Glenbard East 7, West Chicago 4
A disappointing regular season for Glenbard East's baseball team included a pair of losses to West Chicago.
It all became a distant memory on Tuesday.
Glenbard East claimed a 7-4 victory over the host Wildcats in the Class 4A Wheaton North regional quarterfinals, advancing to today's semifinals to play second-seeded Wheaton North -- another DuPage Valley Conference rival.
A season filled with more downs than ups left the Rams (10-22) with the 18th seed in the Larkin sectional. But with a new burst of confidence they're anxious to take on the favored Falcons, whom they beat once in DVC play.
"We were pumped, we really wanted this game," said Rams junior Jeremy Juhl, who hit a 3-run homer and singled home a fourth run. "In the playoffs it's a whole new game. We definitely didn't have a good season, but we know we're a good team. We knew we were going to be a tough team to battle."
After 15th-seeded West Chicago (12-16) took a 4-3 lead by scoring all its runs in the bottom of the third inning, Glenbard East tied the game in the sixth inning when Juhl singled home Eric Zwintscher.
The Rams then claimed the lead in the top of the seventh with 3 runs. Zwintscher's single drove in the go-ahead run, while Scott Klepetka's RBI single provided some insurance. The margin grew to 7-4 when a double steal led to an error and a third run.
Starting pitcher Eric Knol (3-6) fell into a jam in the bottom of the inning when the first two batters reached base, but he emerged unscathed after a pair of nice catches by Klepetka in left field and a game-ending fielder's choice.
"Sometimes as a coach you've just got to say they got the job done," said West Chicago coach John Walters. "They got some key hits in some tough situations. That's the game of baseball. It's tough to beat a team three out of four in a season."
Juhl spotted the Rams to a 3-0 lead with a towering second-inning home run to center field. Ethan Burau's 2-run single sparked the Wildcats' 4-run third inning.
Rhett Gunderson and Mike Sedjo also singled home runs in the third inning, but Knol quickly settled down and retired nine straight batters.
"We've been up and down all season, but we hit the ball and got the 'W' out of it," said Glenbard East coach Nick Scipione. "That's a good West Chicago team, but our kids stayed positive."