Baseball: Crystal Lake South’s late rally sinks Grayslake Central in 3A sectional final

It was a baseball game that either team could have won, but it was top-seeded Crystal Lake South that raised the Class 3A sectional championship plaque Saturday afternoon against No. 3-seeded host Grayslake Central.

Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth, the Gators rallied for 2 runs on 4 hits with an error helping them capture an exciting 3-2 victory over the Rams. Crystal Lake South (28-9) will play Fenwick for the supersectional championship at 5 p.m. Monday at Wintrust Field in Schaumburg.

The Rams (28-9) led 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth, but the Gators’ Jackson Lee (2-for-3) led off with a single to right field off Grayslake Central reliever Rocco Rand.

A one-out RBI single by sophomore Wes Bogda drove in Lee to tie the game at 2-2 before Michael Silvius singled to put runners on first and second.

Dane Chock grounded into what could have been an inning-ending 4-3 double play. But the throw pulled first baseman Beckham Stone off the bag and when Stone went to tag Chock, the ball got knocked out of his glove as Bogda scored what proved to be the game-winning run.

"I thought it was going to come down to getting a bunt down or a clutch hit, and that's exactly how it came down," said Gators coach Brian Bogda, whose team won their fourth sectional title in school history. "We both have a lot of respect for each other's programs. They had an awesome year with 28 wins. You don't do that by mistake so we knew it was going to be a tough battle."

The Gators took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second when Silvius was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a bunt, and scored on unearned run off Grayslake Central starter Beau Barrows on an infield throwing error.

"My approach to the last at-bat was to just put the ball in play up the middle," said Wes Bogda. "We didn't really have the bats on very much today, but our defense picked us up for sure."

Crystal Lake South starter Devin DeLoach threw 4 innings of scoreless ball before teammate Tanner Maurer came on in relief to get the win.

Bryce Carlson started the top of the fifth with a single for the Rams before Jason Domerchie singled to right field. Stone drove in Carlson with a sacrifice bunt, and a throwing error on the play allowed Domerchie to score for a 2-1 lead.

"I think both teams battled, it was a hard-fought game, and in the end they just made a few more plays than we did," said Grayslake Central coach Troy Whalen, whose team was outhit 6-3.

"I was proud of our sophomore pitcher (Barrows), he gave us five good innings in this heat. I'm proud of our group, I'm going to miss our seniors, but I'm excited about the guys we've got coming back."