St. Laurence Edges Simeon in 3A Super-Sectional Pitchers Duel

Wolverines break up a no-hitter in the 7th but fall just short in their first Super-Sectional trip since 2012.

CHICAGO - Runs were scarce and outs were hard-earned Monday evening at Ozinga Field, where the Simeon Wolverines fell 2-1 to the St. Laurence Vikings in a tightly contested 3A Super-Sectional.

Simeon struck first in the opening frame. After St. Laurence starter Sam Chin issued back-to-back walks to Cavion Danley and Daniel Jones Jr., Danley scored on a double steal to give the Wolverines an early 1-0 lead.

Simeon took the lead into the bottom of the fourth when Wolverines starter Christian Lott ran into trouble. He walked Coby Les and Adrian Perez to open the inning, and Les would eventually score on a fielder’s choice RBI by Enrique Villanueva to tie the game at 1.

An inning later, Daniel Coyle delivered what turned out to be the difference-maker — a one-out RBI single that gave the Vikings a 2-1 edge.

Chin and Les were nearly untouchable, combining to no-hit Simeon through 6.2 innings. With two outs in the seventh, Jeremiah Henry broke up the no-no with a single, and Aiden Pondexter followed with a knock of his own to keep the train moving.

Danley, one of the Wolverines spark plugs all season, stepped to the dish with two on and a chance to flip the script but Les froze him with an 0-2 “Uncle Charlie” to seal the deal.

Simeon’s season ends at 20-13-1 in their first Super-Sectional appearance since 2012 — a run fueled by grit and growth, and a fight that didn’t let up.

“We set a goal beginning of the season that Super-Sectional was a destination we could reach,” head coach Brandon “Smoke” Williams told The Bigs. “A lot of ups and downs this season, but we stayed together as a team and achieved something that has only been done once in the history of Simeon since CPS stopped receiving the automatic qualifier to state in 2002. We stood together on the saying ‘Adversity Builds Character.’ That’s why we were one of eight teams remaining in the 3A class and last CPS team standing!”

St. Laurence is now 35-5 and will face the 34-6 Triad Knights Friday at 10am in the state semifinals in Joliet.