Two years ago, Nick Seaman scored the game-winning goal in overtime as the Orland Park Vikings defeated a team from New Jersey in the USA Hockey 16U national championship game.
As the Vikings celebrated, the players threw their gloves in the air.
On Saturday, Seaman threw his baseball glove in the air after Sandburg earned its first sectional title since 2018, when the Eagles finished fourth in the state in Class 4A.
“Our hockey team was dominant all year but we lost in the state final,” Seaman said. “We weren’t supposed to go to nationals, but we got an at-large bid and won the whole thing. It was truly special.”
Seaman also made sure Sandburg’s special baseball season continued.
The senior third baseman/pitcher had three hits, including the first triple of his high school career, and also pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings as the gritty Eagles pulled off a 7-1 victory over the host Knights in the Class 4A Lincoln-Way Central Sectional championship game in New Lenox.
Dominic Diamond and Quinn Durkin each drove in two runs for third-seeded Sandburg (22-12). Peter Jurcenko and Seaman combined for the win on the mound, getting in and out of jams in the last four innings as the Knights (18-20) stranded nine runners during that stretch.
Conor McCabe, who homered in two previous playoff games, was held inside the park this time but led Lincoln-Way Central with three hits. He also drove in the Knights’ only run.
Seaman, meanwhile, broke the ice with an RBI triple to right field and later scored on a wild pitch.
“I thought it was going to be a pop out to right,” Seaman said of the hit. “But I looked and the guy was playing a little more toward center and I was like, ‘That’s down, that’s down, that’s down.’
“I was chugging to get to third. That’s my first high school triple.”
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From the box at third base, Sandburg coach George Fear loved watching the play develop.
“Nobody was more surprised than me when I was waving him to third,” Fear said.
Sandburg takes on Mount Carmel (27-10) at 7 p.m. Monday at the Crestwood Supersectional. The Eagles lost to Mount Carmel 15-14 on May 6.
If Sandburg wins a state baseball title, the storyline will be different from Seaman’s hockey experience as the Eagles will be underdogs most of the way.
“This team is truly different than any team I’ve ever been a part of,” Seaman said of Sandburg. “We had adversity in the middle of the year and got a little grit that we needed.”
For college, Seaman is heading to Missouri and will play club hockey. Baseball is his second sport, but he has become an important part of the Eagles’ success.
“He’s hard-nosed and tough,” Fear said of Seaman. “He’s an emotional leader and guys trust him because they know he is going to stick his neck out for them.”
Jurcenko, a Case-Western commit, appreciates having Seaman on the field.
“He’s our leader on the team and keeps the guys together,” Jurcenko said of Seaman. “He shows a great example for the underclassmen, too. He’s a real tough guy. He does it all.”
Sandburg opened the regular season on a promising note, winning 10 straight games.
After a four-game losing streak knocked the Eagles down a peg, the rest of the way was full of ups and downs until they found the path to getting back on track during the postseason.
“We were so hot at the start,” Seaman said. “Then after the adversity, we are having a nice little run here.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
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