By Drake Skleba

 

ORLAND PARK ? To say Lincoln-Way-East junior right-handed pitcher Mark Chemello was outstanding Thursday would be an understatement. In a Class 4A sectional semifinal at Sandburg, Chemello fired a five-hit shutout to upend No. 9 Lincoln-Way North 3-0.

 

Chemello struck out four and walked one in leading the Griffins to an 11 a.m. date with sectional hosts Sandburg (25-8) on Saturday. Sandburg stunned No. 3 St. Laurence 3-1 on Wednesday.

 

Chemello (9-1) was matched up with L-W North (30-4) junior RHP Sam Cook (6-1). L-W East grabbed the lead in the top of the third on a two-out RBI single by senior 3B Alec Ornelas. Two-out hits have been a trademark for the 2011 Griffins.

 

?It was cutthroat baseball. Mark (Chemello) pitched a great game for us,? said Ornelas. ?I am real happy to have contributed to the win. I am real happy that we beat North.?

 

In the bottom of the third, the Phoenix got a one-out double from No. 9 hitter senior RF Colin Hannigan. Chemello picked up a big strikeout for the second out.  Senior CF Marc Hein singled to put runners on first and third. With Roosevelt University-bound catcher A.J Neufeld at the plate, Chemelllo ended the inning with his third strikeout of the inning to keep the Phoenix off the board.

 

The game moved along as Chemello and Cook mowed down the opposing batsmen.

 

?I spotted my fastball well all game and pitched well,? said Chemello. ?I tried to shut them out. The two big insurance runs really helped me to relax in the seventh.?

 

In the top of the seventh, the Griffins No. 9 hitter senior LF Cody Justus laced his second single of the game to start the inning. After a beautiful sac-bunt from leadoff man senior CF Chris Scott moved Justus to second, Ornelas stepped to the plate. Ornelas hit a major league pop up to third for the second out. Again with two outs, the Griffins struck when senior 1B Mat Rosenberger ripped a shot off of the Phoenix third baseman?s glove, plating two huge insurance runs for a 3-0 Griffin lead.

 

?Heck of a game pitched by Mark,? said Rosenberger. ?He kept us in the game until we were able to take advantage of a couple of situations. I took a couple of big hacks in the seventh. I wanted to hit the ball hard. With two strikes, I just wanted to make contact and was able to get the big two-run hit.?

 

Facing the 7-8-9 hitters in the Phoenix order, Chemello cruised through the bottom of the seventh and had the surprising Griffins thinking about the Sandburg Eagles.

 

Fellow Southwest Suburban Blue rival Sandburg (25-8) has been tough on the Griffins, sweeping the two-game conference set, winning the game in Orland Park 17-5 on May 5.

 

??Mello (Chemello) was fantastic. He pitched out of a couple of huge jams,? said Lincoln-Way East head coach Paul Babcock. ?Mark made some huge pitches and really was popping the glove. Our three and four hitters, Alec Ornelas and Matt Rosenberger, came up with huge two-out RBI singles. L-W North is a real good team. They have 30 wins and do a lot of things right. Sandburg has beaten us twice this season but in baseball anything can happen. We have to have people step up and make plays.?