Lack of Offense, Allowing Leadoff Man to Reach Catches Up to Phoenix

Facing a team that had won 30 games and only been shutout once this season, one could imagine how nerve-wracking the bottom of the seventh inning could have been if Lincoln-Way East held a slim 1-0 lead over district rival Lincoln-Way North.

The Griffins had put the leadoff man on base in every inning of their 3-0 sectional semifinal victory on Thursday, beginning in the third, but only scored in the third when Alec Ornelas plated Cody Justus, who had singled to start the inning. Joe Piersanti and Jake Hickey opened the fourth inning with a walk and a single but were unable to come around to score.

In the fifth inning, Bobby Kosala started things by hitting a single and stealing second base, but was thrown out at the plate on a nifty 4-6-3 double play that saw second baseman Luke Waldier make a diving stop to throw out Matt Rosenberger at first base. Phoenix first baseman Brandon Collins completed the play by firing home to nail Kosala.

Once again, the Griffins started nicely in the sixth with a single by Dan Huizinga, but two fly outs and a pop out ended their threat.

"Sam (Cook) pitched really, really good and I thought we did a nice job of minimizing their runners and not letting them get a big inning," North coach Joe Skarbek said. "Sam pitched out of a couple of jams, which was good, but the story of the game was not hitting."

Lincoln-Way East, on the other hand, got the big hit it needed for comfort in the seventh. For the fifth consecutive inning, the Griffins put their leadoff man on as Justus reached on an infield single. After a Chris Scott sacrifice moved Justus to second base, Kosala hit an infield single to shortstop to put runners on first and second.

Cook got Ornelas to pop out to third base and put the Phoenix an out away from getting out of the jam, but this time the Griffins would get their second clutch two-out, two-strike RBI hit of the afternoon. Rosenberger, who was robbed by Waldier in his previous at bat, smashed a two-run single to left field to put the Griffins ahead 3-0 and give starting pitcher Mark Chemello some breathing room.

"I was happy for the team to score the extra two to give me insurance and more confidence going into the last inning," Chemello said. "I felt good. I spotted my fastball and didn't use too much off speed. It was throwing inside to guys and just locating my fastball."

LIncoln-Way East coach Paul Babcock certainly felt a little more comfortable heading into the bottom of the seventh with a couple insurance runs.

"That was huge and it was nice to have a little spacing like that because you never know," he said. "If it's a one-run lead, it's psychological and they're thinking it's no big deal. But if it's three runs, it's a little more pressure. The game of baseball is a son of a gun for that reason."

And just like that the Griffins are still alive and will look to beat a Sandburg team which has beaten them twice already this spring. The two square off at 11 a.m. on Saturday in the sectional title game at Sandburg.

"Anything can happen," Babcock said. "There are no excuses now. People step up and they make plays. You can throw the records out the window. You play well and put pressure on other people and that's really the ballgame."