Prep baseball: Ethan Storm pitches one-hit shutout as Sycamore reaches sectionals

BELVIDERE – Ethan Storm tossed a one-hit shutout, and the Sycamore baseball team won the Class 3A Belvidere Regional on Saturday, knocking off Belvidere North, 2-0.

“I felt like my control was there. Curveball, was loving it,” Storm said. “I didn’t get as many swings as I wanted on it, so I really had to pound the strike zone with it. But overall I felt great out there, was really comfortable, and I thought I did my best.”

Storm allowed only a fifth-inning infield single to Jake Ulbert. He walked a batter and hit a batter, and the Spartans (26-6) did not commit an error. No runner advanced past second base for the Blue Thunder (18-6).

Storm struck out nine in the win, including fanning Ulbert for the second time to end the game and earn the Spartans a spot in the 3A Sycamore Sectional semifinal at 6 p.m. Wednesday against St. Francis.

“Storm did a tremendous job. You can’t really do a better job than he did,” Cavanaugh said. “In fact in my mind I was thinking it was a no-hitter. I forgot the ball that snuck up the middle. What a great job he did.”

For most of the game, Belvidere North starter Mason Weckler was matching Storm, but the Spartans broke through off him in the bottom of the sixth. Owen Piazza singled, then with two strikes and two outs Jimmy Amptmann launched a ball into deep right for a triple.

Amptmann had been 0 for 2 before his triple, grounding into a double play after Tomym Townsend led off the fourth with a single.

“I had some rough at-bats, so I went out there and said there’s nothing I could do about that,” Amptmann said. “I had to focus on getting that runner in. It was two strikes, stayed back, put the ball to the opposite field and got the job done.”

Cavanaugh said it was not surprising that Amptmann came up with the key hit.

“He’s as locked in as anybody is during a baseball game,” Cavanaugh said. “He doesn’t get off task, he always knows what’s going on, he always knows what’s at stake. Even the double-play ball he hit, he hit it hard, he just hit a two-hopper to the shortstop at the bag. I still thought that was a good at-bat. For him to have that two-out, two-strike triple, was huge.”

Storm followed with a single to push the lead to 2-0.

“For him to drive in the second run in the [sixth] inning, that makes a huge difference,” Cavanaugh said. “It’s more than twice as good to have a two-run lead than a one-run lead in the seventh inning.”

Storm also credited the Sycamore defense for its performance, as the Spartans did not commit an error in the game. In the third, some slow rollers and bloops could have caused problems, but second baseman Joey Puleo and catcher Byron Blaise combined on three strong defensive plays to make it a 1-2-3 inning.

Puleo also made a strong play in the top of the sixth, bare-handing a slow roller that ricocheted off the first baseman, and then firing to Storm covering first.

“He didn’t have the best at-bats but he did a wonderful job in the field,” Cavanaugh said. “He took three base hits away. ... It’s not always about the hits you get, it’s about the hits you take away. You put those on the positive side of the ledger.”

Up next for the Spartans is St. Francis. Cavanaugh said while Storm won’t be available to pitch, Griffin Hallahan, who started the postseason with six shutout innings against Belvidere on Wednesday, will be ready - as well as Townsend and Amptmann.

Sycamore will finish the month of May undefeated and will be bringing a 14-game winning streak into the game, last losing April 29 to Kaneland, 3-2.

“This has been a big focus of ours,” Storm said. “We’re on a big high right now, huge win streak, we’re playing good. Defense was outstanding today. Overall just a great game.”