Scouting Fox Valley area Class 1-2A regionals
Class 1A Westminster Christian sectional
Westminster Christian regional
Regional sites: Westminster Christian, Lanark Eastland, Lena-Winslow, Ashton-Franklin Center
Top seeds: Westminster Christian, Lanark Eastland, Lena-Winslow, Amboy
Outlook: The Warriors (22-9) are as healthy as they've been all season as they prepare to compete for the school's third regional title and second sectional title in four seasons. Westminster will play every playoff game at home through the sectional, but that does not guarantee success. Last year the Warriors failed to win a regional title despite home-field advantage. They were pushed to extra innings in a regional semifinal against North Shore Country Day and lost the title game to Alden-Hebron 3-1. Still, playing at home is preferable to the alternative. "To win it all takes 7 games and 4 of them are at our house, so you can't have it laid out any better," Westminster Christian coach Jeff Moeller said. "If we take care of business at home, we'll have a great shot."
The Warriors are led by two bona fide ace sophomores. Ryan Perez (7-0) demonstrated his complete return to health Saturday after missing several weeks with a pulled muscle in his lower back. He shut out Fenton 1-0, striking out 13 in a complete-game 2-hitter that lowered his ERA to 1.00 in 36 innings. Fireballer Kevin Elder (7-4, 1.65 ERA) is the area leader by a wide margin with 104 strikeouts.
The Warriors also have some big bats in the order in Brandon Weingartner (.517 avg., 9 doubles, 23 RBI), Frank Oliver (.485, 10 doubles, 33 RBI) and Joe McGannon (.427, 11 doubles, 43 RBI). Outfielders Michael Bruce and Mike O'Neil have each missed most of the season with injuries, but both are expected to play in the tournament. "The nice thing is we're getting our guys back healthy," Moeller said. "It makes our defense that much better. You'd like to have them all year, but it lifts you up a bit knowing you'll have good defense behind Kevin and Ryan, and those two guys as a tandem are pretty tough."
Westminster Christian opens the playoffs Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. against the winner of Monday's play-in game between South Beloit at Christian Liberty Academy.
Advancement: The Westminster Christian sectional winner will face the Gardner-South Wilmington sectional winner in the Benedictine University supersectional on Monday, May 31 at 4:30 p.m.
Class 2A Lisle sectional
Regional sites: Harvard, Walther Lutheran, Chicago Holy Trinity, Aurora Christian
Top seeds: St. Edward, Immaculate Conception, Holy Trinity, Lisle
Outlook: St. Edward (14-17), the top seed at Harvard, enters the 2A playoffs with confidence after sweeping Class 3A Hampshire on Saturday. The Green Wave have won 3 of their last 5 games as they aim for their second straight regional title and sixth in school history. "The last week or so has been very encouraging, especially (Saturday) because it's one of the few days in which we've put together good defense, timely hitting and good pitching," St. Edward coach Gene Belmonte said. "Our problem is we haven't been able to put all three ingredients together on a consistent basis to win games in bunches." Several hitters return from last year's sectional finalist, led by senior center fielder David Hoebbel (.475, 14 doubles, 5 HR, 31 RBI) and left fielder Jordan Torres (31 RBI). Senior Jon Godfrey (4-4) and sophomore Luke Duffy (5-5) head the rotation. The Green Wave have defeated both Genoa-Kingston and North Boone, the winner of which will face St. Edward in a semifinal on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. Harvard (20-7) will play Northridge Prep in Thursday's semifinal. St. Edward defeated Harvard last year in a regional semi, 17-3. "Harvard is a 20-win team and has some good hitting from what I hear," Belmonte. "They gave us a tough game last year and they have almost everybody back. It's not going to be easy."
Advancement: The Lisle sectional winner will face the Watseka sectional winner in the Benedictine University supersectional on Monday, May 31 at 7 p.m.