Baseball: Jimmy Amptmann’s home run sparks Sycamore comeback against St. Francis in sectional semis

MAPLE PARK – Looking for a spark after almost two hours of delays Thursday, Jimmy Amptman provided a big one for the Sycamore baseball team.

Amptmann led off the top of the fifth with a home run, and Sycamore scored two more off St. Francis ace Rocco Tenuta in Sycamore’s 3-2 win in a Class 3A Kaneland Sectional semifinal.

“It feels great,” Amptmann said. “We came out a little dead, and it was great to spark the team up. We came out and shut the door. Everyone played great. I’m just so excited we came out on top and never quit.”

“I was just waiting for that ball. It felt great. It’s sort of an out-of-body experience when you do that.

—  Jimmy Amptmann, Sycamore senior

The game entered a lightning delay before it even began and another one in the bottom of the second. St. Francis (27-9) had doubles from Luc Swiatek and Peter Lemke to go up 1-0 on Sycamore (33-5) and starter Owen Piazza just before the second delay.

Sycamore coach Jason Cavanaugh elected to lift Piazza, who didn’t pitch last season because of an elbow injury history, after the second delay, with Lucas Winbrun coming on to get the last out in the second. St. Francis added one off of him in the third when Swiatek singled home Zack Maduzia to go up 2-0.

In the top of the fifth, Sycamore only had two hits off Tenuta when Amptmann hit his bomb to the alley in left field.

“I was just waiting for that ball. It felt great,” Amptmann said. “It’s sort of an out-of-body experience when you do that. It was just great to get the team started.

After Amptmann’s blast, Collin Severson walked, then scored when a Kierfer Tarnoki grounder to second base was misplayed and thrown into the outfield. Severson never stopped running and ended up scoring with Tarnoki on third.

A sacrifice fly by Winburn gave Sycamore a 3-2 lead that would stand as the game’s final score.

Cavanaugh said Amptmann’s home run definitely got things started for Sycamore.

“It was a strange game that had no feel to it at all,” Cavanaugh said. “We were ready to throw the first pitch and there’s a delay. And it’s tough.”

Sycamore closer Tommy Townsend came on and picked up the three-inning save with Winburn getting the win. Townsend retired eight of the first nine batters he faced but Maduzia and Thomas Smith reached with two outs, setting Tenuta up to tie or win the game.

But Townsend induced a groundout and Sycamore held on. Townsend struck out four, all in his first two innings of work.

“If it had to be three innings, it was going to be,” Cavanaugh said of Townsend’s save. “That’s probably the max for him. He had all those strikeouts in the first two innings and in the third inning, not so much. He does run out of gas quickly on the mound. It’s why we always used him as a reliever.”

St. Francis finished with five hits, including two each for Swiatek and Lemke. Tenuta allowed one earned run and four hits while striking out six.

“It was two good teams going after it and it came down to one run,” St. Francis coach Tom Ciombor said. “It came down to one run and it could have gone either way. Rocco battled. Every at-bat we battled and gave it a shot.”

It was the second year in a row Sycamore beat St. Francis in the sectional round, coming from seven down last year for the win.

“This team competed. I think all of our losses were by one or two runs,” Ciombor said. “It’s incredibly impressive the way they played together. There’s nothing to be upset about. Even today.”

Sycamore advances to face Burlington Central (20-16) at 11 a.m. Saturday. The teams met in the season opener, with Sycamore winning 6-5.

“They don’t have the shiny record that everybody else has at this point,” Cavanaugh said. “But they play in a tough conference and a tougher schedule than all of us. We know them well and you usually don’t go to a supersectional without going through Burlington Central or Kaneland.”

Sycamore also came from behind in their regional championship win against Boylan Catholic. Amptmann said two comebacks in a row has the team very confident.

“Knowing you can come from behind, it helps keep you in games,” Amptmann said. “When you’re down you always know you can fight back. It makes our team almost unstoppable when we know we can do anything.”