High school baseball: Crystal Lake South wins Class 4A state title behind Engelking's complete game

JOLIET – Crystal Lake South pitcher Andrew Engelking desperately wanted to finish what he started, although the IHSA pitch-count rule dictated that Edwardsville’s Drake Westcott, one way or another, would be his final batter.

The Tigers’ left-handed slugging freshman ripped his 12th homer of the season two innings earlier, but Engelking won this battle. The senior right-hander painted the outside corner with a two-seam fastball and caught Westcott looking.

Gators catcher Ryan Parquette started to throw to second base at a runner stealing, heard the called third strike and instead raced to Engelking to celebrate an 8-3 win for the Class 4A state championship Saturday night at Slammers Stadium in Joliet.

“My first thought was throw that glove as high as possible and run and hug my catcher,” Engelking said. “That was the greatest feeling of my life. I knew as soon as (Parquette) caught it, it was a strikeout.”

The Gators (36-5) led the entire game after first baseman Noah Tyrrell ripped a two-run triple in the first inning, then scored on an error. It was their first baseball state championship, and they join Prairie Ridge’s 2008 team as the only McHenry County area teams to accomplish that feat.

Edwardsville (34-8) scored two runs in the first, but South was never in real trouble the rest of the way. Engelking (9-0) settled in and allowed five hits, two earned runs and struck out eight.

When Parquette and Tyrrell each hit two-run blasts to left field in the fifth inning, the Gators’ confidence was sky-high.

“I just wanted to go out there and throw strikes,” Engelking said. “When we had that big of a lead (8-2 at that point), we were state champions from there on out.”

Gators coach Brian Bogda said the atmosphere in the dugout was more relaxed after the two home runs.

“We had more breathing room, we could be a little more aggressive with our pitches and attack their hitters,” Bogda said. “There’s some really good hitters over there. It wasn’t (Engelking’s) best outing, but he just battled. That (fifth) was a big moment, we got the two home runs and were able to put them away.”

South led, 4-2, heading into the fifth when leadoff man Griffin Bright led off with a single. Parquette launched a shot well beyond the 330-foot fence to make it 6-2. Tyrrell, who set a 4A title game record with five RBIs, followed with his second homer in two days, his only two homers of the season.

"The way Andrew throws, we're always confident," Bright said. "We know our defense is going to make the plays. To have a big inning like that kind of relaxed us all."
Parquette noticed a pitching trend when Bright was at bat; The Tigers' Kade Burns threw a curveball first, then a fastball. Parquette got all of an inside fastball.

“I got it and turned on it and drilled it,” Parquette said. “That was the greatest feeling. My final game of high school, we won state, and it was a home run. Highlight of my night. It felt really good.”

Burns was impressed with the way South swung its bats.

“They were putting the ball in play, spraying the ball all over the field,” Burns said. “There wasn’t really anything I could do. I was throwing down-and-in sinkers and they were putting it over the fence. I don’t know what else I needed to do.”

Westcott cut the lead to 8-3 with his fifth-inning homer, but that came in a stretch where Engelking struck out five of eight batters.

“Their pitcher was so good,” Tigers coach Tim Funkhouser said. “We saw video of him throwing his running fastball and getting his breaking pitch, but getting in the (batter’s) box (was different). That’s why we had so many fly balls, we weren’t trying to jack it out of the park. It was his late movement.”

The state title was South’s first in school history since the Gators won the 1980 Class AA boys golf championship.

“I’m super-proud of these guys, and it’s been fun coaching them,” Bogda said. “It’s a very close group. They play for each other; they do a nice job of picking each other up. I’ve enjoyed every single moment with them.”

UNSUNG HERO

Scott Skwarek

Crystal Lake South, Jr., 2B

Skwarek handled the three ground balls that came his way cleanly, then, with shortstop Kory Olsen, turned a double play to start the bottom of the seventh inning.

THE NUMBER

2: State titles won by McHenry County area teams – Crystal Lake South (2017) and Prairie Ridge (2008).

AND ANOTHER THING...

There were still three gloves and catcher Ryan Parquette’s helmet laying on the infield a half hour after the conclusion of the game.

Crystal Lake South 8, Edwardsville 3

CL South 301 040 0 – 8 11 4

Edwardsville 200 010 0 – 3 5 2

WP: Andrew Engelking, 9-0 (7IP, 5H, 3R, 2ER, 1BB, 8K). LP: Kade Burns, 10-2 (5IP, 9H, 8R, 8ER, 1BB, 6K).

Top hitters–CL South: Griffin Bright 2-4 (2R), Ryan Parquette 3-4 (HR, 2RBIs, 2R), Noah Tyrrell 3-4 (3B, HR, 5RBIs, 2R), Kory Olsen 2-4. Edwardsville: Dylan Burns 1-4 (2B, R), Drake Westcott 2-4 (HR, RBI, R), Andrew Yancik 1-3 (RBI).