Neuqua Valley rally has familiar look to it
Like the ball itself, the flashbacks were flying.
In a game twice postponed because of scheduling snafus and weather, Neuqua Valley rallied for a 15-6 pounding of Plainfield North in Tuesday's Class 4A Hinsdale South regional final.
The No. 5 Wildcats (25-11), after claiming their third straight regional title and fifth overall, play No. 16 Providence in the Lockport sectional semifinals at 6 p.m. today.
"I give our guys credit for not getting down and coming back like they did," said Wildcats coach Robin Renner. "I can't explain it, but I'm happy about it."
One of those five regional titles, of course, came in 2007 when Neuqua Valley won the Class AA state title. In the state championship game the Wildcats beat New Trier 5-1 with only 1 hit but took advantage of a huge 2-run error on a pitcher's errant pickoff throw.
In an eerie coincidence, the same thing happened Tuesday to spark Neuqua Valley.
Fourth-seeded Plainfield North (27-7) led 6-1 in the top of the fourth, but the Wildcats loaded the bases before scoring a pair of runs on an error and Ryan Wagner's walk.
Then, reminiscent of 2007, Tigers losing pitcher Ethan Johnson (2-2) fired a pickoff throw down the third-base line for an error that scored 2 runs. Another error, one of five by the Tigers, tied the game 6-6 as Neuqua Valley scored 5 runs on no hits.
"Definitely a momentum changer in that inning when we got those 5 runs," said Wildcats outfielder Joe Ippolito. "We came to play today. We just did what we had to do."
Ippolito, who drove in 4 runs, provided the game-winning hit the next inning on a solo home run. After surrendering 6 runs in the first three innings, Wildcats starter Mike McKinley (6-3) was lights out in the final four innings.
The Indiana-bound righty retired the final 12 batters and struck out the side to end the game. McKinley struck out 10 overall while walking none and scattering 8 hits in front of an errorless defense.
At the plate, meanwhile, the Wildcats started mashing.
They scored 6 sixth-inning runs to grab a 13-6 lead. Jordan Williamson hit his second home run of the game and Ippolito laced a 3-run double. Alex Lincoln capped the burst with another solo homer.
Neuqua Valley scored twice in the seventh, again with no hits, to build the 15-6 lead.
It was a far cry from earlier in the game when the Tigers scored their 6 runs. In a 4-run third Casey Wilgosiewicz hit a 2-run homer and Alex Molek followed with a solo shot.
"After we went down 6-1, we knew we could get a rally going," Williamson said. "It just all started working for us."