Bleachers erupt for Crystal Lake South
Twenty- seven bleached- blond teenagers from Crystal Lake South whipped baseball hats into the air and stormed the field Saturday in Joliet, celebrating their school’s first state championship in 37 years.
Crystal Lake South capped off a sensational playoff run with an 8- 3 win against Edwardsville in the Class 4A title game. The Gators beat 30- win teams in their last four games.
“It’s a huge accomplishment,” Crystal Lake South coach Brian Bogda said. “It means a lot for our community and for these boys, obviously. It says a lot about our conference, too.”
Junior Noah Tyrrell, the star of the semifinal win against New Trier, pulled off a repeat performance against Edwardsville. He went 3- for- 4, including a home run and a triple, and had five RBI ( a Class 4A title- game record).
Tyrrell had two home runs and nine RBI in the two games at state. He had no home runs and 16 RBI in the regular season. The big- game success left him shell- shocked.
“I just got hot at the right time,” Tyrrell said. “That’s basically it. I was just more relaxed. That caused me to get more hits, I guess.”
Andrew Engelking ( 9- 0) pitched a complete game to earn the victory. He allowed two earned runs and five hits, walked one and struck out eight.
The teamwide blond hair is a new phenomenon.
“After we won sectionals against Huntley, we all decided to bleach our hair,” Tyrrell said. “I guess it gave us good luck. My mom didn’t really like it. She wants me to dye it back tomorrow. I’m going to keep it.”
Crystal Lake South ( 36- 5) finished fourth in 1993. The last state title in any sport came in 1980 in boys golf.
“It feels great to have first place, especially after we weren’t ranked at the beginning of the year,” Tyrrell said. “Being a family really helped us. This is a great experience.”
Lions win Class 3A
It was a game that St. Viator probably should’ve lost. The Lions completely collapsed in the sixth inning, allowing Marian Catholic to score seven runs and tie the score.
St. Viator allowed four hits and four walks, made two errors and had two wild pitches.
“We came back into the dugout, and I told everybody that we’re the best- hitting team in the state, let’s go show them,” senior Brett DeSelm said.
The Lions ( 25- 15) delivered. Junior Michael Wittich ripped a tworun double to left- center, and St. Viator beat the Spartans 10- 8 to win the Class 3A state title.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t doubting we’d win in the sixth,” St. Viator senior Cole Kmet said. “After they tied it 8- 8, I wondered if we could do this. But we were able to come back. Michael came up clutch; he’s been big for us all postseason.”
DeSelm pitched the last 1„ innings to earn the win. He was 3- for4 with four RBI.
Wittich was 2- for- 4 with three RBI, and Hunter Johnson and Casey Kmet had two hits apiece.
Marian Catholic ( 24- 16) beat the Lions twice during the regular season. It’s the first baseball state title for St. Viator, which finished second in 1965 and fourth last season.
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