The Scouts of Lake Forest matched up with the Bears of Lake Zurich at Vernon Hills HS on Saturday morning, with a 4A Regional Championship on the line. Lake Zurich took leads in the top of the second and third innings but Lake Forest answered each time, ultimately winning 5-4.

All of the games runs were scored in the second and third inning, with Lake Forest (24-10) holding onto the 5-4 winning score, for the final four innings. Peter Turelli (Wisconsin-Whitewater commit), who started the game at shortstop for Lake Forest, came onto pitch in the fifth inning and twirled 2.1 innings of no-hit baseball in relief of starter Connor Morrison. Turelli, who picked up the save, struck out the final batter of the game in the top of the seventh, stranding the tying run on third base.

After Lake Zurich (22-10) scored three in the top of the second, the Scouts answered quickly with their own three runs to tie it up. Leadoff man, Will Davis delivered the big hit in the frame, a one-out, two-run triple, to right-center field and later scored on a Matthew Birtman groundout. In a two-run, third inning, which gave the Scouts the lead for good it was Brady Christoph who came through with the clutch hit. With two outs and runners on second and third, Christoph barreled a ground ball back up the middle, scoring Luke Nolan and Turelli.

Morrison, an uncommitted junior left-handed pitcher, got the win for Lake Forest, scattering six hits, four runs over 4.2 innings, striking out five. Morrison sat 82-83 mph for much of the outing, touching 84 and mixed in two different breaking balls throughout.

Lake Zurich jumped out early with three runs in the top of the second inning. After consecutive walks and a wild pitch, Michael Gallus took a curveball up in the zone and lined it to right-field for a two-out, two-run single. Gallus scored the third tally of the frame when the next batter, Jack Moses, drove a deep triple into left-center field. After the Scouts tied it up in the bottom half of the frame, Lake Forest scored another run in the top of the third to jump back ahead once again. The first three batters of the frame reached base safely, the first two by free passes and third being a perfectly placed bunt down the third baseline by sophomore Sam Holtz. Lake Forest’s Morrison, thwarted the potential big inning, by inducing an RBI groundout to Noah DeLuga and getting a strikeout and lineout to first base to end the frame. Getting out of that inning with only one run given up, turned out to be the difference in the game, as the Scouts scored two in the next half and Lake Zurich was held scoreless the rest of the way.

Senior Lake Zurich RHP Jake Green, threw well in relief of Minnesota commit, LHP Noah DeLuga. Green went the final three innings, giving up one hit, no runs, striking out four and walking two.

Lake Forest moves on to play Highland Park in the Sectional Semi-Final on Wednesday, May 29th, at St. Viator.

TOP PERFORMERS

+ CF Will Davis (Lake Forest): 2-for-3, 3B, 2 RBI, R, BB
+ SS/RHP Peter Turelli (Lake Forest): 1-for-2, 2 R, BB; 2.1IP, 0H, 0R, 2K, BB
+ RHP Jake Green (Lake Zurich): 3IP, H, 0R, 4K, 2BB
+ DH Jack Moses (Lake Zurich): 3-for-3, 3B, RBI, SB, BB

For more in-depth notes from this game - and all other games that we cover - visit the Illinois Scout Blog.

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