Sandwich’s Nick Michalek had not allowed a hit through the first six innings of Thursday’s IHSA Class 2A Manteno Regional semifinal against Beecher, and with the Indians holding a nine-run lead entering the bottom of the seventh, the win was all but assured.

But after a single, a hit batter, a flyout and a walk allowed the Bobcats to load the bases with just one out, Michalek had to dig deep if he wanted to keep the shutout intact.

The senior did just that, striking out the final two batters to preserve a 9-0 win over Beecher (21-11) that sent Sandwich (19-14-1) to Saturday’s championship game against Manteno, where they will look for their first regional title since 2004.

“It felt great just coming back, really staying focused and coming through,” Michalek said. “My teammates were helping me out the whole time. It’s always fun to throw a shutout, but it’s more important to get the win.

“That’s all that really mattered here today.”

Michalek allowed one hit with eight strikeouts, four walks and three hit batters. A pair of hitters also reached on errors, but three pivotal double plays helped keep the Bobcats off the scoreboard.

Prior to the seventh, Beecher’s best chance to score was in the bottom of the first, after Braden Behringer had already given Sandwich a 1-0 lead with a sac fly.

After a walk and a double play, Beecher’s Tyler Doran was hit by a pitch with two outs. Santino Imhof then reached on an error after the throw to first on a ground ball rolled into foul territory.

Doran tried to score on the play, but was thrown out at home to end the inning. Sandwich then doubled its lead in the top of the second on a sac fly from Anthony Wade.

After an error and a walk started the bottom of the inning, a Michalek strikeout and a 4-6-3 double play ended the threat.

Only one other batter reached against Michalek through the fifth inning, and after a walk to start the sixth, a strikeout and a 6-4-3 double play started by the shortstop Behringer kept Sandwich in control.

“We played probably the best game defensively,” Behringer said. “It all starts pregame, and we had probably the best infield/outfield [warmup] we’ve had all year. That carried over into the game, and hopefully that can keep going for Saturday.”

Sandwich added three runs in the fourth, two on a single from Cash White. A pair of bases-loaded walks made it a 7-0 Indians lead in the sixth, and an error and a bases-loaded walk in the seventh made it a 9-0 game.

The win was Sandwich’s 37th over the last two seasons, the most in a two-year stretch for the team since 2003 and 2004, seasons that also featured the program’s two most-recent regional titles.

Head coach Jason VanPelt said winning a regional plaque would mean a lot to a senior class that had helped lead the team to this successful stretch.

“I tell the guys all the team that when it comes to the postseason, it matters which team’s seniors stay in it and stay motivated,” he said. “We know we’re going to get [Manteno’s] best effort on Saturday. It’s baseball, so you need to do things right, play well and have the ball bounce your way a few times.

“If all that happens, we’ll have a shot.”

For Beecher, the loss ended a season that saw the team bounce back from a sub-.500 season in 2025, the first for the program since 2003.

Many of the players who brought the Bobcats back to their winning ways will also be back in the fold next season, with only seniors Nicholas Fox, Kyler Clegg and Julian Gonzalez graduating.

Santino Imhof, the team’s leading hitter this season who had their hit Thursday, will be back to lead a large class of 2027 seniors, while younger players like Gavin Van Ness and Easton Lane will look to build on promising freshman seasons.

“Only one team in this tournament is going to walk away with what they want,” head coach Brandon DuBois said. “It’s tough for those seniors to go out like this, but it’s good for the future, because a lot of the kids that will be here the next two, three years got a lot of time this year and a lot of experience in terms of growing pains.”