Kaneland rolls Waterloo
What a difference a month makes.
On May 10 the Kaneland baseball team's record stood at 13-10 after a 7-4 loss to Morris — its 6th loss in 7 games — and a defeat that knocked the Knights out of first place in the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference race with one game to go.
On June 10 that same Kaneland baseball team took the field in front of 1,010 fans Friday at Silver Cross Field in Joliet and outpitched, outhit and outfielded a 32-4 Waterloo team for an 8-2 victory that sends the Knights into the Class 3A state championship game at 11 a.m. Saturday against Oak Forest (27-7).
Oh yeah, what a difference a month can make.
That same Kaneland team scuffling through a 1-6 stretch in May was throwing its gloves in the air and mobbing each other on the infield after shortstop Kyle Davidson turned a 6-3 double play for the final two outs of the game.
That string of losses in early May coincided with first baseman and No. 5 hitter Sam Komel being sidelined with a pec and shoulder injury. Komel returned to the lineup in the series finale with Morris, a 7-1 Kaneland win. The Knights (25-10) haven't lost since, now 12 straight victories looking for lucky No. 13 and a state championship Saturday.
“Bobby (Thorson) is the leader but Sam is kind of the catalyst and he helps the team go as well,” Knights coach Brian Aversa said. “He's a big part of the team. That piece was missing and we felt when he was back we're back to 100 percent.”
What turned out to be a banner day for Kaneland didn't start so good. Waterloo went up early with single runs in the second and third innings. Davidson and second baseman Brian Dixon teamed up for a 6-4-3 double play to end the first inning.
Kaneland took the lead for good with a 4-run fourth inning, the first of two 4-run innings which produced all 8 of the Knights' runs.
Thorson ignited the first rally by ripping a triple to the gap in right center. Drew French walked, and Jake Razo cut Waterloo's lead to 2-1 with an RBI infield single.
Senior Brian Dixon nailed the first pitch he saw for a single between first and second to score French and tie the game 2-2.
Catcher Tyler Heinle's suicide squeeze plated Razo to put the Knights ahead 3-2, and it ended the day for Waterloo ace A.J. Crutchfield, who had been 9-1 with a 1.11 ERA entering the game.
Heinle is one of Kaneland's best bunters and handled the play perfectly even though Waterloo pitched out on the play.
“I've been doing it since I was little, I've always been pretty good at it and practicing it more this year,” Heinle said of his third squeeze this year. “It just comes easy.”
Kaneland scored its fourth run of the inning when Waterloo shortstop Alex Wittenauer dropped Corey Landers' line drive.
Armed with a 4-run lead, Thorson was a different pitcher the final 4 innings. After throwing 18, 24 and 22 pitches the first 3 innings, Thorson allowed just 1 hit and 0 runs the rest of the way, including a pair of 8-pitch innings in both the sixth and seventh to help him complete the game with 112 pitches.
“That (triple) kind of sparked us for the four runs and I felt great after that,” said Thorson, who said he had to blow on his hand often to keep the sweat off and be able to break off his curve ball. “I felt more confident. I had something to protect. I was able to get them to hit some weak balls.”
Kaneland turned a tight 4-2 game and give itself an 8-2 cushion with its 4-run sixth. It all started with 2 outs when Davidson doubled to right. Landers drove him in with an RBI single.
After Joe Camiliere drew a walk, Thorson plated Landers with a bloop single to center. Komel followed with his third hit of the day, a 2-run single to left to complete the scoring.
“We had a great approach with two outs today and gave Bob some confidence,” Aversa said. “They pushed us, they tested us and it took two big innings by us to overcome a little adversity. Give credit for our guys for putting the ball in play, putting pressure on them and that's the way we've been winning ballgames lately.”
Thorson allowed 4 hits and 2 runs in 7 innings, striking out five and walking three to improve his record to 7-3. He held Waterloo's Garrett Schlecht — selected in the ninth round by the Cubs on Tuesday in the MLB Draft — to an 0-2 game with a walk, getting him on a called third strike in his final at-bat.
“We've got the kind of offense that we should have recovered from that (4-run fourth inning) and today we did not and I think Kaneland deserves all the credit for that,” Waterloo coach Mark Vogel said.
Thorson and Komel both went 3-for-4 to lead Kaneland's 11-hit attack. Razo continued his hot hitting going 2-for-4, helping put his school one win away from their first baseball state championship and Kaneland's first state title since the football program won back-to-back championships in 1997 and 1998.
“It takes a little while to sink in,” Razo said. “We're all really, really excited and hope to ride it all the way to the state championship.”