Baseball roundup: 14th-seed Buffalo Grove completes surprise run to regional title; Barrington upsets McHenry
They built a new baseball field for Buffalo Grove this season.
And for the Bison, it has truly turned into a “Field of Dreams.”
Playing in their home regional final Saturday, Buffalo Grove has allowed just one run in three playoff games as the 14th-seeded Bison rolled over Highland Park 11-0.
Buffalo Grove will meet second-seed Warren Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. in the Libertyville sectional, which will be played at Vernon Hills High School.
“When we built this field, we envisioned hosting regional and sectional playoff games,” said Buffalo Grove coach Bill Montemayor, whose team turned in a 16-1 win over Waukegan and a 1-0 decision over Fremd in their previous two home playoff games.
“And to be able to break it in by winning a regional championship is something we are so proud of. We are very happy for our kids and coaching staff. We haven’t had much success in this game in recent years, so to be able to win today means a lot to our program and everyone who has played in the Bison uniform.”
Tyler Campbell scattered five hits and walked one in seven innings for the Bison. Rocco Perricone led the 13-hit attack with 4 hits, including a pair of doubles. He also had 5 RBI. Alex Shimanski had 2 hits and 2 RBI, Owen Erickson had 2 hits and an RBI, Nathan Raef had 2 hits while Andrew Carrison had a hit and 2 RBI.
Barrington 9, McHenry 4: Barrington (25-12), which was surprisingly awarded a fifth-seed in the McHenry subsectional, took out their frustrations on top-seed McHenry (28-8). The MSL champions will now meet third-seeded Rockton Hononegah at the McHenry sectional Wednesday at 2 p.m.
Barrington banged out 13 hits with Jackson Roberts and Andrew Whitney each having three hits while Zack Ostergaard and Bowie Heintz had two hits. Max Wrzezcz and Whitney each drove in two runs.
Jack Postma struck out 9 without a walk and allowed three earned runs as the sophomore pitched a complete game.
“It was as solid of a team win as we have had all year,” Barrington coach Paul Belo said.
Libertyville 13, Stevenson 3: Defending 4A state champion Libertyville (26-10) used a 9-run third inning to pull away from North Suburban Conference rival Stevenson (20-17). Libertyville will meet Mundelein, another conference rival, at 2 p.m. at Vernon Hills in the sectionals. Bode Rohrbach had a hit and 3 RBI for Libertyville. Chase Lockwood had two hits, including a double and an RBI, Carson Holmes had a hit and 2 RBI while Ryan Wilberding had a hit and an RBI. Lockwood, Aksel McKnight and Brady Buenik combined for the win by striking out 5.
Warren 4, Lake Zurich 2: The Bulldogs gave head coach Clint Smothers a double gift by winning the Palatine regional. It was the ninth regional title for Smothers in his 19-year career. It was also his 400th career win as second-seeded Warren (23-10) advanced to play Buffalo Grove Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at Vernon Hills. Braylan McCarthy went 6 1/3 innings, striking out 5, while allowing two runs. Mason Palmer picked up the save, getting the final two outs, including a strikeout. Connor Nissen, who is a sophomore, had 2 hits, including a double. Colin Dreckmann’s two-run hit drove in the go-ahead run while McCarthy and Ethan Gross each had a hit and RBI.
Maine South 6, Glenbard West 3: The Hawks won their second regional title in a row. Maine South (22-15), which is seeded second, scored a pair of runs in both the fifth and sixth to pull away from Glenbard West (15-21). Braden Cremins led the offense with 2 hits and 4 RBI. Nate Cera also had 2 hits while Alex Vale had a double and an RBI. Connor Griffin picked up the win for the Hawks, who will meet sectional host and third-seed Bartlett at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Class 3A
Grayslake Central 3, Prairie Ridge 0: Troy Whalen won his 14th regional in 23 years behind Beau Barrows’ three-hit shutout. Jayson Domerchie scored twice for the Rams, who will host No. 9 seed Crystal Lake Central on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Charlie Surowiec had an RBI double and Carson Woods an RBI single.
Crystal Lake South 5, Carmel 4: Top-seeded Crystal Lake South (26-9) was able to walk it off with a two-run single in the bottom of the seventh. Noah Ulbrich had a hit and 2 RBI for Carmel (15-22). Josh Oiumette added 2 hits and an RBI.