QND baseball team overmatched by Sacred Heart-Griffin pitcher in 3-0 loss in regional championship

QUINCY – Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin pitcher Andy Antonacci was confident striding off the mound after striking out the side in the top of the first inning.

“Some days I feel like I just get in a groove, and from there I don’t feel or hear anything. I just go out and throw,” he said. “Today was definitely one of those days.”

Was it ever.

The 6-foot-1 right-hander threw seven innings of hitless ball, struck out 10 and belted a two-run homer Saturday to power the Cyclones to a 3-0 victory over Quincy Notre Dame in the championship game of the Class 2A regional baseball tournament at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield.

Antonacci issued three walks and hit a batter, but he didn’t allow a runner to advance beyond first base. The closest QND came to a hit came in the sixth when Eli Johnson launched a deep fly ball to the gap in right-center that hung up long enough for centerfielder Ty Springer to make a running catch.

Otherwise, the Raiders were often overmatched at the plate. They didn’t catch up to Antonacci’s electric fastball or handle a curveball that often found the corners. The hosts put only one ball in play through the first three innings while striking out seven times.

“He definitely threw harder than anyone we faced this year,” said QND’s Abram Wiewel, who struck out in his only two at-bats after entering the game leading the team in home runs (12), runs batted in (40) and batting average (.478). “He knew how to mix his pitches efficiently and locate them for strikes.”

“That’s probably the best game he’s thrown all year – attacking with the first pitch, throwing strikes, hitting spots, going after hitters,” SHG coach Nick Naumovich said. “I mean, he was just on.”

QND coach Rich Polak could only tip his cap.

“We knew what he was coming in. We faced him last year in the regional,” Polak said. “He made pitches, got ahead of hitters. He walked a couple of guys, but he got right back in there and took care of business. What did he end up with, 10 punchouts and no hits? That’s a pretty good day.”

As it turned out, Antonacci provided the Cyclones with all the runs they needed in the bottom of the first.

Wiewel hit Drew Ward on a 1-1 pitch to open the inning. Catcher Oliver Triplett appeared to easily gun down Ward on a stolen base attempt, but the throw somehow slipped through and into center field, with Ward advancing to third.

After Springer struck out, Antonacci, who bats left-handed, blasted the first pitch he saw over the fence in left-center.

“I was texting one of my buddies who played QND and he’s a lefty, and he said watch out for the outside fastball to start,” Antonacci said. “They threw it, I kind of threw my bat out there, and I was lucky to barrel it.”

Wiewel, seeking his seventh win in eight decisions, allowed only two more hits the rest of the way. Unfortunately, both came in the fourth inning.

Lefty Austin Rutter opened the frame by reaching safely on a well-placed bunt down the third-base line. He advanced to second when third baseman Rowan Stegeman bobbled Will Coady’s sharp grounder and was forced to go to first for the second out.

Tommy Lauterbach, the No. 9 hitter, then hit a chopper up the middle just out of the reach of second baseman Bradi Lahr to score Ward to make it 3-0.

Wiewel, a senior right-hander, struck out eight in six innings of work.

“I’ll tell you what, the kid for QND was every bit as good,” Naumovich said of the pitching matchup. “We knew we had our hands full with him.”

“He’s battling a little bit with a back issue, but he battled through that,” Polak said. “I thought he still was pretty efficient. He threw a CG (complete game) for us. I thought Abram put a cherry on top of his career here.”

With its fourth straight victory over QND in the past two seasons, and second in regional play, second-seeded SHG (23-8-1) advances to the Pleasant Plains Sectional. The Cyclones will face Virden North Mac on Wednesday.

The third-seeded Raiders close the season at 19-11. With four juniors and three freshmen in the starting lineup for most of the season, Polak already is looking ahead.

“Our leadoff hitter is a freshman, and our 3-hole hitter is a freshman,” the coach said. “Three of our infielders are freshmen. For a kid who was playing 14U baseball last year, it’s a huge difference going up against 17- and 18-year-olds

“But they’ve matured over the season, and they’ve gotten better. I can’t express how much this experience will help them moving forward. The next two or three classes are actually pretty good as of right now. There’s no other place I’d rather be right now than here.”