One big inning left Chatham Glenwood baseball a little bit short of state title
JOLIET — One inning was the difference between a Class 3A state championship and the Illinois High School Association’s runner-up baseball trophy.
LaGrange Park Nazareth (34-7) scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to beat Chatham Glenwood 5-1 in the state championship game on Saturday at Duly Health and Care Field.
“(Glenwood pitcher) Zane (Danielson) did a great job today and that’s a good-hitting team,” Glenwood coach Casey Erickson said. “They’ve got some good sticks in the lineup, they’ve got speed and if you let them get guys on base, they can be dangerous. They just got a few extra hits and we didn’t match it today. But overall, I thought we battled pretty well.”
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If Glenwood (33-8) needs a positive takeaway, it’s this: After both the Titans’ two other second-place finishes in the state baseball playoffs, the school came back the following season to win a state championship (Glenwood was second in 1995 before winning the Class AA title in 1996 and after a runner-up Class 3A finish in in 2009, the Titans won it all in 2010).
But on Saturday, the Glenwood players and coaches were only focused on this season — especially the 10 seniors for whom there is not a tomorrow in the Glenwood red and white.
Glenwood ace Danielson (5-2) tried to keep doing what he’s done all season. The senior entered his start with a 1.14 ERA in 49 innings pitched. He allowed eight runs in 14 appearances. Danielson mowed through the Roadrunners’ lineup the first time and cruised through the top five in the order the second time. In the fifth, Nazareth No. 6 hitter, freshman Jaden Fauske, singled to left field before Sam Wampler drew a four-pitch walk.
“Our whole game plan is to always put pressure on the defense,” Nazareth coach Lee Milano said. “That kid (Danielson) had us off-balance with his change-up but our kids just put the ball in play.”
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Sophomore Luca Fiore put the Roadrunners ahead 1-0 with an RBI liner to right field then No. 9 hitter Cole Reifsteck hit a run-scoring grounder to left field. The Roadrunners got the other three runs on a sacrifice fly, an RBI single from starting pitcher Nick Drtina and added one more on a delayed double steal.
“I think they just picked up my fastball better (after facing him once),” Danielson said. “You couldn’t blow much by them; that was a good (team). They swung the bats well.
“I knew I was going to have to be efficient and that means get pop flies, get ground balls and let your defense work behind you. That’s what I tried to do the first four innings but in the fifth inning, it just got away.”
Glenwood chased Drtina in the sixth. Will Plattner doubled to right-center field to lead off the inning and Parker Detmers put runners at the corners with a one-out single to left. Milano turned to Finn O’Meara and Glenwood scored on a wild pitch.
Erickson finished his second season with a state trophy.
“It’s always the goal to get here,” Erickson said. “No matter how projectable your team is or not, the goal is to get to a state tournament. We got to the state championship game and we just fell a little bit short.”
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It was the first state championship for Nazareth. Glenwood will return two starters next season, and Danielson sees championship potential with the next group.
“100%,” Danielson said. “This group has practiced every day, worked hard every day. Two of our starters were juniors this year. They have what it takes. They have to keep working and get better and they can do it.”
Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Glenwood baseball second at IHSA Class 3A state finals, Nazareth wins
