No. 9 hitter Landon Norris leads Morris past LaSalle-Peru to win Class 3A regional title

MORRIS — After scoring just one run in Wednesday’s Class 3A Morris Regional semifinal win over Kankakee, the Morris offense was looking for a spark Saturday against La Salle-Peru in the championship game.

That spark came from one of the unlikeliest spots, No. 9 hitter Landon Norris.

Norris walked in each of his first two at-bats and came around to score both times before coming up in the bottom of the fifth with the bases loaded and his team leading by six runs.

Norris drove a 1-0 pitch over the La Salle-Peru right fielder’s head for a double, bringing home all three runners for a nine-run lead. He then dove across home plate with the final run in a 10-0, five-inning win on a single by Ximi Baftiri, who went 3 for 4 with a double.

It’s the second straight regional title for Morris (26-8), which took third place in Class 3A last season.

“I just want to get on base to turn the lineup over and let the guys at the top bring me in,” Norris said. “When I came up with the bases loaded, I wasn’t really thinking about anything but making contact. I got a good pitch and put a good swing on it.

“When I saw it go over the outfielder’s head, my adrenaline was going through the roof. I was like, ‘Oh, God! I got a hit!’ It was the best feeling in the world.”

Though the score indicates a blowout, the game wasn’t that way until the fifth.

Starting pitchers Colin Pfeifer, of Morris, and Jett Hill, of La Salle-Peru, were the dominant figures early. Pfeifer wiggled out of bases-loaded jams in the first and second innings without allowing a run, while Morris mustered just two runs on three hits off Hill in the first four innings.

Pfeifer settled in after the first two innings and finished with a five-inning complete game. He allowed five hits and struck out seven.

“Those first couple of innings, we couldn’t get the big hit when we needed it,” La Salle-Peru coach Matt Glupczynski said. “If we get one to fall in those spots, it’s a different game. It puts Morris on their heels and gives us a confidence boost. But, we didn’t get it done.

“Jett Hill did a great job. He’s only a sophomore, and so were our catcher and shortstop. This is definitely a great learning experience for them, and our seniors did a good job with their leadership all year. It seems like we run into Morris almost every year in the postseason, and a lot of this group has been up on the varsity for three years, some four. They are a very good team.”

Morris, which plays Dunlap in the Washington Sectional on Wednesday, got on the board in the bottom of the third. Norris walked with one out and Baftiri followed with an infield single. Norris came around to score on a single to left by Brett Bounds.

In the bottom of the fourth, Griffin Zweeres led off with a walk. Courtesy runner Hayden Hutchcraft reached third on an errant pickoff throw. Hill got Pfeifer on a grounder to first, bringing up Merek Klicker. Klicker popped up a foul ball, but it was dropped, giving him another chance. Coach Todd Kein called for a squeeze and Klicker laid down a perfect bunt, scoring Hutchcraft and beating it out for a hit and a 2-0 Morris lead.

Morris put the game away in the bottom of the fifth. Norris led off with a walk and Baftiri followed with a double that put runners on second and third. An out later, Jack Wheeler was intentionally walked to load the bases before Zweeres singled to left to score both Norris and Baftiri. Pfeifer followed with a single to score Wheeler. Klicker and Bryce Lee walked to load the bases for Norris, who delivered his double, then scored on Baftiri’s single to end the game.

“I couldn’t be happier for Landon Norris,” Kein said. “I don’t know what opposing teams think about our No. 9 hitter, but he’s got some pop. He does a great job of getting on base and is an important part of our lineup because of that, but he can also drive the ball.

“Colin Pfeifer did a great job today. He got out of those jams in the first couple innings. When he needs to make a pitch, he makes it and he can coax outs in big situations. He has full confidence in his defense.

“We had been struggling offensively the last couple weeks, but I woke up this morning with the feeling that we were going to hit. L-P gave us their best shot, but when the dam breaks with our offense, we can be hard to stop.”