Chatham Glenwood exceeded last year’s disappointing run total before making its second out.
With an ace in the hole to complement its hot hitters, the Titans are a good bet to one-up their 2009 finish.
Jake Ingold went 4-for-4 with two home runs and seven RBIs, and Glenwood pounded out 18 hits in four innings on the way to a 17-5 mercy-rule victory over defending state champion Joliet Catholic in a 3A state semifinal Friday at Silver Cross Field in Joliet.
Glenwood (31-4), which dropped a 3-2 decision to Joliet Catholic in last year’s state final, will send Phil Maton (10-0, 1.73 ERA) to the mound in Saturday’s championship game against DeKalb.
“I think all of us were locked in during BP (batting practice),” Ingold, a senior third baseman, said. “I was trying to not get to deep in the count and get a pitch I could hit.”
Joliet Catholic’s Kendall Paluch didn’t have a pitch Ingold couldn’t hit.
Ingold homered off of a fastball and a changeup, his 11th and 12th of the season, and had an RBI single off of a curveball in a four-run first inning.
Glenwood added three in the second, seven in the third and three in the fourth to relegate Joliet Catholic (22-15) to Saturday’s third-place game.
“I just couldn’t figure it out,” Paluch said. “We tried everything and they were hitting the ball. Nothing was working.”
Player of the game:
Jake Ingold, Chatham Glenwood, 4-for-4, 2 HR, 7 RBIs.
Key performers:
Glenwood — Dallas Henderson, 3-for-3; Jake Lance, 2-for-3, 2 RBIs; Phil Maton, HR; Jake Fulks, 2-for-4, 2 RBIs. Joliet Catholic — Jeff Joutras, 1-for-2, 2 RBIs; Tyler Wilson, 2-for-3, 2 runs.
Next:
3A final – Chatham Glenwood vs. DeKalb, noon Saturday. Third place – Joliet Catholic vs. Marian Central, 9 a.m. Saturday.
