Baseball: Burlington Central fends off Kaneland's comeback
STERLING - The Burlington Central baseball team sweated out Wednesday's 10-8 sectional semifinal victory over Kaneland literally and figuratively.
Playing under mostly sunny skies in muggy, 88-degree heat interrupted only by a 10-minute rain delay in the third inning, the Rockets built a big lead but had to stave off a seventh-inning comeback to move on in the Class 3A state tournament.
Burlington Central (24-9) led 10-4 heading to the bottom of the seventh inning only to see Kaneland (21-9) score 4 runs and bring the potential go-ahead run to the plate.
The drama did not end until Central relief pitcher Zach Zuiker struck out Angel Acevedo swinging with runners at first and second.
It was the same uncomfortable winning formula Central used to defeat Freeport 8-7 in a regional title game on Saturday. The Rockets gave up 5 runs in the final two innings of that game but notched a game-ending strikeout with two men in scoring position. They committed 2 errors in the seventh inning of each game yet were able to hang on.
"In spite of what happened at the end of this game and the end of the last game, we've played pretty good defense all year," Central coach Kyle Nelson said. "If we throw strikes and play good defense, I have faith in our offense to score some runs."
The victory sends Central to a Class 3A sectional final for the second year in a row. The Rockets will play Stillman Valley, who beat Sterling 3-2 on Wednesday, in the title game on Saturday at 11 a.m.
"Since we've gotten into the playoffs we've combined as one team, finally," said Central junior catcher Colton Wallace. "We've just really been playing the way we know how to play. We've all played this way together in the past and it's coming back."
The Knights batted around in the seventh inning and scored 4 runs on 1 hit, 2 errors and 2 hit batsmen. They pulled within 10-6 with one out when Jon Alstott beat out an infield single and drew within 10-8 on a sacrifice fly to center field by Luke Gomes off Zuiker.
"I give our guys credit for hanging with it and not giving up," Kaneland coach Brian Aversa said. "That has kind of been the tone all year, especially last game. We got down 3-0 and we were like 'Hey, we've been here before.' Burlington just had a little bit more than we could handle, though we made a nice run there at the end."
Central jumped to a 3-0, first-inning lead against Kaneland starter Robbie Dudzinski (4-3), keyed by Andrew Griffin's 2-run single. The Rockets made it 6-0 in the second inning on Caden Scott's 2-run single.
Kaneland got back in the game with a 4-run third, highlighted by a 2-run single from Alstott.
Central kept tacking on, though. Ryan Knowlton launched a 2-run home run to left-center field in the fourth inning to extend the lead to 8-4. It was his third home run in 3 playoff games and seventh of the season.
"I feel pretty locked in," Knowlton said. "My last two years through the playoffs have been kind of rough and that's been the worst part of my season. This year I think I've done a good job of keeping myself under control."
Wallace made it 10-8 in the fifth inning with a 2-run, two-out single. In his last two games Wallace has gone 4-for-4 with 5 walks and 4 RBI.
Danny Kinney was the winning pitcher for Central. After starting pitcher Kyle Hresil allowed 4 earned runs on 4 hits in 2.1 innings, Kinney lasted 4 innings and allowed 4 runs (1 earned) before giving way to Zuiker with one out in the seventh.
Kaneland took solace in winning its first regional title in three seasons, but the Knights wanted to keep playing.
"That was our goal, to win regionals, but it just sucks to see it go now," Dudzinski said. "I never realized how much these guys were going to mean to me. Now I know how much I'm going to miss them. Man, the season goes fast. It just started. I feel like I just pitched against Joliet Catholic in 35-degree weather. Now, it's 90-degree weather and hurricane season, I guess. What happened?"