Nolan Dabrowski battled in his seventh-inning at-bat, just like his Crystal Lake South teammates did before him.

Trailing by five runs going into the top of the seventh against East Peoria, the Gators, as they have all postseason, kept chipping away.

Bat by bat. Pitch by pitch.

After fouling off a third pitch of his final at-bat against left-hander Dalton Oakman and drawing a foul count, the senior Dabrowski went the other way and found space in the left-center gap, just out of reach of a diving center fielder Roman Moody.

The ball went all the way to the wall, scoring pinch runner Reed Mitchell all the way from first and tying the score.

Dabrowski, sensing the big moment, flew around second and saw head coach Brian Bogda waving him home.

A perfect relay from East Peoria’s left fielder to shortstop to catcher stopped Dabrowski well short of home plate for the last out, ending the Gators’ five-run frame.

East Peoria got a leadoff double from No. 3 hitter R.J. Duncheon in the bottom half, and a bases-loaded single from Oakman ended a 7-6 loss for South in the Class 3A state third-place game Saturday at Joliet Slammers Stadium.

“I thought, ‘Hey, let’s gamble and see if we can get that go-ahead run and go to the seventh.’ Go out there, get three outs, and win the thing,” said Bogda, whose Gators took home their fourth state trophy.

“In a game that probably would have been stopped with a tie and a time limit, that was my mindset, just send him. It’s hard to do. It’s a big ball park. They had a nice relay throw, but stay aggressive, right?”

The last inning was a stark contrast to the first six for the Gators (29-11), who stranded 11 baserunners and got their lone run on a Nick Stowasser groundout in the third. South was shut out for only the second time all season in a 2-0 loss to Triad in Friday’s semifinal – and it looked like the offense would again be held down Saturday.

Not so fast.

“We knew we had fight in us. We knew it wasn’t over,” said senior right fielder Michael Rathjen, who posted an RBI hit in the seventh and finished 2 for 4 with a double. “We just had to keep stringing at-bats, get the tying run to the plate. That was our mentality.”

After a strikeout to begin the seventh and trailing 6-1, the Gators scored with one out on a hit-by-pitch, single and fielding error that plated Michael Silvius. Rathjen then knocked in Dane Chock with a hit to left field, followed by a two-run single to center from Ryan Morgan to score John Morgan and Rathjen and make it 6-5.

Junior Carson Trivellini drilled a lineout to right field for the second out. Dabrowski (2 for 5) then finished off a 10-pitch at-bat with his triple to score the tying run before being thrown out at home.

“We showed a lot of courage and determination to even it up,” Bogda said.

Wes Bogda finished 3 for 3 with three singles, Chock had a pinch-hit single in the seventh, and Ryan Morgan was 2 for 2 with two RBIs.

South, which brings home its fourth state trophy (third since 2017) was one win shy of 30 wins – reached only once during the Gators’ Class 4A state title run nine years ago.

“I think we came a long way,” said Stowasser, a junior. “Competing at this level was what we wanted to do. The guys grew closer, and this was a really good experience.”

Oakman started for East Peoria (28-14), allowing a run in his first six innings. He was relieved in the seventh but returned to the mound for the final two hitters of the inning.

His seventh-inning walk-off was his first hit in four at-bats.

“When their coach took a visit, (Oakman) said to me, ‘I love having the ball in my hands, coach,’ ” said Raiders coach Matt Plummer, who announced his retirement after Friday’s semifinal victory. “He just finished the game with the ball in his hands on the bump, and he just finished the game with the bat in his hands. He’s a D-A-W-G, man.”

Senior Matt Bychowsky drew the start for South, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits over three innings. Junior Tanner Mauer gave up a pair of runs in an inning, sophomore Ian Christopher pitched a scoreless fifth, and sophomore Ryan Morgan (one run) went the final 1⅓ innings.

East Peoria struck out only twice all game.

“It felt good to have the opportunity to start and it showed that I’m capable of doing things, being able to throw strikes,” said Bychowsky, one of 10 seniors on South. “Not everyone gets to be here, and it’s a pretty good accomplishment to be here.”

South was fourth in the Fox Valley Conference behind champion Huntley, McHenry and Prairie Ridge. The FVC has now been represented at state three years in a row, and 10 times out of the past 12 seasons.

Wes Bogda, the team’s starting left fielder and coach’s son, enjoyed the ride after only getting a few varsity at-bats a year ago as a freshman.

“It was a good run,” Wes Bogda said. “Our theme was urgency. We just really urged getting on (pitchers) early; we scored runs early. I was so excited to be a part of it. This was a really fun year.”

“I’m super proud of our group,” Brian Bogda said. “We did a great job all year, getting here for a third time in 10 years is awesome. I’m proud of the support we have in our community. Just looking forward to continue this with the guys we have coming back.”