THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, JULY 30, 2008
Gren Run Ends In Final Four
By DWIGHT ESAU
Journal Sports
Elk Grove put the Mid Suburban League on baseball notice last weekend - next spring, they will be a major force in the MSL.
The Grens stood toe to toe with some of the state's best pre-2009 high school teams last week and made it to the final four in the baseball coaches state tournament at Naperville.
The Grens (18-13 this summer) reached their high water mark last Thursday with a 4-1 victory over Brother Rice to advance to the final four championship bracket. On Friday, the Grens ran into a dominant pitching performance by Lincoln Way East's Matt Hartmann and dropped a 3-1 decision.
Against Brother Rice, Elk Grove's big players were Donny Duschinsky on the mound and Matt Martinski at the plate. Duschinsky gave up 4 hits to the Crusaders, worked around 7 walks, and struck out 2.
Martinski walloped a 2-run homer to give the Grens a lead they never gave up.
Against Lincoln Way, Josh Daniels matched Hartmann, as both pitchers were perfect for the first three innings. In the fourth, however, the Griffins put up 3 on an error, a pair of doubles, a single, and a walk.
Elk Grove put 2 base runners on against Hartmann in the first six innings, but Danny Lopez (walk) and Tony Logli (hit by a pitch) were both erased trying to steal second.
Colin Semler broke up Hartmann's perfect game in the seventh with a bad hop infield single. Logli followed with another similar hit, and Justin Kaczynski drove in Semler with a single for the lone Gren run.
"We made some adjustments at the plate in the seventh, but it was too late," said Elk Grove coach Terry Beyna.
"But this was a wonderful run this summer. I think we've got something really nice to build on for next spring. We should be fine in 2009."
Lincoln Way went on to win its first summer state title with a 3-2 victory over Brother Rice in the championship game.
Despite their loss to the Grens, the Crusaders were selected as the top seed in pool play, and the Grens were second, based on a runs-allowed tiebreaker.
Matt Martinski and Logli will join the Elk Grove Post 216 American Legion team that is competing this week in the Cook County tournament.