Baseball: Loeger’s gem lifts Conant to MSL championship
Bryce Loeger has Conant partying like it is 1999.
Loeger threw a complete game shutout as Conant won its first Mid-Suburban League baseball championship since 1999 with a 5-0 win over host Buffalo Grove.
“I just came into this game treating it like any other game,” Loeger said. “I didn’t let the moment get too big and just go out there and do what I do.”
Conant coach Derek Fivelson said Loeger was dead on all game.
“Once we scored a run and then had a two-run cushion, I knew we were good,” Fivelson said. “He hasn’t given up two runs in a game all year. When you have a big right-handed pitcher like that, you can just ride him. You just want to watch and enjoy it.”
Loeger was rock solid for Conant (23-7). The senior, who is committed to Dartmouth, allowed just one hit while striking out 9. He threw 91 pitches, 67 of which were for strikes.
The only hit Loeger allowed was to the first batter of the game. Payton Diaz lofted a ball that a diving Logan Gale just missed coming up with.
“Their leadoff hitter smoked a fastball,” said Loeger, who improved to 8-0. “After that, I let that go by. I just locked in after that. “
Conant catcher Jake Parpet, who has caught Loeger for all four varsity seasons, said his and Loeger’s approach was to treat it like any other game.
“It was just another day here,” Parpet said. “That’s what we told each other. It is just easy when we are out there.”
Fivelson said this is an experience he and his team won’t forget.
“I told the guys this is the biggest game of your life,” Fivelson said. “We had to grind through this tough conference and this grueling conference schedule. This is hard to do. And for a guy who is getting near the top of veteran-ship in the conference, I understand how hard it is. It is something that we had our eyes on from the beginning of the season.”
Conant got their leadoff hitter on in four innings. And in all of those innings the Cougars were able to score.
They gave Loeger all the runs he needed in the second inning.
Matt Maize led off with a bloop double. He came home to score on Cooper Hanson’s double. Hanson scored on Josh Barnett’s single to make it 2-0.
“He (Loeger) has been phenomenal for us all season,” Hanson said. “We have a ton of confidence in him. I know my hits were huge. The key to our success is we are feeling confident in ourselves.”
The Cougars added another run in the fourth. They loaded the bases when Maize led off being hit by a pitch, Alex Martinez singled and Hanson reached on a perfectly placed bunt. Maize scored on Jacob Szpiganowicz’s fielder’s choice.
In the fifth, Arjun Patel led off with a walk. He would later score on Isaiah Rhodes’ sacrifice fly.
Hanson tallied the Cougars’ final run in the sixth when he led off with a walk. He would later score on a throwing error that made it 5-0.
Buffalo Grove, which won the MSL title in 2021 and 2022, managed just four baserunners on a hit, an error, a hit batter and a walk. Two of those were erased on the base paths on a caught stealing and a diving tag by Szpiganowicz.
“Our guys thought we would be here,” Buffalo Grove coach Bill Montemayor said. “It is always our goal to win the East. I was proud that we were able to get that back and put ourselves in this position. Number 12, that Loeger kid, he is special. He is the best we have seen this year. Two years to be honest.”
Both teams begin state tournament play next Thursday. Conant plays Fremd at Hersey while Buffalo Grove plays at Schaumburg.