Cary-Grove earns first trip to state

Cary-Grove played near-perfect baseball en route to a 10-1 win over Batavia in a Class 4A Rockford Supersectional game Monday to advance to state for the first time in the program's history.

The No. 5 Trojans (31-8-1) pounded out 14 hits while Matt Nelsen (11-0) tossed a six-hitter with five strikeouts to defeat the No. 6 Bulldogs (30-7).

"We've been hitting the ball all year and it was our fourth game in a row with no errors," Nelsen said. "My curve and change were both working and I was hitting my spots."

Cary-Grove took a 1-0 lead after an RBI groundout by Chris Waylock (3-for-5, four RBI) in the third. The Trojans opened things up in the fourth thanks to RBI singles by Luke Mottashed (3-for-3, two walks, two RBI, four runs) and Stuart Gaulke and a two-run single by Waylock.

A throwing error allowed one run to score in the sixth and Kegan Mascarella followed with a two-run single.

Mottashed and Waylock completed the scoring with RBI singles in the seventh.

"Fortunately I was able to get on base every time and score some runs," Mottashed said. "We've put in a lot of hard work and it's really paying off this year."

Batavia's lone run came when Tyler Lindquist drove in Jordan Coffey with a single in the seventh.