Vickers' blast wins it for Waubonsie Valley

Harry Vickers wasn't thinking home run as he stepped to the plate in the top of the seventh inning, but there was plenty of time to think about it as he rounded the bases.

The Waubonsie Valley junior outfielder blasted a two-out solo shot over the left-field fence to send the Warriors to a 4-3 baseball win over Glenbard North in the opening round of the IHSBCA Phil Lawler Summer Classic on Monday at Naperville's North Central College.

The Warriors (29-14) advanced in the winner's bracket to face Sandburg at 12:30 p.m. today at Lisle's Benedictine University. A win over Sandburg sends Waubonsie Valley into Wednesday's semifinals.

"I decided that at-bat to sit back, work the count, find a pitch I could hit and drive it," Vickers said of his second home run of the summer. "I wasn't really thinking home run, though. It just comes naturally."

The homer capped a rally from a 3-0 deficit against the Panthers (24-11), who face Oak Park at 10 a.m. today at Benedictine on the brink of elimination. The Panthers must win to keep their semifinal hopes alive.

"We still have our destiny in our hands," said Glenbard North coach Rich Smelko. "We just need to take care of business."

Fourth-inning RBI hits by the Warriors' Eric Josupait, Jeff Brown and Sean Smith knotted the game at 3-3 as Waubonsie Valley ace Kris Singh settled down on the mound by closing a complete-game effort with 4 scoreless innings.

The Warriors weren't able to create much offense other than that frame, although three of their stranded runners were in scoring position. Panthers junior starter Andrew Bergmann pitched well while scattering 7 hits in 7 innings.

Glenbard North burst to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning when Dave Wolak, Jake Kline and Ryan Sabalaskey, who went 3-for-3, each singled in runs.

Waubonsie Valley tied the game in its next at-bat, setting the stage for Vickers' seventh-inning heroics and putting the Warriors a victory shy of making their second straight semifinal appearance in the IHSBCA summer tournament.

"Credit to the kids," said Warriors coach Dan Fezzuoglio. "When they got down 3-0 they didn't quit. That's the great thing about this team."