Central Catholic senior Scott Windler, who struggled to find hits over the past two weeks, put on a hitting display Tuesday night.
Taylor Glaze, two years removed from a loss to the same opponent in the same situation, displayed veteran poise on the mound.
Those seniors were the catalysts of No. 4 Central Catholic's 8-1 victory over No. 1 Frontier in the Class A Central Catholic Sectional championship game at Leming Field.
"It's a great feeling," said Windler, who homered in each of the first two innings to help CC grab a 4-0 lead. "We knew we had to come out ready to play. We were waiting for this all year long, and we finally got a chance."
The defending state champion Knights won their seventh sectional title in nine years. They were the only team to beat Frontier (29-2), including a 22-3 victory in Chalmers on April 19.
"This is obviously a big rivalry," said Glaze, who threw a three-hitter to improve to 7-2. "To be the only team to beat them, twice in the same year, that's fun. I like that title."
Sterrett (10-1) threw a two-hit shutout to beat CC in the sectional championship at Leming Field in 2008. But five unearned runs hampered his effort on Tuesday, and CC touched him for 10 hits.
The Chicago State recruit lost for the first time since his freshman season and finished his career 41-2.
"We got the bat on the ball. We just couldn't get hits," Sterrett said. "We kept popping up and grounding out, and they're a team that makes plays if you hit it on the ground. We didn't do that enough, so it turned out for the worst for us."
Windler drove Sterrett's 1-0 fastball over the left-field wall on the game's second pitch. Facing a 3-2 count with one on in the second, he drove a breaking ball over the wall in center.
Reed Drysdale doubled home Cole Hruskovich later in the inning to stake Glaze to a 4-0 lead.
"The home run in the first inning allowed Taylor to relax," said Tim Bordenet, who earned his 300th victory as Central Catholic's coach. "The three runs in the second inning allowed him to go right at them, be aggressive. He was able to mix all his pitches and keep them off-balance and out on their front foot just enough."
Frontier trailed 5-0 in the fourth when first baseman Frank Fisk crushed a long home run to center field. Fisk homered in all three sectional games and finished the season with 16.
Two singles by senior Jon-Marc Ream were the only other hits Glaze allowed. The left-hander coaxed six infield pop-ups and struck out seven, including fanning the side looking in the seventh.
"That's the first time we've seen a lefty with a decent amount of speed," Sterrett said. "We just couldn't get the bat on the ball and hit line drives."
Windler entered the sectional with four hits in his last 27 at-bats. The center fielder and leadoff hitter broke through for a 6-for-7 performance with six runs scored and five RBIs in two tournament games.
"That lit everyone in the dugout up, and the fans, and that got the momentum on our side and kept us going," Glaze said of Windler's home runs.
"He was doing great in (batting practice) this morning, and then he just took it to the field and he never looked back."
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