High school baseball: Richmond-Burton stops Johnsburg for 2A regional title

RICHMOND – Johnsburg’s Josh Notriano launched a two-run home run to right-center field, fired his bat toward the Skyhawk’s dugout and screamed, “Let’s go!”

The Skyhawks, only three batters into the game, had a reason to be pumped against Richmond-Burton, which handed them three lopsided losses in their final Kishwaukee River Conference games two weeks ago.

R-B, supremely confident in its own offense, barely blinked.

“We kept our composure and knew it was a long game,” Rockets shortstop Connor Wallace said. “We knew we’d have chances too. We’ve been hitting well all year. We just stayed calm. If we keep the same mindset and keep playing our butts off, we’re going to beat teams. We just had great at-bats and we just kept rolling.”

[ Photos: Richmond-Burton vs. Johnsburg baseball ]

R-B answered with three runs in the first, four more in the second and eventually ended the Skyhawks’ season with a 14-4, five-inning victory in their Class 2A regional championship game Monday at Tom Miller Field.

It is the regional title for the Rockets (24-5) since 2013. They host Stillman Valley, an 8-3 winner over Byron on Monday, in Wednesday’s sectional semifinal.

R-B is averaging 10.6 runs a game for the season and 13.1 over its last eight games. The Rockets scored 51 in their four games against Johnsburg (9-15).

“We’ve been swinging it pretty well all year,” Rockets coach Mike Giese said. “We don’t have the shutout pitchers that was had in the past, we need our offense to come around for us to keep advancing. They’re locked in right now. They all complement each other very well. I’m very happy with their effort.”

Wallace (3 for 3, two RBIs), Griffin Taylor (2 for 3, three RBIs) and Hayden Christiansen (2 for 3, three RBIs) were particularly tough in the Nos. 2-4 spots. R-B had five players with multiple hits and banged out 13 hits for the game.

Taylor ripped a deep two-run homer to left field in the fifth and Jason Miller later singled with the bases loaded to invoke the 10-run rule and end the game.

“It was a great game all the way around,” Taylor said. “We knew they were going to come out swinging, and we just tried to do our part to bury them early. The 3-spot (in the first) really set the tone.

“We’ve been hitting every practice, trying to stay sharp and do what we can do. It showed here. They had a pretty good pitcher (Ian Boal) on the mound and we were able to jump on him.”

The Rockets are three wins away from the school record (27-10) set in 2012.

“A lot of our guys are putting up good at-bats, running deeper counts, running up the pitch count,” said Christiansen, who has tied Nate Roberts’ school record with 11 homers in a season. “And when they miss over the heart of the plate, we take advantage of it.”

Joey Mrowiec went five innings, striking out five and allowing four earned runs. He retired seven of the last nine batters he faced.

“He didn’t have his best stuff today, he is usually a little bit more locked in,” Giese said. “He was missing everything high. He just kind of labored through. The key was that we kept our wits about us and took our efforts to the plate and stayed with who we are.”

Johnsburg’s Jake Metze led off the game with a single and scored on Notriano’s homer. He also reached in the third, went to third on Joey Hagen’s double and scored on Notriano’s sacrifice fly.

The Skyhawks kept it at 7-4 to the bottom of the fourth, but R-B added three more.

“That is a tough lineup, especially toward the top,” Skyhawks coach Sam Lesniak said. “That’s as good of a lineup as we’ve seen from any team we’ve played. They really hit the ball hard. We have guys who can swing it and guys who can run on the bases.

“When you go to the field, you have to make a ton of plays against them. You can’t walk them or give them extra bases. They’re too good of a team.”

Richmond-Burton 14, Johnsburg 4 (5 inn.)

Johnsburg 202 00 – 4 5 3

Richmond-Burton 340 34 – 14 13 1

WP: Joey Mrowiec (5IP, 5H, 4R, 4ER, 1BB, 5K). LP: Ian Boal (3IP, 7H, 8R, 5ER, 3BB, 3K).

Top hitters–Johnsburg: Jake Metze 2-3 (2R), Joey Hagen 1-2 (2B, R), Josh Nortiano 1-2 (HR, 3RBIs), Evan Frasch 1-3 (RBI). Richmond-Burton: Connor Wallace 3-3 (2RBIs, 4R), Griffin Taylor 2-3 (HR, 3RBIs, 3R), Hayden Christiansen 2-3 (3RBIs), Joey Mrowiec 2-3 (2B, RBI), Jason Miller 2-4 (RBI).