Palatine routs Mundelein in regional final

Updated: May 28, 2011 4:19PM

Dan Haze found a simple way to silence his critics.

The Palatine centerfielder blasted a grand slam in the fourth inning to spark the Pirates to 15-4 rout of top-seeded Mundelein during Saturday’s IHSA Class 4A Barrington Regional final.

Haze atoned for a missed opportunity in the first inning.

“I came up with the bases loaded in the first, and I didn’t get the job done,” said Haze of an RBI ground out. “I didn’t want that to happen again.”

Palatine led 9-4 when Haze stepped to the plate in the fourth. He drove the first pitch well over the left-field wall for the first grand slam of his career.

“Dan cleaned up very well, didn’t he?” said Pirates coach Paul Belo, aware his No 4 hitter was 3-for-5 with six RBI. “I didn’t feel like Mundelein was out of the game until Dan put the ball over the fence. When that happened, a little air was taken out of [the Mustangs].”

Palatine (23-14) launched four homers to boost its season total to a school-record 33. The other bombs belonged to leadoff hitter Cody Bobbit (solo shot in sixth), No. 2 hitter Kurt Becker (2-run homer in third) and No. 3 hitter Joe Walsh (solo blast in sixth).

“We did a nice job with our hitting approach against (Ryan Borucki) and (Matt) Langlie,” Belo noted. “We forced them to command the zone. The kids knew what they were looking for at the plate, and they let the game come to them.”

Mundelein (27-8) dug a big hole in the first inning. The Mustangs made three errors in the opening frame that led to five unearned runs.

“We didn’t help him (Borucki) with our defense,” said Parola. “Ryan will learn from this and have a very good year next season.”

The Mustangs tried to rally in the early innings. Nik Gastfield launched a two-run homer to center in the third to cut the deficit to 8-4.

“I thought [the homer] was a fly ball to the center fielder,” Gastfield said. “The wind gave it a little extra push.”

Any thoughts of a comeback were squashed when Palatine scored five runs in the fourth. Becker (6-0) earned the victory by allowing four runs on five hits in three innings of work.

The Pirates advance to the Barrington Sectional semifinal round. The club will play Wednesday against the champion of the Libertyville Regional

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