mt. Carmel (30-10), back in Joliet.
“We have worked very hard all season to get back there,” Thompson said. “We are excited to be together for two more games.”
Libertyville will be without top hurler Chase Lockwood at state. Lockwood pitched a complete game Tuesday in the Wildcats’ supersectional win over Lane Tech. Due to state pitching rules, Lockwood would not be eligible to pitch until Sunday.
That does not mean that Libertyville is without quality pitching. Nico Harper is 6-0 with 42 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings. Kaden Butt is coming off a solid performance Saturday when he beat Warren. Aksel McKnight has been terrific in relief all season while Brady Buenik is a fireballer, fanning 42 in 25 innings.
Libertyville has been getting terrific hitting from Braden Tolzien, Trevor Wallace, Lockwood and Ryan Wilberding, who returned just before the playoffs after injuring his hand.
In Class 3A, Crystal Lake South returns to the state scene. The Gators were fourth in the state in 2022 and won the 2017 title. Both trophies came under current coach Brian Bogda.
“We are really taking this one game at a time,” Bogda said. “I think it just comes down to preparing. You can’t look too far ahead.”
Crystal Lake South (29-9), which has won 11 in a row, will face Triad (35-5) on Friday. The Gators have only surrendered 5 runs in their 5 playoffs games, with three shutouts. During their 11-game winning streak, Crystal Lake South has posted 6 shutouts.
Devin DeLoach, Matt Bychowsky and Michael Silvius, who has thrown three shutouts in a row, have been terrific as starters for the Gators combining for an 18-3 record. Tanner Maurer came out of the pen and picked up 6 wins.
Carson Trivellini leads the Gators with 47 hits and a .392 batting average. Nolan Dabrowski has 44 hits and 40 runs while batting .407 and Nick Stowasser has 43 hits and 5 home runs. Silvius, Wes Bogda and Jackson Lee are also strong contributors offensively.
In 2A, Harvest-Westminster out of Elgin will be making its first trip as merged school to the state finals. Westminster Christian won a state title in 2009, and Harvest Christian was fourth in 2019.
Harvest-Westminster (27-7) will meet Freeburg (30-9) on Friday at 4 p.m. in Champaign.
Luke Bartolome, Jameson Rapinchuk, Elias Vagen, Ryan St. Louis, Brian Powers, Tommy Neubert and Brennan O’Donnell have been keys to the offense. Rapinchuk, St. Louis, Bartolome and Neubert have been stalwarts on the mound.
“It’s amazing,” Harvest-Westminster coach Matthew Schulenburg said. “I think the guys we had out here believed that this would be the outcome of our season.”