GA_060916

glencoeanchor.com sports
the glencoe anchor | June 9, 2016 | 45
Baseball
New Trier earns first sectional title since 2009
Donahue grand
slam caps big third
inning at the plate
Todd Marver
Freelance Reporter
A quartet of New Trier
juniors wasn’t ready to let
their senior teammates’ careers
end.
Juniors Matt Kann (3-
for-5; 3 RBI), Kevin Donahue
(2-for-5; 4 RBI), Eric
Nicholas (1-for-4; 3 RBI)
and Dylan Horvitz (1-for-2;
1 RBI) propelled the Trevians
(27-9) to a 12-6 victory
over Oak Park-River Forest
in the Loyola Academy
Sectional final on Saturday,
June 4, in Glenview. The
win gave New Trier its first
sectional championship
since 2009 when the Trevians
won their last state title.
New Trier went on to
face St. Charles North in
the Class 4A super sectional
at Boomers Stadium on
Monday, June 6, in Schaumburg
(result not in as of
press time).
“Something we say
amongst ourselves is ‘Why
not us?’” Kann said. “I
think there’s just a lot of
desire to win a state championship
on this team.”
The victory also avenged
a 10-0 loss to the Huskies
on May 13.
A seven-run third inning
for New Trier proved
to be the difference as the
Trevians extended their
5-0 lead to 12-0 before
seeing OP-RF score six
runs to slice its deficit in
half. Horvitz’s solo home
run gave the Trevians a
6-0 lead. Nicholas walked
with the bases loaded and
senior Dylan McGuire was
hit by a pitch with the bases
loaded to extend New
Trier’s advantage to 8-0.
Donahue capped off the
scoring with a grand slam
to make it 12-0.
“I knew that [OP-RF
pitcher Jack McMullen]
was going to come at me
with fastballs,” Donahue
said. “The first one he
missed out wide. He was
a little wild. But then the
second one he came back
in and I just sat on it and
as soon as I hit it, I knew
it was gone. It was one of
those where it just feels
great off the bat.”
OP-RF’s Connor Nelson
hit a two-run homer in
the third inning, Evan Bell
notched a three-run blast
in the fourth and Jeremy
Gaines was hit by a pitch
with the bases loaded in
the fifth in the Huskies’
comeback effort.
“I think the biggest thing
we did when they started
coming back was we stuck
together,” Donahue said.
“It’s really easy to bail on
someone who makes a bad
play, but we really stuck
together. We had each
other’s backs. Even when
they hit a home run, we
stayed positive. That’s the
biggest thing. Positive energy
is unstoppable.”
Supersectional action
New Trier took on
St. Charles North in
supersectional action
on Monday, June 6, in
Schaumburg. To read
the full recap, visit
GlencoeAnchor.com.
Kann opened New Trier’s
scoring in the first inning
with a solo home run.
“It just felt good,” Kann
said of his home-run
swing.
Nicholas doubled to
score senior Michael
Hurley and senior Liam
O’Neill in the second inning.
Two batters later,
Kann recorded a double
to bring home junior Sean
Douaire and Nicholas to
give New Trier a 5-0 lead.
“When the bases are
loaded, my whole job is
just to put the ball in play
and that’s what I did to just
get on base and bring in
runs,” Nicholas said.
New Trier’s win over
New Trier’s Kevin Donahue watches as his hit goes out
of the ballpark for a grand slam during the Trevians’
sectional title game win on Saturday, June 4, in
Glenview. Lois Bernstein/22nd Century Media
Oak Park-River Forest
marked its 10th victory in
its last 11 games.
“I think it’s good we have
a lot of energy this time of
year,” Kann said. “At the
beginning of the year we
weren’t really getting up
for hits. We were just kind
of going through the motions
and playing the game.
But I think it’s really good
that we have a lot of energy.
Everyone just wants to win
right now.”
Donahue is focused on
making sure the Trevians
stay level-headed following
their first sectional title
in seven years to help keep
the postseason run going.
“It’s really easy to fall
after an emotionally high
game to sink back down,”
Donahue said. “So that’s
the biggest thing. We’ll
probably call a captain’s
practice tomorrow or
something and work together
and stick together
and get lunch. We just
need to stick together and
make sure we keep it going.”
Baseball
Pitching gem sends Trevs to sectional final
Brecht’s 11-K
outing, team
defense push NT
onward in playoffs
Michael Wojtychiw
Freelance Reporter
New Trier works off of
momentum.
“Once we get it going
we’re unstoppable, but if
we lose the momentum it
works the opposite way
too,” New Trier pitcher
Ben Brecht said.
Brecht rode his own
wave of momentum Thursday,
June 2. After pitching
six innings of two-hit,
10-strikeout ball in a regional
title game win over
Niles North May 28, the
senior took the mound in
the second semifinal game
of the Loyola Sectional.
All Brecht did was pitch
a complete game, in which
he allowed only four hits
and one earned run, and
struck out 11 as New Trier
defeated Notre Dame 2-1.
Brecht sailed through
the first two innings, but
ran into trouble in the top
of the third.
John Hendry laced a
double and moved to third
on a balk. The senior followed
that with a strikeout,
but then gave up another
double to Matthew Segovia,
allowing the Dons to
jump into the lead at 1-0.
After going six up, six
down in the first two innings,
the Trevians were
looking to get something
going to tie the game up.
A single to deep left field
got Liam O’Neill on base
and he moved to third base
on a throwing error by the
Notre Dame third baseman.
O’Neill scored on a
Dylan McGuire bunt, tying
the game at one.
Like that, momentum
shifted.
Brecht breezed through
the next two innings, picking
up two strikeouts in
each frame.
The sixth inning featured
what may have been
the play of the game. After
the leadoff hitter reached
on a single and was out
when the next hitter,
Ranko Stevanovic, hit into
a fielder’s choice, Hurley
combined with Will Mc-
Nulty to save Brecht.
Kevin Garcia laced a
double to deep right field,
but Hurley recovered
enough to hit the cutoff
man, McNulty, and gun
Stevanovic down as he
tried to make it to third.
Brecht struck out the next
hitter to end the inning.
“Him throwing that guy
out at third was an amazing
change in momentum,”
Brecht said.
Matt Kann started the
bottom of the sixth by
getting hit by a pitch and
moved over on two consecutive
ground balls before
scoring what would
be the winning run on
Dylan Horvitz’s double.
Brecht struck out two
in the seventh and Hurley
made another impressive
catch over his shoulder
to close the game and advance
to the sectional final.