51ºÚÁÏ

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Evan Koontz yelled into the dugout at Lincoln Land Community College heading into the seventh inning on Monday.

"Give me one and I'll get it done," the Father McGivney senior reliever said. 

So the Griffins gave him one, two times. 

And he was going to get it done. 

"It took me a while, it took me another inning than I thought, but in the end we still won and I closed it out," Koontz said. 

Father McGivney punched its ticket to the Class 1A state semifinal round with a thrilling 4-3 eight-inning victory over Jacksonville Routt in the Class 1A Springfield Super-Sectional game.

"I'm really happy for these guys," Father McGivney coach Chris Erwin said. "I didn't think I'd be this emotional, but I'm really excited."

Father McGivney (37-3) will square off with Pawnee (24-13) at 1 p.m. on Friday at the University of Illinois in the second Class 1A semifinal game.

It's the first time since 2021 and the second time in program history that the Griffins have advanced to the semifinal round.

For Koontz, the moment was still sinking after the final out.

"Give it a couple of minutes," Koontz said. "I'm still coming down from all the pictures and all the hugs. It's a very special moment."

Koontz came on in relief and held Jacksonville Routt (24-13) in check and sent the game to the top of the seventh in a 2-2 tie. That's when he made his promise to the team.

Senior Justin Terhaar drove in the go-ahead run, scoring senior Drew Kleinheider to give the Griffins a 3-2 lead going to the bottom of the seventh. 

Koontz got the first two outs of the bottom of the seventh before the Rockets' Eli Olson lifted an 0-1 fastball over the right-field fence to tie up the game.

"Giving up that home run, that was stressful, but my team came back for me, we play as a team, and we are a family," Koontz said. 

As the team came back into the dugout for the start of the eighth inning, Erwin didn't see an ounce of quit in his team.

"These guys have no quit - just none," Erwin said. "I looked in the guys' eyes in the dugout and there was no doubt that they were going to win this game."

Kleinheider was robbed last year as a junior by Routt in a highlight-level play that prevented multiple runs from scoring in a 4-1 loss in the super-sectional game.

He got a chance for redemption with two outs in the top of the eighth and senior Kannon Kamp standing on second base.

"A year ago, same scenario, the guy makes a diving catch on just about the same type of ball," Erwin said. "He hits it on a line and he just doesn't come up lucky. Today, he hits the ball where it couldn't get caught."

Kleinheider smashed it down the line and Kamp scampered home for the go-ahead run.

"I didn't put any extra pressure on myself," Kleinheider said. "I knew I was getting a fastball and I was putting a good swing on it."

Then Koontz made good on his promise.

"Thanks to (Drew), we got that extra run," Koontz said.

Come into Monday's contest, Father McGivney's offense was hotter than the surface of the sun. The Griffins averaged over 10 runs a game and have run-ruled 22 teams this year, including the first four postseason contests.

The Rockets held the incendiary offense in check for eight innings.

"That's a great team over there," Erwin said. "Hats off to coach (Ryan) Turner. He has a great ball club. They play hard and play well. They've got good kids. It was just a fun battle."

When asked if there were frustrations that 11 hits only turned into four runs, Kleinheider shook his head.

"We knew it was going to be a dog fight," Kleinheider said.

Terhaar was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with three RBI, while sophomore Omar Avalos was also perfect at the plate, going 3-for-3.  

Father McGivney will be adding to the trophy vault after a runner-up finish in 2021 when it travels to Champaign for their second semifinal appearance.

But that's not the best thing in Erwin's eyes. They have to schedule practice for (Tuesday). 

"That's the best thing about it," Erwin said. "We get to practice (Tuesday) and Wednesday. I love it. These guys don't want it to end. I don't either."