Hersey-Fremd Meet for MSL Baseball Title for Fourth Time

Look at Previous MSL Title Meetings; Other League Titles for Huskies, Vikings

Fremd and Hersey are meeting for just the fourth time in a Mid-Suburban League baseball championship game sincee both were together in the North division before realignment in 1998-99. Here’s a look at the three previous tension-filled title-game matchups, which I was fortunate enough to cover for the Daily Herald, and the other times Hersey and Fremd played for the MSL baseball championship.

2001 - Fremd 7, Hersey 6

Coaches - Paul Belo (Fremd), Bob Huber (Hersey)

Fremd star lefty Jeff Maitland (11-0) threw a gutty 132-pitch complete game with 13 strikeouts and Fremd (26-6) held on for its fourth MSL title as Hersey (18-12) rallied from a 7-1 deficit after 2½ innings. Fremd shortstop Matt Anaya’s double set up an RBI single by Rob Hindman and Anaya got a bizarre 2-run inside-the-park homer on a slicing drive to left field where Hersey’s Casey Garms came up empty on a diving try and had to come out of the game when he injured his throwing hand.

Reliever Matt Hodge gave Hersey a shot with 4 shutout innings. Hodge’s double, 2 of 5 errors by Fremd and an infield single by Dominic Cappellania cut the deficit to 7-6 in the fifth. Maitland, who pitched at Iowa, started using his changeup more as he retired the last 8 hitters and struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh.

“It felt real good,” Maitland said after allowing only 3 earned runs. “It seemed like Fremd was cursed in these games. Last year we got smoked (7-1 by Rolling Meadows) but this year we knew we’d have a good chance.”

2010 - Fremd 1, Hersey 0

Coaches - Chris Piggott (Fremd), Bob Huber (Hersey)

A scintillating Division-I pitching duel between Fremd (19-12) lefty Clint Terry (UIC) and Hersey righty Steve Danielak (Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne) resulted in only 1 run by both offenses in a game that took just 1 hour, 26 minutes. Fittingly, the only run set up by Eric Paulson’s leadoff double in the fifth came when speedy 2,000-yard rusher Evan Wright beat out a potential double-play ball, which made Fremd the third school at the time to win MSL titles in football, boys basketball and baseball in the same school year. The others were Maine West (1963-64) and Hersey (1971-72).

Terry (8-4), who pitched four years in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, threw a 3-hitter with 8 strikeouts and 5 walks to beat Hersey (24-9) for the second time that season and have Huber ask incredulously, “Who’s beaten that kid 4 times this season?” Danielak (9-4), who pitched four seasons at IPFW, tossed a 2-hitter with 5 strikeouts and no walks and didn’t go to a 3-ball count on any hitter. It was the first 1-0 MSL title game since Rolling Meadows beat Buffalo Grove in 8 innings in 1994.

“Both pitchers were amazing today,” Piggott said. “(Danielak) kept us off-balance more than any guy we’ve faced all year. We couldn’t figure him out.”

2012 - Hersey 3, Fremd 1

Coaches - Bob Huber (Hersey), Chris Piggott (Fremd)

Hersey (25-8) ended a 20-year MSL title drought and got its third crown behind the inspirational work of Trevor Haas, who 10 months earlier had a pair of hospital stays totaling nearly 10 days to have a blood clot removed from his right arm. Haas, who would pitch at Valparaiso, scattered 6 hits in 6⅔ innings with MSL East Player of the Year Mike Danielak getting the final out for the save.

“I knew I would come back and pitch,” Haas said. “When and how good it would be, I didn’t know.”

Fremd (18-16) jumped on Haas in the second when sophomore Sam Beutler, in his second week with the varsity, homered. Hersey’s Josh Koutnik had a tying RBI single in the fourth and Brad Moore’s squeeze bunt and Tyler Perkowitz’s sacrifice fly capped the rally to give Haas all the offense he needed.

“We all came and watched the game a couple of years ago,” Koutnik said of Hersey’s 2010 loss to Fremd. “It’s awesome. We wanted to get this one for coach Huber.”

Other Title Game Trips for Huskies, Vikings

1971 - Fremd 5, Conant 0
Mark Wicklund fired a 2-hitter with 7 strikeouts and 1 walk and went 2-for-3 with 3 RBI as Fremd won its first MSL title by avenging losses to Conant in the regular season and district tournament.

1972 - Hersey 2, Forest View 0
Hersey capped an amazing year where it also won MSL titles in basketball and wrestling and a North crown in football as Mark Leonhard fired a shutout to improve to 6-1 in league play. Leonhard made the Herald All-Area team with two-time state champion wrestler and Herald Athlete of the Year Brad Smith.

1973 - Forest View 4, Fremd 1
Forest View junior Larry Monroe showed the stuff that made him the White Sox’ 1974 first-round pick with a 3-hitter with 11 strikeouts and 1 walk to beat Fremd for the second time in the season. Bob Burke’s second double of the game broke up Monroe’s shutout bid in the sixth.

1974 - Fremd d. Forest View 2 games to 0
This time Bob Burke’s big day against future big-leaguer Larry Monroe gave Fremd a 3-1 win and coach Terry Gellinger his second title in four years. Burke had 3 hits, a double and 3 RBI off Monroe, who had 12 strikeouts, in the first year of a best-of-3 format. Mitch Gullett threw a 2-hitter with 4 strikeouts and 1 walk after beating the Falcons 6-3 in the regular season.

1981 - Rolling Meadows d. Fremd 2 games to 0
Frank Messina threw a 7-hitter and had a 2-run double in a 3-run sixth as Meadows (21-6) completed the two-game sweep with a rain-delayed 4-0 win over Fremd (23-7) in the best-of-3. Meadows won the regular-season meeting 9-3 but was eliminated in the regional on a 1-hitter by Fremd’s Tom Fick. Dan Johnson’s homer in the second off Fick was the only run the Mustangs needed to avenge the regional loss.

1984 - Fremd Gets Split Decision with Prospect
A return to one game for the MSL title turned out to be no game and a shared crown from the combination of a Fremd (24-5) run to the Class AA Elite Eight, bad weather and IHSA rules not allowing the teams to play after the state tournament ended. Fremd was led by four All-Area players in captain and C Jim Kating, SS Dave Eck, P Rob McCormack and 1B Jeff Bossong. All-Area SS John Simios led Prospect.

1992 - Hersey 2, Schaumburg 1
Mike Clark took a shutout into the seventh as Hersey (27-4) won its second MSL title and first in 20 years. Tom Knauss, who was drafted in the second round by Minnesota, had a RBI double in the first inning off Schaumburg (21-7) lefty Erik Stocke. Chuck Abbott, who reached Triple-A with the Angels, had 2 hits and an RBI groundout in the seventh for the Saxons.

2000 - Rolling Meadows 7, Fremd 1
Charlie Hahn fired a 3-hitter, Matt Brandt had 3 hits and Fremd (22-9) committed 7 errors as Meadows (24-5) won a record 10th MSL title. Hahn had 8 strikeouts and 1 walk and retired 18 consecutive hitters until Brian Bucciarelli’s 2-out homer in the seventh.

2004 - Barrington 4, Hersey 1
Eric Marshall threw a 4-hitter with 7 strikeouts and catcher Matt Over hit a 2-run homer as Barrington (24-9) won its eighth MSL title. Hersey (22-12) had 3 errors lead to 3 unearned runs and broke the shutout on Bryan Ganek’s RBI single in the sixth.

2005 - Barrington 5, Hersey 1
Barrington (27-6) repeated in the title-game rematch for its ninth crown as Eric Marshall and Bobby Brignola combined on a 5-hitter. Derek Maropis went 3-for-3 and Jeff Cresswell had a big hit-and-run RBI single and Pat McKillen a 2-run double in a 5-run fourth. Hersey (23-11) got its first hit in the bottom of the fourth on Scott Kelley’s homer to center.

2009 - Rolling Meadows 5, Fremd 0
Lefty Jon Carlson, who pitched at Kentucky and High Point, threw a 7-hitter with 9 strikeouts to lead Meadows (18-14) to its 11th title against a Fremd (19-10) team with future big-league outfielder Mike Tauchman. The Mustangs broke it open with 3 two-out runs in the fifth. Matt Johnsen had a triple and single for Fremd.

2023 - Hersey 1, Barrington 0
A battle of unbeaten pitchers didn’t disappoint as Hersey’s Jeremy Allen (8-0) outdueled Barrington’s Nick Lacson (7-1) in a game that lasted 67 minutes. Allen had 5 strikeouts and 2 walks for Hersey (23-8) and Lacson had 4 strikeouts and retired the last 18 hitters he faced for Barrington (21-11). But the only 2 hits Lacson allowed were singles by Brandon Pflomm and David Denten in the second to set up sophomore Keegan Luxem’s sacrifice fly in the Huskies’ fourth MSL title.