Nazareth tackles challenge from Wauconda
It's been a very good year for a close-knit group of teammates at Nazareth.
Back in November, the football team won the Class 6A state championship with a victory over Lemont, capping off a perfect 14-0 season.
Now, the baseball team, which includes six players from the football team, has the chance to win a state title of its own.
After waiting through a two-hour rain and lightning delay, the Roadrunners got up early and kept adding to their advantage in a 7-2 win over Wauconda in the Class 3A supersectional at North Central College in Naperville.
Nazareth advances to the state finals at Silver Cross Field in Joliet this weekend and will open with the winner of the Augustana College supersectional between Metamora and St. Francis. The Roadrunners, who improve to 31-8, will play in the 10 a.m. semifinal on Friday.
"After coming off a state championship in football, everyone came into this season really hungry," said Nazareth starting pitcher Carson Bartels, who got the win and was a quarterback for the football team. "We all knew that when we started the season that this season wouldn't be complete if we didn't get down to Joliet.
"I think it helped so much to take everything we learned from football, the big crowds, the big games we were in. It translates over here and helps everything out. It made me calm out there today."
Bartels certainly kept Wauconda on edge.
The Bulldogs (18-16) had only 2 hits through the first five innings and went scoreless until they put their 2 runs on the board in the sixth inning.
Bartels (7-1 on the mound this season) pitched the entire game and rolled up 8 strikeouts.
"(Bartels) did a really nice job. He is such a competitor," Nazareth coach Lee Milano said. "He competes on every pitch and that's what he's done for us all year.
"The last two outings he did not have his change-up and he struggled a little bit, and today he had his change-up and his fastball was really good today, too. That made a big difference."
Catcher Shane Gipson also made a difference for Nazareth. He went 3-for-3 on the day with a double and an RBI that came in the Roadrunners' biggest inning. Nazareth scored 3 runs in the third inning to go up 4-0 and knock Wauconda starter Kyle Harmon out in the process.
Another run came in the fourth and the Roadrunners got two insurance runs in the top of the seventh after a mini-rally in the sixth by Wauconda.
"I was just looking for fastballs," Gipson said. "Luckily, I saw a few and I was able to take advantage. We've been hitting all postseason, putting up big numbers. We just wanted to do the same thing today."
The Wauconda offense was coming off a huge outburst of its own in the sectional championship on Saturday, a 10-1 win over Vernon Hills.
But this time was different. The Bulldogs just couldn't crack Bartels until it was too late.
The lone bright spot offensively came in the sixth when Collin Shrader and Jacob Bicknase opened with a walk and a double, respectively. Both eventually scored.
"We didn't play that bad today, we just couldn't find it at the right time," said Wauconda catcher Luke Weller, who went 1-for-3 on the day with a sacrifice RBI. "We were feeling it a little bit (in the sixth inning), but we needed to keep it going. And we faltered a little bit.
"But we really had a good run these last couple weeks. It's tough right now, but we're pretty proud of this season. We really came together."
On Saturday, Wauconda won its first sectional title since 1981. That's something head coach Bill Sliker made sure to remind his team of during his postgame huddle.
"What I said to the boys was 'Let's not lose sight of the fact that we had a pretty good year,' " Sliker said. "Unless you win state, or take third, your season ends on a loss. So, we did a lot of good things. We were in a supersectional, further than our school has gone, so I'm excited for them. And I'm proud of the boys. They battled. We won a regional and a sectional. They have nothing to put their heads down about. It was a heck of a lot of fun. It was a great year."