The Oak Park and River Forest High School baseball team closed out its longtime diamond on the campus’s West Field on April 28 and 29 in grand fashion with a pair of come-from-behind victories.
On April 29, the Huskies rallied from an early deficit to roll past Morton 15-5 in six innings.
“To close this field out the way we did is a great feeling,” said OPRF coach Kevin Campbell. “It was also Senior Day, and they’re going out on a high note as well.”
After falling behind 5-0 in the second inning, OPRF (9-13) gradually chipped away. The Huskies scored once in the bottom half of the second, twice in the third, and once more in the fourth.
OPRF then scored three times in the fifth to take the lead, the big blow being an opposite-field two-run homer to right by Francis Heinzmann.
“The seniors have stepped up as of late leading our team,” Campbell said. “I don’t want to say we weren’t worried, but we knew it was a matter of time before someone went to the plate and got a big hit. Francis really stepped up, and the rest of the guys followed.”
The Huskies poured it on in the sixth, scoring eight runs to end the game via the 10-run rule. Heinzmann belted another two-run homer to right field, Peter Kenoian had a two-run single, and Kevin Cortez wrapped things up with a two-run single.
Cortez went 3-for-4 on the day, and Kenoian drove in four runs. Ethan Moore went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI, and Jack Gooch also drove home two runs as OPRF had 15 hits.
Luke Gotti struck out four Mustangs in two innings of relief to earn the win.
On April 28, Moore drove in four, including two on a walk-off RBI single as OPRF rallied for a thrilling 6-5 West Suburban Silver victory over York.
After starting the season slow, the Huskies have played much better as of late, and Campbell wants things to keep rolling in the right direction.
“We’ve got to compete,” he said. “At this point, it’s not necessarily about wins or losses, it’s about creating a competitive atmosphere. No matter who we’re playing, we have to go out there and give everything as if it’s our last game.”
