Crystal Lake South holds off ‘Cinderella’ Central to win regional title

CRYSTAL LAKE – Beating its crosstown rival that hadn’t lost a postseason baseball game in two years, and beating the hitter who beat them up all year, required everything Crystal Lake South had.

Carson Trivellini delivered two perfect, shutdown innings in relief.

His teammates delivered two big, fifth-inning swings, including a go-ahead RBI two-bagger by No. 22, junior first baseman Dane Chock.

“I knew they were going to fight hard, and I knew my team was going to come through,” Chock said Saturday after the Gators needed a pair of middle-inning rallies to beat upset-minded Crystal Lake Central 8-7 and capture their own Class 3A regional final. “Crosstown rival, and I knew it was going to be a heated game. I’m glad we came out on top.”

Third-seeded South (24-12) advances to the Grayslake Central Sectional and will play No. 7 St. Viator (20-17) in a semifinal at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. “Cinderella” Crystal Lake Central (12-21-1), which won the Class 3A state title last year after finishing only one game over .500 in the regular season, last lost a playoff game May 25, 2023.

“It’s the camaraderie we have as a team,” Tigers senior center fielder-pitcher Carter Kelley said. “We had some new faces coming into the program this year, and they had a lot more opportunities than usual. Eight or nine guys had never seen the varsity field before. They took it to heart. They took our team to heart.”

Kelley almost broke South’s heart.

His three-run homer in the fifth put No. 11 Central up 6-5, after his two-run double gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead in the third. A left-handed hitter, Kelley pulled a pitch off lefty Devin DeLoach over the fence in right field for what he called his first homer in five years.

“He kicked my butt earlier in the year,” Kelley said of DeLoach, who struck out 12 in South’s 5-3 win on April 24. “Coaches got us ready. Great preparation from them. I felt the most prepared I’ve felt all year.”

It was Kelley’s ninth hit in three games against South this season.

“Something about crosstown rivals gives you a little bit of an extra edge, especially a day like today when everybody is playing for their lives,” Kelley said. “You got to cherish every last at-bat you get.”

“Carter’s killed us all year,” Gators coach Brian Bogda said.

Kelley’s homer didn’t kill South’s spirit, however, and neither did Johnny Geisser’s RBI double that capped Central’s four-run fifth and put the Tigers up 7-5.

The Gators responded by scoring three runs in their half of the fifth. After Nick Stowasser drove in his second and third runs of the game on a deep single to right field, tying the score at 7-7, the lefty-hitting Chock crushed an RBI double to center off the lefty Kelley, who was Central’s third pitcher of the game.

“I was looking for a fastball,” Chock said. “I got my pitch, and I just hammered it. I was looking for it, and just I knew I couldn’t miss it.”

Trivellini, who started the game at shortstop and went 2 for 3 from the leadoff spot, set Central down in order in the sixth and seventh innings. He fanned the final hitter for his third strikeout.

“I was just trying to keep my composure,” said Trivellini, who won a regional title with South’s basketball team in the winter. “Our approach is ‘next man up.’ We knew that we were going to be fine. We just had to keep working. Props to my guys. Everyone played great.”

Wade Ozment also doubled for Central, which had upset No. 5 Lakes in the regional semifinals for its eighth postseason win in a row.

“They’re fighters,” Tigers coach Cal Aldridge said of his players. “Our seniors have led the way for us. A lot of the big things that happened for us today were because of seniors who executed. We had good at-bats up and down the lineup.”

It was the fourth regional championship in a row for South, which got RBI singles from Yandel Ramirez and Jackson Lee in its four-run third.

“It’s hard because it’s the crosstown thing, and everybody knows everybody,” Bogda said. “I’ve coached some of those guys over there in travel, so a lot of history. I have all the respect for Cal and his staff and what those guys have done over there. It’s been incredible.”