With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning and the temperature hovering in the 40s, Ben Samborn worked the count to 2-2.
The Glenbrook South senior sent the next pitch into center field to score sophomore Cameron Pauly for an 11-10 win over Glenbrook North. The game was a Central Suburban crossover played on Wednesday, April 22 in Glenview.
“I wanted him to throw me a strike, one I could get a piece of,” Samborn said. “It was a tough day to hit because it was cold, but I wasn’t thinking about that up there.”
Samborn said his last game-winning hit happened when he was in elementary school. He was 10, and it was a walk-off homer. Wednesday’s line-drive single between the second baseman and the second-base bag was sweeter, he said.
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The opponent was significant. Samborn was classmates with some of the Glenbrook North players at Maple Middle School in Northbrook.
“It was pretty incredible,” said Samborn, Glenbrook South’s No. 3 batter and first baseman. “I haven’t had a game like that in a long time.”
The Titans (10-5, 4-0 CSL South) entered the seventh ahead 7-3, but the Spartans (14-4, 3-1 CSL North) scored seven in their half of the inning to take a 10-7 lead.
“That definitely took us down a little,” Samborn said. “But we got right back up. We did what we do best. We got on base, and the runs came through.”
Even though the lefty batter was hitless in his first four trips to the plate, Samborn’s clutch performance was no surprise to Glenbrook South coach Steve Stanicek.
“Ben is by far our best hitter, and that’s no secret,” Stanicek said. “I will take that situation any day of the week. When we need a big base hit to win the game, he’s the guy I want in the box. He didn’t have his best day, but every at-bat is a new at-bat.”
Stanicek made sure to credit the players in front of Samborn for allowing him the opportunity to bat in the bottom half of the seventh. Senior John Tallis hit a pinch-hit, two-run single with one out to make it 10-9 before senior Peter Stellas floated a fly ball to right field to score the tying run.
“We had some guys who really came up big, guys who really battled who got us to our best player,” Stanicek said.
The victory was Glenbrook South’s second in a row against Glenbrook North.
“I didn’t want to lose this one,” Samborn said. “There’s a bit of a rivalry there.”
Game notes
* Glenbrook South senior George Karavidas pitched 6 1/3 innings and earned a no decision. At the plate, he went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and one RBI. Pauly, the No. 9 hitter, had two hits, two RBIs and scored the game-winning run.
* Until Samborn’s hit in the bottom of the seventh, Glenbrook North junior outfielder Mitch Schermerhorn was in line to be Wednesday’s hero. He slugged a bases-loaded double that scored three in the top half of the seventh to stake the Spartans to a 9-7 lead. Schermerhorn, his team’s No. 6 hitter, finished 1-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBIs.
* Glenbrook North seniors Sage Bruhl, David Burnside and Brandon LaBunski all had two hits.
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