The Oak Park and River Forest High School baseball team was the underdog heading into its IHSA Class 4A Reavis Sectional semifinal against Brother Rice, the top-ranked team in Illinois according to MaxPreps.
Yet thanks to a sensational effort on the mound from Dino Pantazopoulos, the Huskies were in position to pull off a major upset. However, the Crusaders rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh to pull out a 2-1 victory.
“The game went kind of exactly how I thought it was going to,” said OPRF coach Kevin Campbell. “It was a back-and-forth matchup, and whoever got the biggest strike was probably going to take it. Our guys did awesome; they did everything we prepared for, but luck wasn’t on our side at the end.”
OPRF (27-11) got two runners aboard against Brother Rice (34-3) and starting pitcher Brady Cunningham in the top of the third, but Brady Green flied out deep to right, ending the threat.
In the bottom half, Timmy Leark made a brilliant defensive play. Playing centerfield, he grabbed a fly ball hit by Gavin Triezenberg, then threw a strike to third baseman Johnny Nelson, who tagged out Josh Torres, trying to advance to third, for an inning-ending double play.
Oliver Puntillo reached on an error to start the fourth for the Huskies. With one out, Joseph Leshnock executed a hit-and-run perfectly to right, sending Puntillo to third. After George Holland was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Zach Goldberg hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Puntillo and give OPRF a 1-0 lead.
The defense helped Pantazopoulos again in the fifth as Ethan Moore, Green, and Holland teamed up for a 6-4-3 double play. Meanwhile, Pantazopoulos allowed just two hits over the first six innings.
“If Dino is not on a lot of radars,” Campbell said, “then I don’t know baseball. That kid has pitched his butt off in a bunch of big games for us. He’s a competitor, and he was happy to get this game.”
With the way Pantazopoulos was pitching, it looked like OPRF’s 1-0 lead going to the bottom of the seventh would hold up. But Cunningham led off the frame with a double to right-center, then Aidan Nohava doubled to left-center, tying the game and ending Pantazopoulos’ day.
Cam Barnes came on in relief, but the first batter he faced, Jackson Natanek, singled down the left-field line to bring home Nohava and end the Huskies’ season.
Despite the disappointing ending, Campbell called the year as “a great success.” The 27 victories are the most he has had in his four years leading OPRF. The Huskies also shared the West Suburban Silver championship with Downers Grove North – the first conference title in three years – and won a regional for the first time since 2021.
Barnes, Green, Moore, and Peter Farren made the All-WSC Silver Team. While the latter three are lost to graduation, Barnes and Pantazopoulos, both juniors, return to helm what Campbell feels will be a strong pitching staff next year.
“These guys are laying bricks on a foundation. That’s all you can ask for,” he said. “We’re going to have a lot of arms coming back next year. Pitching will be our strong suit.”