Sandburg ends O'Fallon's season at 4A baseball super-sectional

Orland Park Sandburg's Branden Comia didn't forget the pain he felt a year ago after the Eagles lost to Edwardsville at the Class 4A Champaign Baseball Super-Sectional.

On Monday, Comia and the Eagles took out their frustrations on another Southwestern Conference team, the O'Fallon Panthers.

Comia hit a solo home run off O'Fallon ace Hayden Juenger in the first inning, then ended the Panthers' season with a perfect seventh inning in relief as Sandburg defeated O'Fallon 3-0 at the University of Illinois.

A University of Illinois recruit, Comia took a first-pitch fastball from Juenger and hit it just to the right of the 400-foot sign in center field. Ryan Hampe and winning pitcher Seth Masters added run-scoring singles in the sixth inning to increase the Eagles' lead, and when Comia retired Panthers junior Josh Gibson to end the game, the Eagles were headed to the Class 4A state finals.

"Last year against Edwardsville when the game got out of hand coach (Jim) Morsovillo called a bunch of us over and told us not to forget what this felt like. He knew we could get back here," Comia said. "The home run? It was a first-pitch fastball. In watching tape and reading the scoring report on him (Juenger), it said he'll come with the fastball on the first pitch. That's about as hard as I've hit a ball."

Changing speeds and keeping the Panthers hitters off-balance, Masters allowed two hits in 4 1/3 innings, then watched as relievers Andrew Tenison and Comia retired the final eight Panthers to end the game.

The win lifts Sandburg (28-6) into the Class 4A State Tournament semifinals at 5 p.m. Friday at Joliet Route 66 Stadium in Joliet. The Eagles will take on the winner of the Crestwood Super-Sectional between Chicago Brother Rice and Plainfield North. The final score was unavailable at press time.

The loss ends one of the finest seasons in O'Fallon baseball history, one step short of the state finals. Juenger, headed to Missouri State University, pitched well, allowing only six hits in 5 1/3 innings. But for one of the only times all season, the Panthers bats were silent as they end their season with a 35-4-1 record.

"To win 35 games and have the accomplishments this group of players finished with this year, I'm so very proud of this team and this group of seniors. This has got to go down as one of the top teams in O'Fallon history," an emotional O'Fallon coach Jason Portz said. "Give credit to Sandburg and their pitching today. They kept us off-balance and we were hitting off our front foot a lot.

"I think we had 11-12 fly ball or pop outs. You can't have that many in a big game."

O'Fallon had the first scoring opportunity in the top of the first inning. With two outs, Masters walked both Brayden Arnold and Matthew Albritton and when Juenger reached on an error, the Panthers had the bases loaded.

Senior Quinn Lowery then hit a 2-1 pitch to the center field wall that was caught for the final out of the inning. Comia then gave the Eagles the only run they would need in the bottom of the inning.

Masters stranded a Panthers baserunner at second base in the top of the second inning. But O'Fallon would not threaten again until the fifth.

"I didn't think Seth (Masters) had hit best stuff, but he battled and mixed his pitches well," Morsovillo said. "But (Andrew) Tenison came in and did what he has all year and then Comia came in and shut the door in the seventh."

"This group of kids has put it all together in this postseason run we've had here. They've bought into the system. They remembered the feeling a year ago when we lost to Edwardsville."

The Panthers' final scoring chance came in the fifth inning when Gibson singled with one out and went to second when Nathan Martin got hit by a pitch.

Tenison took over for Masters and retired Arnold and Albritton to end the inning.

"We had some chances and we hit the baseball hard a few times today. But you've got to have a little luck as well," Portz said. "All season long we've had players step up and get big hits to help us win games. It just didn't happen today."

This story was originally published June 4, 2018 at 8:46 PM with the headline "Sandburg ends O'Fallon's season at 4A baseball super-sectional."