4A St. Charles North sectional preview
Class 4A St. Charles North sectional preview
No. 3 Batavia (28-6) vs. No. 7 Wheaton Warrenville South (20-13)
When: 4 p.m. today
What to watch: The Bulldogs have the better record, the better seed and they'll send the starter to the mound with the undefeated 9-0 mark, Adam Karger, likely against WW South's Robert Grabek. Of course, none of that matters in the one-and-done format, so the Bulldogs offense will need to pick up where they left off Saturday when they blasted Willowbrook for 11 runs and 3 home runs. Grabek brings a 6-2 record and 2.88 ERA but not overpowering stuff with 31 strikeouts and 26 walks in 51 innings (through May 25). He's developed into their ace late in the season, posting four straight wins over Glenbard East, Naperville North, Wheaton North and York in the regional semifinals. Karger is coming off a win last Wednesday against West Aurora when he went the distance, allowing 3 runs. As of May 25, the Tigers had 11 home runs as team, and 9 by two players. Junior 3-4 hitters Taylor Rhoades (4 home runs, 37 RBI, .404 average, 13 doubles) and Mike Olp (5 home runs, .417 average, 24 RBI) power the offense. Batavia's 3-4-5 hitters Tim Drish, Brian Krolikowski and Jordan Coffey have combined for 23 home runs. The Tigers can run with 43 steals in 49 attempts. Neal Johnston, a .380 hitter, has 14 of them in 16 attempts, and Batavia counters with an experienced senior behind the plate in Ryan Welter. Before the up-and-down Tigers' current 3-game winning streak, they went 4-6 in their previous 10 games. Batavia has been on a roll ever since a 1-4 start, now with a school-record 28 wins and losses to only Wheaton North and Sycamore in the last 8 weeks.
Advancement: Winner plays No. 1 seed Wheaton North in championship game at 10 a.m. Saturday.
- John Lemon