Travis, Celtics trip up Sandburg

Updated: March 22, 2011 3:54PM

By the time Sam Travis took the mound in the bottom of the seventh, the Providence third baseman had done just about everything possible Thursday to put his team in front.

The senior was 5-for-5 at the dish, including a three-run homer, two singles and finally a two-run double that gave the Celtics two insurance runs in the top of the seventh.

With his off-speed stuff not fooling any Sandburg batters, Travis turned to his fastball, pitching past two hits and two walks to close out a 14-11 win for Providence in the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Sandburg Regional final.

"I'm always coming in in tough situations," Travis said. "Either I have it or I don't, and I guess you could say I was all right today. I wasn't throwing anything but fastballs because they were hitting all my junk. I was sticking with my fastball and trying to blow it by them."

Working in a bases-loaded situation, Travis got Sandburg's Dan Rizzie (two RBI) to strike out on an outside pitch to end the game and give Providence (11-7) the regional title.

Sandburg will play Neuqua Valley at 10 a.m. Monday at Benedictine University in the Phil Lawler Summer Classic.

"This is what we've been shooting for since the start of summer," Providence coach Mark Smith said. "I let these guys go play for their travel teams to give my other guys an opportunity to find roles."

The Celtics went up for good in a back-and-forth effort in the top of the fifth on Dan Wetzel's RBI single. Travis followed with a two-run blast to left center.

Matt Trowbridge got the win in relief, going 41⁄3 innings before giving the ball to Travis.

"I couldn't be more proud of Trowbridge today throwing on two days' rest," Smith said. "We wanted to get to Thursday and ask the pitchers, ‘What have you got left?' In this situation, I'm going to go with my best on the mound."

Mike Malfeo went 3-for-5 for Sandburg (15-3) with a solo homer. Brant Valach (two RBI, run) and Ryan Parker (two runs) also contributed.

"The kids battled, and we had a chance to win," Sandburg coach Doug Sutor said. "We ran ourselves out of a couple of innings. We had a great summer. We just have to work on our pitching staff. I'm looking forward to spring."

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