Jake Whelan’s clutch triple lifts Dixon past Sycamore and into rematch with Sterling for regional title

FREEPORT – Jake Whelan said Dixon really wanted another shot at facing Sterling.

Thanks to his two-run bloop triple in right field, the Dukes will get that chance against their seventh-seeded rivals.

Whelan’s well-placed hit broke open a tie game and helped the No. 5 Dukes snap an 11-game losing streak and knock off No. 3 Sycamore 3-1 in the Class 3A Freeport Regional semifinals Thursday at Hustle Field.

“We just wanted to play Sterling again,” Whelan said. “They beat us in the last inning, and we really wanted to get back at them. This is what we wanted to do, and we made it happen.

The Dukes (13-14) lost to the Spartans (18-16) on May 22, then to Sterling on May 23. After dispatching Sycamore, they’ll get a chance to avenge the loss to the Golden Warriors at 10 a.m. Saturday in Freeport with a regional title on the line.

“We’re fired up, ready to play them,” Whelan said. “We’re ready to get this championship.

Kellen Haenitsch drew a one-out walk off Sycamore starter Cal Harbecke in the seventh, then with two outs Brady Feit walked.

Whelan blooped the ball down the line. Right fielder Jackson MacDonald charged and dove, but the ball landed in the tiniest bit of real estate between his outstretched glove and the foul line. Haenitsch and Feit both scored.

“I was really excited, then I swung at a bad pitch I really shouldn’t have that got me down in the count,” Whelan said. “I settled in, took a deep breath and put the ball in play.”

Harbecke had just escaped a jam in the sixth after a misplayed bunt put runners at second and third with one out, but he struck out the last two batters. He finished the game striking out eight and walking three while allowing six hits. All three runs were earned.

“Cal pitched his tail off today,” Sycamore coach Jason Cavanaugh said. “Our offensive performance was ... so bad. Our offensive approach was terrible today. We just weren’t able to put any pressure on the defense.”

In the bottom of the seventh, Ben Anderson got his third hit of the game, a two-out single off starter Daniel Fordham as he reached his pitch count. Nate Lojko singled, but Eli Kirchhoff got MacDonald to ground out to end the game.

Fordham scattered eight hits, struck out six and walked three. He also had a double in the top of the third and scored on a Feit single to put the Dukes ahead 1-0.

“We actually played the best games of our lives today, to be honest with you,” Dixon coach Jason Burgess said. “Daniel Fordham played lights out on the mound, came through with a big at-bat for us. He’d been struggling through the year hitting-wise, and I told him yesterday, ‘You’ve been spot-on in [batting practice], you’re going to hit for yourself. I’m not going to DH for you.’ ... And he competed well.”

The Spartans tied the game in the bottom of the third when Tyler Lojko bunted for a single and scored on a double by Davis Collie.

Adam Eder had a pair of Sycamore’s nine hits as the Spartans stranded 12 runners.

“We just kind of thought this team would roll over for us because we’re Sycamore,” Cavanaugh said. “And it certainly didn’t turn out that way.”

Sycamore failed to secure a regional title for the first time since 2018, which also was the last time it failed to win at least 20 games in a full season.

But injuries kept Kyle Prebil and Tyler Townsend, projected as the top two starters, from pitching. Prebil spent the last half of the year as a DH, and Townsend mostly pinch ran.

“The bottom line is we finished over .500 without our two best pitchers,” Cavanaugh said. “That put a lot of pressure on Cal to step up and be good and be the No. 1. And he held up his end of the deal. Overall, I think we played to our talents. That’s what we were able to accomplish this year, and we’re happy we finished over .500.”