Donnelly and the Trevs walk it off, will play Maine South for sectional title

CJ Donnelly never had a doubt.

The moment New Trier’s second baseman saw the ball get away from Glenbrook North’s catcher, he knew the end was in sight. 

Donnelly’s instincts proved to be the difference as the senior’s gutsy baserunning led him and the Trevians home. 

With the game tied and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning, Donnelly raced home from third base on a wild pitch to keep New Trier’s season alive with a 3-2 walk-off win over the Spartans on Wednesday, June 4, in the sectional semifinal. 

“We wanted to win the game right there,” Donnelly said. “I saw it kick away from the catcher, the pitcher didn’t move at all, so I knew I could beat the pitcher to the plate. If the catcher was going to make a nice play and tag me out at home, so be it.” 

New Trier’s seventh-inning theatrics capped a valiant comeback in which the Trevians trailed by two runs heading into the bottom of the fifth. 

The Trevs fell behind in the third inning when the Spartans plated a pair.

New Trier had traffic on the basepaths early and often but could not push a run across the plate. The Trevians stranded nine runners on base across the first four innings, including three consecutive innings where they left the bases loaded. 

New Trier’s offense found the big hit it needed in the bottom of the fifth when Donnelly smacked a line-drive single to bring home Austin LeBoyer, who pinch ran after Ben Toft led off the inning with a single to right field.

The Trevians then kept the momentum rolling in the sixth. 

Luke Mastros crushed a leadoff double to left field to put the Trevs in business. Two batters later, Zach Perchik brought home Mastros with a single to right field to tie the game. 

Catcher Jake Bentivenga looked like he had the hit that would break the game open when he barrelled a high fly ball to the pull side but North’s left fielder made a fantastic catch to end the inning. 

Keenan Donaldson started what proved to be the decisive bottom of the seventh with a leadoff walk. After pinch runner Rowan Hester advanced to second on a wild pitch, the Spartans opted to intentionally walk Donnelly. 

The Spartans then got a pair of outs before they decided to intentionally walk one of the state’s best hitters, Trey Meyers. 

It was only moments later that Donnelly’s dramatics won the game for the Trevs. 

“We’re really proud of them for really just staying the course,” New Trier head coach Dusty Napoleon said. “We had the bases loaded in the second, third and fourth inning and just didn’t get the big hit. 

“I just told them to keep putting together competitive at-bats and I think when CJ got that big hit to get us on the board, you could see the guys feeding off of that. Sometimes the hardest one to get is the first one.” 

A key to New Trier’s victory Wednesday night was the performance from starting pitcher Henrik Conniff.

The Trevs senior right-hander allowed two runs, both of which were unearned in the Spartans’ third, across 5 1/3 innings of work. 

Conniff allowed two hits, walked four and struck out three Spartans.

“Henrik was awesome today,” Napoleon said. “He didn’t have his best stuff early but I think once they scored, he really locked it in and put up some more zeros. He pitched well against these guys in the three-game series in the regular season, so we kind of knew how to pitch them a little bit with Henrik on the mound. … I’m really proud of him, he’s just really matured throughout the year on the mound.” 

New Trier then went to one of its top weapons out of the bullpen to relieve Conniff. Junior Nick Bailey entered the game and silenced the Spartans’ bats. 

Bailey put the exclamation point on his superb inning and two-thirds by blowing a fastball past North’s star shortstop and Wake Forest commit Ethan Bass.  

“It was just an electric feeling,” Bailey said. “I was just so excited and I was really amped up after that pitch.” 

New Trier now moves on to play another Central Suburban League South foe in Maine South. The Trevs will square off with the Hawks this Saturday, June 7, with a sectional title on the line.

The top-seeded Trevs are full of confidence as they look to advance to the state’s final eight for the third time since 2021. 

“Everyone just has such a big belief in this team,” Donnelly said. “It doesn’t matter who’s up at the plate or who’s doing it, we know we’re getting the job done.”

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