Libertyville rallied for five runs in the sixth inning and claimed its first Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association summer-league title with a 13-9 victory over Sandburg Thursday.
It was the fourth straight victory of the tournament for Libertyville (22-8). Libertyville did not lose a game in the double-elimination tournament at North Central College in Naperville.
“We wanted to win this one for Coach (Jim Panther), especially with the lack of success our team has had here before,” said Libertyville’s Matt Thompson, who delivered the game-winning double in the sixth. The Wildcats had not won a game in five previous summer tournament finals.
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“This is the greatest feeling in the world,” said Libertyville’s Mike Ward, who drove in three runs and and was named most valuable player.
Sandburg (31-5), after beating Oak Park earlier in the day, scored five in the top of the sixth and claimed a 9-8 lead on Tom Syc’s single to right. But in the bottom of the inning, the Wildcats scored five unearned runs on six hits.