Carius' clutch hitting sparks Warriors win
Waubonsie Valley's baseball team had to love the change in the weather.
Not the switch from sunny and hot to cold and rainy. Rather, the change from cold bats to hot.
Trailing Oswego East 6-0 after three innings Wednesday, the top-seeded Warriors rallied for a 10-9 victory that sends them into the St. Charles East summer league regional final at 4 p.m. today.
Waubonsie Valley (27-14) will play St. Charles North (18-7), which beat St. Charles East 11-1.
With one out and two men on base in the bottom of the seventh inning, Sam Carius' sinking liner to left got past Oswego East's diving left fielder. As the ball rolled to the fence, Mike Murphy scored the tying run followed by Eric Sousanes with the game-winner.
"I just really wanted to put the ball into play," said Carius, a third baseman who went 2-for-3 with a home run, double, 2 walks and 4 RBI.
"I had two strikes, I wanted to get a couple runs in. And when I made contact, I just knew it."
Former Immaculate Conception coach Jim Vera's fourth-seeded Wolves scored 3 runs in both the first and third innings.
The Warriors tied it 6-6 in the fourth, scoring twice on wild pitches in addition to Carius' 2-run homer and an RBI double by catcher Eric Josupait, who went 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored.
"I'm so proud of them," said Warriors coach Dan Fezzuoglio.
"I told them, 'Seniors, it's a great asset that you have, that you bring, is you guys never quit.'"
A Final Four qualifier in last year's summer league playoffs, Waubonsie went up 8-6 in the bottom of the fifth on Sean Smith's home run to center field with Josupait aboard, only to see Oswego East (16-8) tie it in the sixth and take a 9-8 lead in the top of the seventh on Brad Warnecke's solo home run.
Delays for rain and then thunder halted the game, and when play continued, Smith took the mound to strand two Wolves baserunners and set the stage for the Warriors' final rally.
"We're all starting to work together as a team now, just like last year," Smith said.
"I thought they (Oswego East) did a nice job of battling back," Vera said. "Obviously we're disappointed that we gave up the lead, but it's a good team. They weren't going to roll over and let us have it."