With one out in the bottom of the first inning and a man on first, senior second baseman Charlie Kalil set the tone early for the Kits. Kalil took a 2-0 pitch deep over the left field wall to give the Kits an early 2-0 lead.
“This was only my second ever homer so it felt really good,” said Kalil. “A lot of this team hasn’t played in a playoff game before so it was really good to start us off and get the team rolling. The younger guys didn’t really have to play with nerves after that, they were able to play with freedom.”
Evanston continued to dominate the game, never taking their foot off the gas en route to the win. The Kits defeated Leyden 12-0 after a mercy rule in the fifth inning of the regional semifinal matchup. Evanston improved their record to 24-7-1 and ended Leyden’s season at 10-22 this year.
Kits ace, senior Braden Grimm started the day on the mound. Grimm let up only one hit and struck out five batters in his three innings of action. Seniors Alex Vandurmen and Henry Rouch provided relief with one inning on the mound each. Vandurmen and Rouch didn’t allow a run and struck out 2 and 3 batters, respectively.
“Braden’s not a guy that does well if he takes too much time off. If I give him a break, he’s just not sharp,” said Head Coach Frank Consiglio explaining why he pitched Grimm today. “In the playoffs, you can’t play for the next day. You just have to take care of business.”
Up 9-0 in the bottom of the third, Grimm made his presence felt as a hitter too. On a 2-0 count with two men on, he blasted a three-run homer dead center to extend the lead to 12-0.
“You don’t see too many home runs hit to that part of the field. That was big boy territory,” said Consiglio.
In addition to the two home runs, the Kits found sparks of offense from all over the lineup. They finished the day with 12 hits compared to just three from the opposition.
The Kits will face the winner of the Loyola versus Taft regional semifinal matchup which takes place on Thursday. Evanston beat Loyola 8-4 in the first game of the season, but the Kits have not yet faced Taft this season. Evanston’s regional final matchup will take place this Saturday at Evanston Stadium.
