Maurice Binns and Jason Friedman hit back-to-back home runs with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Young a 5-4 come-from-behind win over Simeon on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Public League tournament at Illinois-Chicago.
Simeon led 4-3 when Binns hit his second home run of the game to tie the score. Friedman, who also earned the win on the mound with two innings of relief, followed with a home run of his own off Wolverines pitcher Darryl Jordan.
“We had our two biggest hitters right where we wanted them,” Young coach Chris Cassidy said.
“Those were the two hitters I want in that situation.”
Young (21-10) moves on to play Clemente in Monday’s Public League championship game at Wrigley Field. The Wildcats defeated Lane Tech 14-4 in Thursday’s other semifinal.
Anthony Gonzales went 3-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs for Clemente (17-19).
Schaumburg: Trey Johnston’s three-run home run in the fourth inning–his third homer in as many games–lifted No. 2 Schaumburg to an 8-3 win over Hersey. Joe Atamian had a solo home run earlier in the fourth for the Saxons (28-4).
John Hummel pitched the first four innings to earn the win, then returned to the mound with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh to retire the final two hitters. He also went 3-for-3 with an RBI.
DeKalb: Eric Jones had three stolen bases and scored three runs as No. 6 St. Charles East beat Bartlett 10-4. Brian Szarmach went 2-for-2 and scored three runs for the Saints (30-7), and Tod Moore allowed six hits in a complete-game effort to raise his record to 13-1.
St. Charles East had only seven hits but made up for it by stealing eight bases.
“Our offense is not based upon how many hits we get, it’s how we generate runs,” Saints coach Len Asquini said.
Lockport: Chris Vaculik hit a three-run home run and Anthony Lorenzo went 2-for-3 with a solo home run as No. 8 Providence rolled past Lockport 16-5 in five innings. Zach Rodeghero went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs for the Celtics (25-5), and Jim Gabriel had a double and three RBIs.
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Brian Long picked up the win in relief for Lockport, allowing one hit over three innings and striking out six.
Andrew: Geoff Pignatiello ripped a three-run home run to lead Andrew to a 9-3 win over Lincoln-Way Central. Ryan McGuire allowed five hits over seven innings to improve to 9-1 for the Thunderbolts (26-5).
Bloomington: Dan Haley went 2-for-3 with a triple and a two-run home run to lead defending state champion Bradley-Bourbonnais to a 4-1 win over Lincoln. Jase Brubach tossed a complete-game four-hitter to improve to 10-2 on the season for the Boilermakers (26-6).
De Le Salle: Cesar Carrillo went 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs and four RBIs as Mt. Carmel beat St. Ignatius 12-0 in five innings. Dan O’Brien struck out eight in five innings for the Caravan (27-11) and helped his own cause by scoring two runs and driving in two.
Fenton: Ben Webster’s two-run single in the top of the ninth gave Glenbard West a 3-2 win over Glenbard East. Sam Shorts’ sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth for the Hilltoppers (22-13) scored A.J. Pane, who went 3-for-3, to tie the score 1-1.
“We were real lucky,” Glenbard West coach Jim Fornaciari said. “We dodged some bullets tonight. But you have to give our guys a lot of credit. They hung in there.”
Niles West: Conor Lausen’s one-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth scored Tony D’Agostino with the winning run as Glenbrook South edged Lake Forest 3-2. Josh Rudolfi pitched all eight innings for the Titans (15-15).
Sandburg: Steve Krapes hit a two-run home run as St. Rita edged the host Eagles 6-5. Kevin White improved to 8-0 on the mound for the Mustangs (28-10), and he and Matt Eastman both went 2-for-3 with an RBI.