Baseball: Ritchie's slam lifts Wheaton Academy at Vernon Hills
Funny how things work out sometimes.
Take, for instance, Wheaton Academy cleanup hitter Noah Ritchie.
Trailing 5-2 in the seventh inning to host Vernon Hills in a Class 3A baseball regional semifinal, Ritchie was just trying to make contact and advance the runners so his team could draw closer.
Then with one swing of the bat, the senior third baseman connected with a change-up, sending it up and over the left-field fence for a grand slam that scored senior centerfielder RW Rienow (single), senior shortstop and pitcher Christian Ebeling (walk) and junior right fielder Harrison Taylor (walk).
Just like that, the Warriors found themselves in front 6-5.
"I saw the change-up coming and wanted to hit it down the line," said an ecstatic Ritchie. "It ended up coming inside and I just swung and got a hold of it. I felt it had a chance as soon as it left the bat."
Ritchie's slam ended up being the difference as 11th-seeded Wheaton Academy held on for a 6-5 shocker over the sixth-seeded Cougars.
The Warriors play for a Class 3A regional crown at 10 a.m. Saturday at Vernon Hills against third-seeded Carmel Catholic, an 11-1 6-inning victor over Woodstock earlier in the day.
"This is definitely one of the highlights for me as a coach, the way we came back and showed resiliency and never quit," said Wheaton Academy coach Brad Byrne, whose team improved to 19-13 overall. "We have such strong support from the community, so to win like we did and give ourselves an opportunity to play for a regional title is awesome for them, not to mention for our seniors."
Vernon Hills (18-19) looked to be in control up until that seventh inning.
After junior third baseman Drew Winegardner's infield single scored senior first baseman-pitcher Earhart (walk) in the bottom of the first, Vernon Hills added a 4-spot in the next frame to jump out to a seemingly comfortable 5-0 advantage.
Junior Nick Marras was pinch-running for junior catcher Kyle Hull (leadoff single) and scored on a passed ball. Then Earhart smacked a 2-run double to right to plate junior left fielder Matt Gramins (bunt single) and senior shortstop Connor McNamara (walk).
With two outs, Tommy Earhart then scampered home after an overthrow on his attempted steal of third base.
Meanwhile, Wheaton Academy was hitting the ball hard but at people.
The Warriors finally broke through in the top of the fifth inning after a single to right field by Rienow scored junior second baseman Anthony Vavrinchik (leadoff walk). A Ritchie single then plated Rienow to cut it to 5-2 before the seventh-inning fireworks.
Vernon Hills showed resiliency of its own in loading the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Earhart led off with a single and junior designated hitter Joe Rangel and Winegardner were both hit by a pitch.
But Ebeling - who had relieved junior starter and winning pitcher Kellan Mitchell - got a strikeout and pop out to right to end the comeback threat and the Cougars' season.
Mitchell showed a lot of guts in hanging in there for 6 innings. He improved to 5-2 after scattering 7 hits to go along with 4 walks and 5 strikeouts.
Earhart (4-2) entered in the seventh after a leadoff single by Rienow. Then came the Ritchie heroics two batters later.
"We had several opportunities to capitalize and extend the lead after we went up 5-0, 5-1, and then 5-2 and we couldn't. It was the little things," said Cougar coach Jay Czarnecki. "We fought, though, in the bottom of the seventh after they took the lead. Our pitcher (Earhart) has been money for us in the late innings this season. He just got the ball up a little and they took advantage."