Trailing by three runs with one out in the seventh inning of its sectional championship game Saturday against Homewood-Flossmoor, Andrew needed its biggest rally of the season.
Thanks to Geoff Pignatiello, that’s exactly what the Thunderbolts got.
Pignatiello’s three-run double highlighted a five-run inning as Andrew stunned Homewood-Flossmoor 8-6 in the title game of the Andrew sectional.
“This is the biggest comeback in my career,” said Andrew coach Frank Ganser. “We did some dumb things running ourselves out of the game. You don’t often get chances to come back after that, but we did.”
Andrew (27-5) trailed 6-3 when Nick Breese led off the top of the seventh with a single. One out later, John DeCeault singled to right, and Nick Tantillo walked to load the bases. After Scott Everhart was hit by a pitch to force in Breese, Pignatiello doubled on a 3-1 pitch to clear the bases and put Andrew up 7-6.
“Bottom line: Their big guys came up big and we didn’t,” Homewood-Flossmoor coach Steve Stanicek said.
Pignatiello finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs and Tantillo was 2-for-3 with his first home run of the season, a two-run shot, in the first. Jacob Heilicser went 2-for-2 with two RBIs for Homewood-Flossmoor (26-6).
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Brett Trumpey threw two scoreless innings to earn the win for the Thunderbolts. Everhart pitched the seventh to earn his first save.
Niles West: Five different players had two hits each as No. 4 New Trier rolled past Glenbrook South 10-0 in five innings. Steve Martay, Mike Wertheimer, Ted Rosinski, Ryan Spellman and Gavin Sharpe each had two hits for the Trevians (30-6), who scored four runs in the first and five in the second.
Rob Anderson threw four shutout innings for New Trier.
DeKalb: A two-out, three-run rally in the bottom of the sixth lifted No. 6 St. Charles East to an 8-7 win over West Aurora. Gabe Bauer’s two-run single for St. Charles East (31-7) tied the score 7-7, and Matt Reynolds hit the next pitch for an RBI single to put the Saints on top.
West Aurora had runners at first and second with one out in the bottom of the seventh when the Saints’ Brian Szarmach made a running, over-the-shoulder catch of Ryan Banks’ line drive to right-center to save at least a run. Nick Prater, who threw all seven innings, then coaxed a flyout to end the game.
Bauer finished 2-for-2 with five RBIs.
Lockport: Chris Vaculik threw a three-hitter and struck out five to lead No. 8 Providence to a 5-1 win over Joliet Catholic. Ken Firlit hit a solo home run in the fifth to break a 1-1 tie for the Celtics (26-5) and Tony Panozzo added a two-out, two-run single in the sixth.
Barrington: Chris Hynes–playing with a broken bone in his left foot–was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the top of the eighth, bringing home Kyle Frischmann with the winning run in No. 10 Mundelein’s 10-9 win over Prairie Ridge.
Steve Lieberman hit a three-run home run in the top of the first, helping the Mustangs (30-8) to a quick 4-0 lead. Prairie Ridge bounced back, and Greg Grabowski’s grand slam in the bottom of the second gave the Wolves an 8-7 advantage.
Prairie Ridge led 9-8 with two out in the top of the sixth when Luke Eber’s bloop single to right scored Tyler Ryan with the tying run.
Mike Weir threw seven innings of relief for Mundelein to earn the win. Grabowski finished 4-for-5 with six RBIs for Prairie Ridge and Kyle Cherney went 4-for-5 and scored four runs.
Fenton: Robert Inzinga threw a six-hit shutout and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh to lead Glenbard West to a 2-0 win over Glenbard North. Mike Grescher scored on an error in the second for the Hilltoppers (23-13) and Ryan Anetsberger doubled home Shea Moroni in the fifth.
Normal: Dan Haley went 2-for-2 with a triple and three runs scored to lead defending state champion Bradley-Bourbonnais to a 5-3 win over Bloomington. Ryan Scott’s three-run double in the fifth broke open the game for the Boilermakers (27-6).
Kyle Arthur scattered eight hits in a complete-game effort to improve to 10-3 for the Boilermakers.
Rockford Guilford: Wayne DeSmet threw a complete game and went 2-for-4 with three RBIs to lead Moline over Marian Central 5-3. Zach Esterdahl and Blake Boster hit home runs for Moline (23-10) and Dan Dale struck out eight in a complete game for Marian Central (21-12).
Sandburg: Eric Dzierwa’s three-run double in the bottom of the third lifted the host Eagles to a 4-3 win over St. Rita.
Carlos Jackson hit a two-run homer in the top of the fifth for St. Rita (28-11) to cut Sandburg’s lead to 4-2. The Mustangs added a run in the seventh and had runners at first and second with two out, but Sandburg’s Chris Gaulin induced a game-ending pop fly. Joe Walsh scattered eight hits over six innings and struck out six to pick up the win.