The night before the biggest at-bat of his baseball career, Hinsdale Central senior Brett Morse began having some final thoughts.

"I thought about it all last night how this could be my last game, my last athletic game of my high-school career," said Morse, who will play football at Iowa next fall. "But I didn't think about it during the game."
Not even when the Red Devils were down to their last out -- twice -- in back-to-back innings against Hinsdale South.

Morse's thoughts and actions were only positive then as he smashed a walk-off grand slam to center field in the eighth inning to give the host Red Devils a dramatic 8-4 win May 31 in the Downers Grove South Sectional semifinals. The slam occurred after the Hornets had intentionally walked Mark Noth to load the bases

"What's funny is once there's two outs in the inning, I told my buddy, 'I've got a feeling,' " said Morse, clutching his home-run ball. "(Hinsdale South pitcher Jerome Thomas) threw me a fastball, I had my hands back and I was ready for it. I was just relaxed and ripping."

So were Morse's teammates, even after No. 6 seed Hinsdale South (19-19) had taken a 4-3 lead in the top of eighth. No. 9 batter Drew Bailey started the game-winning rally by drawing a one-out walk on a 3-2 pitch. After a fly out put the second-seeded Red Devils (25-11) down to their final out, Tobi Adeyemi (2 for 4) lined a singled off pitcher Thomas' body. Then Brett Suchy ripped an RBI double to left that tied the game. Noth, who led the Red Devils with nine homers, was intentionally walked, setting the stage for Morse's heroics.

"We've done it so many times this year," Morse said of last-inning comebacks. "We were really composed. There wasn't one time where guys had their head down. It was an unbelievable team effort, an unbelievable team comeback."

Morse could rely on experience for his big moment, since the only other time an opponent walked a batter to load the bases for him last spring, he also ripped a grand slam.

"He's a gamer," Hinsdale Central assistant coach Mark Wittkamper said. "He likes the challenge, he likes the pressure. He likes wanting the ball when the game's on the line. He's just that kind of player."

That also was Hinsdale Central senior Colin Cimala's approach in the seventh after Hinsdale South had taken a 3-2 lead on starting pitcher Dom Tardi's solo homer in the top of the frame. Cimala (2 for 3) hit a two-out, bloop single to center that scored Morse with the tying run. Morse had reached on a fielder's choice and moved to second on a wild pitch.

"We're not going to be quitting until the score and the outs tell us that we're done," Wittkamper said.
Hinsdale South, which beat Hinsdale Central 9-5 April 27, took its 4-3 lead in the top of the eighth against reliever Charlie Thomas on a two-base error and RBI double by Joe Buonavolanto, who moved to third on an errant relay. But Buonavolanto was stranded at third as Thomas induced a ground out on a good play by second baseman Bailey with the infield in, pop out and fly out.

"Unfortunately, we left that guy at third base with nobody out and that probably came back to haunt us because if we had two runs, we don't walk anybody. You just go right after them and make then hit the ball," Hinsdale South coach Kraig Conyer said.

Hinsdale South took a 2-0 lead off Hinsdale Central starter Nick Kurash on Rich Jablonski's bloop single in the fourth and sophomore Carl Fiebig's solo homer in the fifth. But Hinsdale Central tied the game in the fifth as Andrew Nicholas (3 for 4) singled, Adeyemi hit a bloop single to shallow right, and both advanced on an errant throw. Suchy followed with an RBI groundout and Noth had an RBI single.

Kurash gave up six hits, struck out five, walked one and hit a batter.

"What a team win!" Wittkamper said.

Copyright© 2006, The Doings