Harper, Waubonsee meet for regional supremacy
Most people would like to see the two best teams play for championships at the end of a season.
In NJCAA baseball, that’s exactly what will happen starting Friday at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove as the top-seeded Chiefs take on No. 2 Harper College (19-20) for a regional championship.
Both teams won sectionals last weekend to earn their spot in the sectional.
The Hawks swept a doubleheader on April 30, 5-4 and 7-0, against the Chiefs in Sugar Grove. Hawks sophomore Chris Bobo collected the win in the first contest, allowing 10 hits and striking out seven in 8 innings. The hitting of out of the No. 3 and 4 spots in the Hawks lineup was key as sophomore infielder Cory Kay (St. Viator) went 2-for-4 and Lee Breitzman (Fremd) went 2-for-3 and scored a pair of runs. Outfielder Chris Elliot also had a pair of hits in that game.
If the Chiefs are able to win the best-of-three regional against the Hawks, they’d be making the program’s second trip to the NJCAA Division III World Series in Tyler, Texas in the last three seasons.
Harper went 3-for-3 in sweeping Rock Valley (17-9, 15-5) and Joliet (15-5) in last weekend’s sectional, which was hosted by Harper but played at Joliet. Winning this weekend’s regional championship is a tougher challenge.
Waubonsee features the most recent NJCAA Division III player of the week in Jake Jouris. The 6-foot-4 first baseman enters the regional finals with a 12-game hitting streak.
Jouris went 8-for-11 (.727) in last weekend’s sectional games.