Waubonsie Valley wins wind-aided slugfest

With a vicious wind gusting out to left field, it looked like a dream day for hitters and a nightmare for pitchers.

The hitters wound up dreaming big.

Waubonsie Valley out-slugged Neuqua Valley 19-14 in Thursday's Upstate Eight Conference baseball game in Naperville, scoring 13 runs in the final two innings to rally from a near game-ending deficit.

The Warriors (13-7, 10-3), who notched their eighth straight victory, trailed 14-6 when Neuqua Valley (11-8, 7-5) exploded for 8 runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to break a 6-6 tie. The Wildcats had a runner on second base and the batter represented the potential game-winning run if the lead was extended to 10 runs.

Waubonsie Valley stayed alive by notching the final out, however, setting up a 9-run top of the sixth to claim a 15-14 lead. The Warriors then added a 4-run seventh to build on the advantage, and reliever Kyle Cassidy pitched scoreless sixth and seventh innings to preserve the win.

"It was definitely a hitters game today," said Warriors shortstop Ryan Vega, who went 4-for-6 with 2 doubles, a homer, 2 runs scored and 5 RBI. "Any ball in the air was going to be a challenge for either team, so we really had to focus and buckle down on the pop flies."

Waubonsie Valley batters accounted for 25 of the 40 hits. Five errors, 6 walks and 2 hit batters also helped wear out the scoreboard.

Every Waubonsie Valley starter had a hit and eight of them had at least 2 hits. Eric Josupait, Jeff Brown, Sean Smith and Mike Murphy all had 3 hits with Brown homering twice and driving in 4 runs. Josupait and Murphy had 3 RBI.

Mike Gerber did a bulk of Neuqua Valley's damage, homering twice and driving in 5 runs. Cody Cooper went 3-for-5 with a double, triple and 3 RBI as seven of the Wildcats' starters got a hit. Nick Oleskowicz went 2-for-5 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI.

Needless to say it was less than ideal conditions for the starting ace pitchers, Waubonsie Valley's Kris Singh and Neuqua Valley's Kevin Clendening.

"You have every chance to stay in the game just because of how the wind is playing," said Warriors coach Dan Fezzuoglio. "It was a tough day for pitchers, obviously."

The series concludes with Saturday's doubleheader at Waubonsie Valley as Neuqua Valley looks to recover from a couple of tough days. The Wildcats lost 14-13 to Streamwood on Wednesday after squandering a big lead.

"That's the third time that's happened, so we've come to expect it," said Wildcats coach Robin Renner. "We've also had other games like that where we've been able to hang on by a run or two. We just can't seem to finish."