By Dan Duran

NORTHBROOK – Junior right-hander Jeff Barton threw a two-hit masterpiece to give Libertyville a 2-0 victory over Stevenson in the Glenbrook North Sectional championship game Saturday afternoon.

The 6-foot-3 Barton threw his sharp curveball effectively through seven innings to record eight strikeouts and three walks, one which was intentional, ultimately sending the Wildcats to Monday’s supersectional.

Libertyville broke a scoreless tie against its North Suburban Lake rivals in the third inning when, with one out, sophomore shortstop Jimmy Govern and junior right-fielder Connor Simpson ripped back-to-back line drive singles up the middle - followed by a hit-by-pitch to junior catcher Evan Skoug to load the bases.  The next batter, Kevin Calamari, chopped a soft grounder in front of the pitcher, who threw home for the second out; an overthrow from the catcher on the double-play attempt allowed Simpson to score from second, but a rundown at third base on the play ended the inning. 

Libertyville left-fielder, Matt Reed (1-2 in the game), led off the fifth with a triple to center, but the Wildcats went down in order after the big hit. 

The one run scored in the third was all that was necessary for Barton, but for good measure, the left-handed hitting Skoug launched the first pitch of the bottom half of the sixth for a home-run to secure the lead at 2-0 going into the last inning. 

Stevenson posed a slight threat in the first, third, and sixth innings.  Willie Bourbon reached second base with two outs in the first, one out in the third, and one out in the sixth, and was stranded each time. 

While Barton pitched an excellent game, so did Stevenson junior Mitchell Goll.  In 5.1 innings of work, the left-hander gave up two runs on four hits, striking out five, walking one, and hitting two batters. 

Sophomore third baseman Willie Bourbon recorded Stevenson's only hits, going 2-for-2 with a double, single, and a walk. 

Libertyville now advances to play Maine South in the Rockford Supersectional on Monday at 4:30 p.m.