Notre Dame, Buffalo Grove, Maine West. And now New Trier.
The Wheeling Wildcats have added yet another entry to their growing list of postseason upset victims. Wheeling (17-16) knocked off the sixth-ranked Trevians 2-1 Saturday in the semifinal round of the Niles West Class AA basesball sectional.
Tony Jones (5-3) scattered seven hits and held New Trier (32-5) scoreless until Bob Rosinski hit an RBI single in the seventh. Renewed confidence in the defense behind him was the difference, Jones said.
“Earlier in the season, it was always, `Please make the play,’ ” Jones said. “Now I know they’ll make the plays.”
“When I saw his breaking ball was working,” Wheeling coach Tim Lazzarotto added, “I knew we’d be in the game.”
New Trier starter John Seamen (10-3) didn’t allow a hit until Marc Welch singled with one out in the fifth. Ryan Mroz doubled him home an out later, and Wheeling added a run in the sixth on Lou Kantzavelos’ RBI single.
Wheeling, the No. 5 seed in the Stevenson regional, ousted another dark horse, Maine West, for the regional title Monday after downing Notre Dame and Buffalo Grove in the first and second rounds.
“Before the game I just told the guys to be loose,” Lazzarotto said. “There’s no pressure on us, but we can’t leave anything on the field when we play.”
Wheeling will face Oak Park (29-10), which handled Lyons (24-13) 4-0 behind a 3-for-3, two-RBI performance by Vince Ippolito. Kevin Niehaus (9-1) went the distance, surrendering five hits.
“Sure, we were thinking we might see New Trier,” Oak Park coach Jack Kaiser said. “But we’ve scouted and we know about what they can do. So we’re ready.”
At Barrinton: Elgin (22-11) broke loose for three runs in the fourth inning and eliminated Zion-Benton (22-10) 4-1. Elgin squelched Zion-Benton’s best scoring threat in the third inning when center-fielder Rodney Clifton caught Mark Rymer’s soft liner on a dead run, then gunned down a Zee-Bee runner at home.
“That double play was huge,” Elgin coach Dave Cooklin said. “Clifton made a great throw and Hidalgo played it perfectly.”
Elgin will face Barrington (33-6), which continued to blaze through the postseason with a 12-0 rout of Carmel (15-18). Barrington has not allowed a run in four playoff games thus far.
The Broncos blew the game open in the second inning, parlaying four walks, an error and hits by Bill Bey and Germaine Johnson into five runs. Barrington pitcher Rob Brauch allowed just one hit over six inning.
“Easy isn’t easy even when it looks easy,” Barrington coach Kirby Smith said. “We had to work hard for the win. Right now we’re playing very well, but baseball is an unpredictable game, and we have to win on Monday to go to state.”
At Oswego: No. 10 Morris (34-4) stymied a late Benet rally to hold on for a 7-5 victory. Benet (16-16) scored two in the seventh and had the go-ahead run at the plate before reliever Kevin Skrtich retired two batters to end the game.
Earlier, it was the Redskins’ defense that kept them on top. Morris turned a 4-6-3 double play with the bases loaded in the first, then threw out a runner trying to score on a wild pitch in the top of the fourth.
“That was a big lift for us and it definitely changed the momentum of the game,” Morris coach Denny Steele said. “We told our kids to be aware of the wood backstop before the game because we knew it would allow the ball to bounce back.”
Morris will meet Downers Grove South (19-16), which took advantage of four St. Charles errors in a 4-0 triumph over the Saints (22-13). The Mustangs scored on two passed balls, a throwing error and an RBI single by Doug Meyers as St. Charles was shut out for the first time this season.
“We took advantage of a lot of breaks,” Downers South coach Rudy Boker said. “If you asked me four weeks ago if I thought we’d be playing to qualify for the state championship, I probably would not have thought we’d be here today. We didn’t do the little things earlier in the season, and that’s why our record is what it is.”
Jeff Simms (5-1), who missed four weeks with a back injury, thoroughly shut down a St. Charles offense that came in batting .309. He allowed just two infield hits and struck out 10.
At Rockford Guilford: James Garvin’s three-run homer in the ninth helped lift Rockford Boylan (29-1) over Peoria Woodruff (17-12) 9-4. In Monday’s title game, Boylan will face De Kalb (18-14), which prevailed 6-1 over Moline (16-4) behind a three-hitter by Josh Latimer (9-2).
