Perchik and Trevians bury Warriors to clinch league title in league finale

Starting in middle school, Ben Toft — now a New Trier senior and University of Iowa recruit — started to take off on the baseball field.

Zach Perchik saw his peer’s progression and something clicked.

“Toft is my biggest influence within baseball,” Perchik said. “When I started to see him get really good and me not going anywhere, it really motivated me to work hard and helped get me to where I am today.”

Perchik is a regular force in the Trevians lineup, but he stepped up on Thursday in a big game for New Trier.

While filling in for an injured Toft in right field and the No. 2 spot in the lineup, Perchik went 2-for-3 with a triple and 3 RBI during a 12-2 Trevians’ victory over Deerfield in Winnetka. The win confirmed New Trier (23-7-1, 10-5) as the champions of the Central Suburban League South Division in the final league contest of the season. They finished a game ahead of Maine South.

Perchik’s triple to the right-center gap in the first inning got the Trevs’ offense on the board, and his two-run single in the fifth ended the game in a mercy-rule win.

The Warriors topped the Trevians 3-1 on Tuesday, May 13, delaying New Trier’s conference coronation. Perchik said that loss, plus the injury to Toft (who reportedly will return within two weeks), provided plenty of motivation going into Thursday.

“(Wednesday) at practice everyone was pretty determined to come out here hot and get a win,” Perchik said. “… We really worked to move past any downside we had and really focus on what’s ahead — keep our energy high and come out and strike hard like we did. It’s awesome to see how we played today.”

Perchik’s triple scored senior Trey Meyers (2-for-3, 3-run HR), who led off the Trevians’ first inning with a double. New Trier added two more runs in that inning, then three in the second and four in the third to take a commanding 10-1 lead.

New Trier starter Greg Campitelli kept the Warriors at bay. He earned the complete-game win with five strikeouts and four hits allowed over his five innings. Campitelli, a junior, moved to 8-1 on the season with a 1.64 ERA.

“I think when Campitelli is on the mound our guys are really confident,” New Trier coach Dusty Napoleon said. “He’s been really good all year, and we’re probably 10-1 when he pitches.”

Meanwhile, the Trevians offense banged out 11 hits and coaxed five walks to keep the basepaths busy all evening.

Meyers’ three-run home run — a rainmaker to left field — was the last of four straight Trevians’ hits (sophomore Harry Resis, junior Mason Bloom, junior Luke Mastros, Meyers) in the third inning.

Mastros finished 3-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored, junior Keenan Donaldson was 2-for-2 with 3 RBI, and senior Caiden Carpenter walked and scored twice.

Napoleon credited his team’s two-strike approach, saying the Trevians had six or seven two-strike knocks. Plus, he said the conditions were right for a big game.

“On Tuesday (a loss), we were maybe pressing a little bit and then today playing at home, we had teacher appreciation day, good weather, a good crowd, good atmosphere here, and the guys were just locked in from the first pitch of the game,” he said.

The Trevians’ conference-clinching win comes on the heels of another accomplishment: earning the top seed in the IHSA Class 4A Sectional.

New Trier gets the No. 1 seed with Lane Tech, Maine South, Glenbrook North and Loyola rounding out the top five. The Trevians postseason begins in the Niles North Regional at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 28, against either Maine East or Mather.

The Trevians went to the state finals (final four) two years ago and, following a 30-win season last year, lost to rival Evanston in sectional play.

Napoleon said he is proud of how his team navigated a new conference format (five three-game series), but the Trevians will have to be on point to emerge from a tough sectional and realize their dreams of another shot at state.

“I feel like it’s another mini conference tournament,” said Napoleon, referring to all five CSL South teams earning top-7 seeds in the sectional. “It’s going to be a competitive sectional. There are a lot of high-end arms in our sectional so we have to be ready to go.”

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