LILLY —
Chicago Metro Des Plaines Patriots brought their lumber to the Lilly-Washington War Memorial Field on Wednesday, knocking out 14 hits to advance to face Toledo today in the national AAABA tournament.
The Patriots carved out an 11-5 victory over Livonia, a loss that eliminated the Coach’s Corner team.
“Our guys came out swinging,” Chicago manager Mike Schultz said. “I told them, ‘Hey, be aggressive, and if you like it, take a nice hack at it.’ The other thing was, it wasn’t just the doubles down the line. It wasn’t just the hard-hit balls. Some of it was situational hitting: Some good bunts, some good ground balls to the right side.”
Livonia was coming off a heartbreaking loss to Johnstown’s Delweld on Tuesday night at Point Stadium in a game in which the Michigan squad outhit Delweld, 12-9.
“It was a hard one. The kids left everything on the field last night and played their guts out,” manager Mike George said. “As a coach, that’s all you can ask. (Wednesday), they tried to come back, but I don’t know if we spent everything last night.”
Both teams played well early, with the Patriots scoring a single run in the first and Livonia tying it in the bottom of the second.
The Metro squad scored three in the third for a 4-1 advantage, but Livonia tallied two in the fourth to pull within one at 4-3.
Chicago’s players were hitting well against Livonia starter Robert Fraser, especially third baseman Jason Cohen, who came within a home run of hitting for the cycle.
“We were struggling to get runs earlier in the tournament. I was struggling, but I turned it around today,” Cohen said after his 3-for-5, three-RBI effort.
“It’s all about momentum now for us because if we lose, we’re done, so we have to keep on winning.”
Chicago took a 7-3 lead in the fifth with three more runs, but Livonia hung close with two in the bottom of the fifth to make it 7-5.
The Patriots iced it with a single run in the sixth, two in the seventh, and one in the eighth.
“Every game is exciting from this point on because it’s an elimination game,” Schultz said. “Our backs are against the wall. The guys were really excited about this game Wednesday). Livonia is a great team, and they played a great game as well. We’re really happy to move on. We’re very excited.”
Joe Ufheil earned the win after going seven innings for Chicago. He was relieved by Jack Kosar, who pitched the final two innings.
Brian Konsler (3-for-4, two RBIs) and Kevin Serna (2-for-3, three RBIs, run scored) aided Chicago.
Garrett Rebain (3-for-4, RBI, run) and Don Holland (3-for-4, two runs) led Livonia.
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Chicago Metro lights up Livonia
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