Nate Shapiro taps the helmet of teammate Will McNulty (No. 7) after hitting a double and scoring on an interference call in the top of the sixth inning. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
In the top of the sixth inning, New Trier had a breakthrough.
Doubles by Cam Redding, Sean Douaire and Nate Shapiro pumped life into the Trevians as they tried to stage a comeback in a Class 4A state semifinal baseball game at Silver Cross Stadium in Joliet on June 9.
The three two-baggers wound up producing three runs.
All of a sudden, with New Trier cutting Crystal Lake South’s lead in half, 6-3, things got interesting.
But then … things unraveled.
The 35-5 Gators scored three unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth to essentially put the game out of reach and snap NT’s 12-game winning streak.
“We showed some life right there,” said New Trier head coach Mike Napoleon, following his team’s disappointing 9-3 setback. “But we needed to keep it at three.
“Giving up those runs in the sixth took the life out of us,” the coach added.
You want rowdy.
You want noisy.
You want your fans into it.
The last thing you want in a state tournament game is a silent dugout.
“Guys were pretty fired up in the top sixth,” said Douaire. “But things got pretty quiet after we gave up those three runs in the bottom of the inning.”
From the very beginning, the game was an uphill climb for the Trevians (30-5), who had not lost since May 6.
The first jolt of the game came in the opening frame, when Noah Tyrrell of the Gators smacked a two-out, three-run homer off NT starter Patrick Jodloman.
Then came the add-ons.
CL South scored single runs in the second and third innings. And then, the Gators went up 6-0 in the bottom of the fifth on three singles.
NT used four different hurlers — Jodloman, Jack Falk, Douaire and Joe Bullard — in the contest, while junior right-hander Kyle Lang went the distance for CL South and improved his record to 10-0.
“Their guy lived on the outer corner,” said Napoleon. “He did a nice job of changing speeds.”
Redding, Douaire and Shapiro had two hits apiece, while Eric Nicholas, Matt Kann and Will McNulty also had base knocks.
Nicholas opened the game — third pitch of the game — by smacking a double over the left-fielder’s head. He was stranded.
Redding, a junior hitting in the No. 5 spot in the batting order, has been impressive at the plate. In six state playoff games, he has nine hits, including four doubles, to go along with four RBIs.
Redding came into the game hitting .402 with 25 runs batted in.
Cam Redding screams to the dugout after doubling and scoring New Trier’s first run of the game in the sixth. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
Sean Douaire drops his bat after doubling over the left-fielder’s head in the sixth inning. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
Eric Nicholas plays to the bench after hitting a leadoff double in the top of the first inning. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
Junior left-hander Joe Bullard delivers a pitch in the bottom of the sixth. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
After handling a throw from catcher Dylan Horvitz, NT second baseman Payton Burch tags out Crystal Lake South’s Griffin Bright trying to steal in the second inning. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
NT first baseman Anthony Calarco receives a relay throw on a sacrifice bunt in the fifth inning. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
NT second baseman Payton Burch catches a popout in the first inning. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER