Down but not out, St. Edward ousts Christian Liberty
Teams hitting .192 don't often rally from 5 runs down to win playoff games, which is why St. Edward's 9-8 walk-off win over Christian Liberty Academy was such an improbable thrill for Green Wave baseball fans in Elgin Monday.
No. 4 St. Edward (10-18) overcame deficits of 5-0 and 8-3 with 3 runs in the sixth and 3 more in the seventh to stun No. 5 Christian Liberty Academy (11-13) in a play-in game of the Class 2A Aurora Christian regional at Wing Park.
"It's the greatest comeback in my seven years here as coach," St. Edward's Tim Dovichi said. "I think it says a lot about this team. It says they don't quit."
The victory sets up an all-Elgin regional semifinal Wednesday in Aurora. St. Edward will face No. 1 Westminster Christian (16-18-1) at Waubonsee Community College at 4:30 p.m. St. Edward defeated Westminster 5-4 last week at Trout Park.
The Wave trailed 8-6 entering the seventh inning, but Karl Bibler led off by beating out a bunt for a single. However, a fielder's choice and a strikeout by Christian Liberty reliever Aiden Miller had the Green Wave down to their last out.
Soon St. Edward was down to its last strike, but senior Alex Lara refused to give in with a 2-2 count. He fouled off 3 straight pitches until he got one he liked and roped a run-scoring triple to the left-field corner, drawing St. Edward within 8-7.
"I was trying to foul off every pitch until I got one I could handle," said Lara, who went 3-for-4 with a walk and a double. "It was low and inside. I put the barrel on it and it carried. I didn't want this to be my last senior game."
Joe Martell was then hit by a pitch to put Green Wave runners at the corners with two outs for Jake LaFrenz, signed to pitch next season at Coastal Carolina.
Like Lara, LaFrenz soon found himself in a 2-2 count. Just like Lara, he came through for extra bases. The left-handed-hitting senior drove the ball to the left-center field gap, scoring Lara and Martell with the respective tying and winning runs.
It was only the third time this season St. Edward won a game in which it trailed, and it marked the first time the Wave rallied to win in their final at-bat since March 31, when they scored 3 runs in the top of the seventh inning to defeat IC Catholic Prep 4-2.
LaFrenz, unsure both runners had scored, stood at second base until his teammates rushed from the dugout to mob him.
"After that dreadful start, to put everything together as a team is pretty special for us," said LaFrenz, who drove in 4 runs. "Hopefully, we can take this momentum into the Westminster game."
It was a difficult loss to accept for the young Chargers.
"We've got one senior and we got bumped up to a 2A regional this year," Christian Liberty coach Jed Bennett said. "But I thought we outplayed them for 6⅔ innings."
Christian Liberty struck first with 5 runs in the second inning against Green Wave left-hander Patrick Costello. Jimmy Cunningham and Peter Grob smacked RBI singles, Tom Keplar doubled in a run and Mark Cabrera drove in another with a sacrifice fly.
St. Edward got on the board via Jack Tierney's third-inning sacrifice fly. Martell drew the Green Wave within 5-3 with his 2-run, fourth-inning single.
However, the Chargers responded with a fifth-inning run via Miller's sacrifice fly. They added 2 more runs in the sixth on a bases-loaded walk of Miller and a wild pitch to build an 8-3 cushion.
Lara (5-5) relieved long reliever Bibler in the sixth. He finished up with 1⅓ innings of scoreless relief to earn the win.
St. Edward got back in the game with a 3-run sixth, keyed by consecutive singles from Domel, Lara and Martell and helped by a 2-run Christian Liberty error.
St. Edward collected 14 hits in 33 at-bats to raise its team batting average from .192 to .203.