On a rainy night in Crestwood, Jake Matise did what was needed to extend Mount Carmel’s season.
The senior right-hander threw two innings of scoreless relief as the Caravan outlasted Sandburg 6-3 in eight innings on June 8 in a Class 4A supersectional at Ozinga Field.
Mount Carmel (30-10) advances to the state semifinals for the first time since 2015 and will play at 7 p.m. June 12 at Slammers Stadium in Joliet.
After letting a 3-0 lead slip away, the Caravan went back ahead with three runs in the top of the eighth. With Matise heading back out to the mound in the bottom of the inning, it started pouring,
His mindset: “I’m gonna come in in a tricky situation. I just need to get my team out of it to keep us in the game, and that’s all my job was.
“That’s all I was thinking about, getting out of that jam any way possible.”
In this case, it meant throwing the equivalent of batting practice.
“I just had to start lobbing it in,” Matise said. “I don’t know if you saw the radar gun, it was like 65 (mph). That’s the only way I was getting it over the plate, the only way I was going to get someone out is by letting them hit it.”
Cullen Winters’ RBI single in the top of the eighth broke a 3-3 tie and put the Caravan ahead to stay, Pinch hitter Jonathan Osornio followed with another run-scoring single and the final Caravan run scored on a wild pitch.
Logan Fernandez had a two-run double and Miami recruit Ian Tosi allowed three runs while striking out seven over six-plus innings.
Giovanni Longo hit a two-run homer in the sixth for Sandburg (23-13) and Lucas Rosas’ sacrifice fly in the seventh forced extra innings. Nick Seaman and Drew Drzonek both had two hits for the Eagles.
Class 3A
St. Ambrose recruit Will Rewers pitched a two-hitter with 10 strikeouts and two walks as St. Rita beat Nazareth 2-0 in the first game at Ozinga Field.
Julio Gutierrez had two hits for the Mustangs (28-12), who scored on a balk and a wild pitch. St. Rita advances to state for the first time since 2019 and will play East Peoria at 10 a.m. June 12 at Slammers Stadium in Joliet.
Rewers had a feeling early on it would be a good day.
“It took us a little bit to score that first run,” Rewers said. “… I know when it’s close, my adrenaline keeps pumping and pumping and pumping. And that’s when I know — when my adrenaline doesn’t wear off like … today — I know I’ll be good, especially when my arm doesn’t hurt.”
He definitely was feeling no pain afterward.
“Winning a supersectional for St. Rita, I’ve been dreaming about this,” Rewers said. “I remember coming here when I was in eighth grade. I watched, I think it was the (St.) Ignatius-Brother Rice game and I was talking to my dad. He said, ‘Imagine how cool it be to play here.’
“And four years later, here I am pitching.”