Streamwood steps up again, tops Neuqua Valley

After losing its first baseball game at the IHSBCA Phil Lawler Summer Classic, Streamwood had its back firmly against the wall.

Three straight wins later, the Sabres now stand in front of a dream opportunity.

Streamwood (30-5) took another huge step away from the brink of elimination with Wednesday's 6-4 state semifinal win over Upstate Eight Conference rival Neuqua Valley at Lisle's Benedictine University.

The Sabres advance to the summer state championship game to face Nazareth at 7 p.m. today at Benedictine. The Roadrunners beat Streamwood in pool play on Monday to force the Sabres into must-win situations in their last three games.

Bolstered by Brandon Larkin-Guilfoyle's bases-clearing double in the third inning and ace Josh Harris' lights-out relief appearance in the seventh, the Sabres completed the long climb back.

"We're best with our backs against the wall," Larkin-Guilfoyle said. "We battled back, and I knew we'd get the job done. This is a good team."

Streamwood took a 2-0 second-inning lead on back-to-back sacrifice flies by Alex Morrow and Larkin-Guilfoyle. The Sabres burst to a 6-0 lead in the third inning on a bases-loaded walk and Larkin-Guilfoyle's clutch two-out double to right.

Walks, errors and timely hitting by the Sabres quickly buried Neuqua Valley (31-4) in a hole.

"Today we had 2 errors and 5 walks, and I think four of the five walks scored," said Neuqua Valley assistant coach Ben Kleinhans, filling in for out-of-town head coach Robin Renner. "That's going to decide a close ballgame."

The Wildcats didn't fade, jumping back in the game with 3 runs in the top of the fourth. Ryan O'Keefe, Mike Bogar and Jeff Samuel each had run-scoring hits.

Chris Medhurst singled home a run in the fifth to narrow the gap to 6-4, but Neuqua Valley came no closer.

Blake Hunter pitched two-plus innings of relief to earn the win for Streamwood, and was relieved by Harris after walking the leadoff man in the seventh. Harris struck out the next three batters to end the game and send the Sabres to the final.

"Good teams find a way to win," said Streamwood coach Steve Diversey. "You don't always have to go up there and put 12 hits on the board. Confidence is a scary thing."