Baseball: Alten Bergbreiter’s walk-off hit lifts Marengo past Richmond-Burton for Class 2A regional title

JOHNSBURG – Marengo sophomore and No. 9 hitter Alten Bergbreiter’s top priority this spring had been to his school’s track team.

But on days when there wasn’t a meet or an important postseason event, he spent his time with the baseball team practicing.

It significantly limited his number of at-bats, but he had been showing signs of progress of late. That was the case on Saturday against Richmond-Burton at the Class 2A Johnsburg Regional championship.

Bergbreiter, who bats left-handed, was 0 for 2 before stepping into the batter’s box with one out in the bottom of the seventh and the potential winning run on third.

He was looking for a first-pitch fastball – got one – and then walked the game off with an RBI single to center, giving second-seeded Marengo (21-7) a thrilling 3-2 victory over their Kishwaukee River Conference rivals.

It was the first regional title for the Indians since 2005, ending an 18-year drought.

Marengo advances to face top-seeded Rockford Christian in a Stillman Valley Sectional semifinals 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Moments after touching first base, Bergbreiter turned around, then saw a flood of black Marengo jerseys racing toward him from the third-base dugout.

He was mobbed by teammates and then thrust into the middle of a rowdy postgame infield celebration in heroic fashion.

“When I realized what I’d just done and the adrenaline kicked in, my body temperature felt like it just raised 35 degrees,” Bergbreiter said. “It’s an insane feeling. Definitely the biggest hit of my life.

“It seemed like I was the only one getting first-pitch fastball every [at-bat], so I wanted to make sure I was ready,” Bergbreiter said. “A lot of teams go right at guys at the bottom of the order with heaters.

Although some kids take hitting at the bottom of the order personally, Bergbreiter is not one of them.

“I love it. I told coach [Nick] Naranjo, keep me at No. 9,” Bergbreiter said. “I don’t look at myself as your typical No. 9 hitter. Just better pitches for me to see.”

Indians starting pitcher, junior Andrew Johnson, allowed the No. 5-seeded Rockets (15-13) to score first in the top of the first inning.

“It’s an insane feeling. Definitely the biggest hit of my life.”

—  Alten Bergbreiter, Marengo sophomore

A two-out RBI single by R-B cleanup hitter and catcher Riley Spears (2 for 3, 2 RBI) opened the scoring.

Marengo countered with two runs of its own in the bottom half, getting RBI singles from right fielder Cody Stallings and third baseman David Lopez.

But Johnson (7 IP, 2 R, 7H, 0 BB 0 K) allowed only three baserunners to make it past first base after the first inning, routinely pitching to contact and inducing 12 ground ball outs the entire game.

Johnson allowed Spears to tie the game, 2-all in the top of the fourth, on his second RBI single. Then he retired 11 of the final 13 batters he faced.

“The first half of the game, my goal was to throw a lot of first pitch fastballs for strikes, to get ahead early,” Johnson said. “After that, my goal was keeping them guessing and off-balance. I started mixing it up more, throwing changeups and breaking stuff earlier, pitching backward more.”

Rockets starting pitcher Ryan Junge (7 IP, 3 R, 7H, BB, 6K) also was working rapidly and efficiently.

“Ryan battled out there and kept us in the game,” Rockets coach Mike Giese said. “Even when Marengo scored twice in the first inning, two of their hits were infield hits. He didn’t make very many mistakes at all.”

Marengo’s No. 5-9 batters went a combined 5 for 15, including a double from Patrick Signore. Signore’s opposite field leadoff double in the seventh into the right field corner set the table for Bergbreiter’s dramatic finish.

That part of the order also accounted for all three Indians’ RBIs.

“Timely hitting is something we’ve preached all year,” Naranjo said. “And time after time, and yet again today, someone in our lineup stepped up and made the most of their opportunity.”

Giese thanked his team and departing R-B seniors.

“This senior class was unique because it was a pandemic class and they worked through a lot of adversity,” Giese said. “They worked hard, never stopped battling and all grew into wonderful young men who put their hearts into everything they did.

“Thanks to them, and congrats to Marengo on a hard-fought win. Just a real solid baseball game today by both teams.”