Baseball: Schambow leads Libertyville to sectional crown over Lake Zurich

With Quinn Schambow heading to play at Oklahoma State next season, the senior knows there are big moments ahead for him.

The defending Lake County Daily Herald All-Area captain also knows when there are big moments right now, he needs to respond.

Schambow did just that for his Libertyville team Saturday in the Class 4A sectional title game at Stevenson in Lincolnshire against North Suburban Conference-rival Lake Zurich.

Schambow had two hits, including a double. He also had a sacrifice fly and drove in three runs as the Wildcats hung on for a 5-4 victory.

“We are playing good ball as a team and that is fun,” said Schambow, who plays catcher and picked off a Lake Zurich runner off a second base with a perfect throw from his knees.

“I think that is how we play baseball here. Big players come up with big time moments. That is kind of what happened. It’d not just me. I rely on my team and we have a great lineup.”

Libertyville (32-4) beat Lake Zurich in all three of their meetings this year. With Saturday’s win, the Wildcats advance to the supersectionals for the first time since 2013.

Libertyville will meet Maine South is Monday’s supersectional at Wintrust Field in Schaumburg at 7:30 p.m. Maine South advanced Saturday by beating New Trier 4-1 in 11 innings.

Maine South and Libertyville played in the 2013 supersectional that the Wildcats won 5-3 on their way to finishing second in state.

The Wildcats had to avoid pitfalls and a fierce rally by Lake Zurich in the seventh inning when the Bears scored three runs and had the bases loaded.

“It’s not over until that last out is made,” said an exuberant Libertyville coach Matt Thompson. “I trusted all these kids that they would give their best effort and that is all we can ask for.”

Lake Zurich left 14 runners on base, including 9 in scoring position. The Bears, who had 9 hits, also had two runners erased thanks to baserunning gaffes.

Lake Zurich took a 1-0 lead in the third on a Libertyville error. Jackson Piggott reached on a ground ball, allowing Cash Kaczmarek to score.

A pair of Lake Zurich errors in the bottom of the inning put the first two runners on for Libertyville. Schambow then bombed a hit to deep right center which was just out the reach of the outfielder to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead.

Libertyville third baseman Bode Rohrbach helped his team get out of another jam in the top of the fourth. The junior snared a line drive to end the inning, leaving the bases loaded for the Bears.

Libertyville scored three in the fifth to take a 5-1 lead.

Schambow’s long fly scored Mason Strader, who led off the inning with a single. Josh Holst then belted a two-run blast over the right field fence to add to the lead.

“My first two at bats weren’t how I wanted them to be,” said Holst, who has five homers on the season. “I still felt confident. He threw a lot of changeups and I expected it. He made a mistake and I got a good swing on it.”

Taking a never-say-die approach, Lake Zurich was able to scored three runs without a hit in the top of the seventh. The Bears parlayed three walks, two hit batters and an error into a trio of runs to cut the deficit to 5-4.

But with the bases loaded and two outs, Zachary Seiler got a strikeout to preserve the victory.

“At the end, I knew he was going to challenge that guy,” Thompson said. “And we were going to hang on to it.”

Lake Zurich (26-12) set a school-record for wins thanks to winning 13 of its last 16 games. It was also the fifth regional title for Lake Zurich.

“It was really about the journey,” said Lake Zurich coach Mike Manno, who is in his first year as coach of the Bears.

“I told our guys not to hang their heads. You were right there with one of the best teams in the state. We just didn’t get the big hit. We were getting hits, we just didn’t get the big one to put us through.”