Baseball: Orze, Glenbard North shut down South Elgin

When he has his best stuff, Glenbard North pitcher Eric Orze can be dominant.

When he is admittedly a bit off his game, Orze can still more than hold his own.

The senior right-hander scattered 7 hits while tossing a complete game during the Panthers' 3-0 Class 4A sectional championship triumph over South Elgin (24-8) Saturday morning at St. Charles East.

Although he only enjoyed one 1-2-3 inning - the top of the seventh - Orze (12-0) helped carry the Panthers to their first sectional title since 2003 with his arm, bat and the help of a lightning-quick pickoff move.

Capitalizing on 3 infield errors, the Panthers (26-10) grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second inning against Storm starting pitcher Ryan Weiss.

After a one-out single by John Bosco, a throwing error allowed Sam Ledbetter to reach base. One out later, another infield error on a grounder off the bat of designated hitter Mark Cerabona sent Bosco and Ledbetter across with the first 2 runs of the contest.

In the third Orze helped his own cause by smacking a 2-0 fastball over the left-field fence for a solo home run that upped the Panthers' lead to 3-0.

"I got beat by a fastball earlier in the game so I figured he (Weiss) wasn't going to be afraid to throw another one," Orze said. "I just tried to get my hands out in front and luckily I hit it hard."

On the mound the Northwest Florida State College-bound Orze repeatedly turned away South Elgin's offensive threats with a little help from his defense as well as some Storm baserunning miscues.

In the first he spun around and picked off a runner at second base for the second out of the inning. He repeated the feat in the third and caught a runner who strayed too far off second after fielding a hard-hit grounder in the second.

"Obviously the goal isn't to pick the guy off - more to keep him close for the catcher's sake," said Orze, who has recorded 3 of the Panthers' 4 postseason victories. "Luckily, we were able to get a couple guys."

"That kid (Orze) has a real good move that we found out the hard way," admitted Storm coach Jim Kating.

"Eric is a very good athlete," said Panthers coach Rick Smelko, whose team will face Oak Park-River Forest in Monday's 6:30 p.m. Schaumburg supersectional at Boomers Stadium.

"He has good feet and he puts the ball right where it needs to be."

Meanwhile, the frustrations continued to mount for the Storm, who wasted an excellent opportunity to get back in the game in the fourth.

After consecutive 1-out singles by Joe Roberson (2-for-3), Justin Howard and Kevin Barry loaded the bases, the Storm hit into a controversial, inning-ending double play. Mitch Butvilas appeared to beat the throw at first base, which brought Kating on the field to argue with the umpire shortly afterward.

"That was kind of the turning point in the game," said Kating. "That call changed the whole complexion of the game - not to say that we were playing too hot to begin with but that was our one inning where we had something going.

"We made so many mental and physical mistakes and still had opportunities to get back in this game but we just kept on kicking ourselves. When you play like that and beat yourselves, you're going to have a hard time trying to beat a team like that (Glenbard North)."

The Panthers' postseason run has included wins against top-seeded St. Charles North, No. 5 Geneva and a seventh-seeded South Elgin team that finished third in the state a year ago.

"It feels good," said Smelko. "We're not done yet."

The loss marked the end of the line for South Elgin seniors Dane Toppel, Daniel Asa, Max Keough, Kyle Hays, Austin Sayre, Nick Menken, Jared Kramer, Antonio Danesi and Weiss.

"This was a senior group that won 49 games as well as two regional titles, a sectional title, reached a sectional final and the run for state last year," said Kating. "I can't say enough about them. They're a fun group - they don't come around too often.

"Now the torch is being passed on. We get to see how these juniors and lower-level kids handle it."

"The legacy we're leaving here - it's getting bigger and bigger," said Menken, a 2-year starting outfielder. "Last year was an unbelievable experience for us and it was almost as good this year.

"We left it all out on the field and I'm proud of my guys."