Trevians capture 4A title behind great pitching and defense

New Trier's Charlie Tilson is safe at third base against St. Rita during the 4A state championship.
(Hung T. Vu/For the Sun-Times)

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This was not supposed to be one of New Trier's championship seasons. Not with so many new faces in the lineup and a completely retooled pitching rotation.

But coach Mike Napoleon proved once again that every year has the potential to be a championship season. The No. 5 Trevians did it again Saturday night, upending No. 2 St. Rita 4-3 in the Class 4A state championship game at Joliet's Silver Cross Field.

Napoleon's second state championship also marked his 400th victory in 13 seasons at the Winnetka school.

"Player for player, this is not our best team," said Napoleon. "But team-wise, this is our best team. It's really an unbelievable feeling when you don't expect it."

As they've done all year, the Trevians (32-7) won behind their flawless defense, solid pitching and timely hitting. While New Trier did not commit an error in both state games, St. Rita (35-7) had five miscues in the game.

"We play phenomenal defense," said senior second baseman Jonathan Hall, who went 2-for-2 with two RBI, one run and was on base all four times. "We take a lot of pride in it. This is really a fairy tale ending."

The game looked to be a high-scoring affair early on. As it turned out, Jake Carrow's RBI double in the third that scored Bob Cook (2-for-4) to make it 4-3 held up as the game-winning hit.

"This is better than I could ever have imagined," said Carrow, who had two doubles in the game. "You dream about this, but this is so much better than my dream."

A St. Rita error in the second inning led to Hall's two-run double to tie the game at 3-3.

St. Rita threatened in the fifth, putting runners on second and third with one out. That's when Napoleon summoned in junior right-hander Eli Anderson to relieve starter Ryder Borre (4 1/3 IP, eight hits, three runs, seven strikeouts, two walks). Anderson proceeded to strike out the next two batters to snuff out the fire, earning Borre the victory.

In the sixth, Anderson snagged a line shot up the middle and turned a double play on it. Then in the seventh, after Justin Kopale (3-for-4, double, run) led off the inning with a single, Anderson bore down and retired the next three batters, the final one on with a strikeout.

"This is the closest team I've ever played on," Anderson said. "There's no way to put this into words."

Shane Conlon, whose two-run double in the first inning got St. Rita off to a 2-0 lead, had two hits for the Mustangs.

"We had five errors tonight, but we also had five great plays to go along with them," said St. Rita coach Mike Zunica. "Our guys played with an edge. You've got to tip your cap to the New Trier guys."