Diamond postseason provides some fascinating scenarios

As the countdown continues for school days remaining - it's less than a week for most high school seniors - the countdown is now for the majority of our local prep baseball teams.

This is the week they've been playing for since the first official practice was held in March.

It's the opening week of postseason play as regional action began Monday with preliminary games and will culminate with sectional berths on the line Saturday.

With four area clubs - Batavia (Western Sun co-champion), Kaneland (Western Sun co-champion), Marmion (Suburban Christian) and St. Charles North (Upstate Eight) - crowned as conference champions last week and two other teams - Geneva and St. Charles East - having topped the 20-win mark, this should be quite an interesting week for diamond fans.

No team is playing better baseball than St. Charles North, which reached the 30-win plateau (30-4) last week and earned the No. 1 seed in the Class 4A St. Charles East sectional.

Coach Todd Genke's North Stars, who captured back-to-back regional titles in 2007 and '08, begin the quest for their first sectional crown Wednesday in Elk Grove (against either 16th-seed Elk Grove or 17th-seed West Aurora).

St. Charles North has featured its share of standout players in recent years, including Mike Corrigan, Zach Hirsch, Jeff Holm, Danny Jimenez, Kevin Schuetz, Kenny Smalley and Jake Thornton.

But the North Stars have yet to take that next step past the sectional round.

Why?

Perhaps there are many answers, but I suggest just one: in addition to playing well, you also need a break or two along the way.

For the most part, the North Stars have made their own breaks this season, fueled by a deep pitching staff and consistent offense.

Their top two starting pitchers, southpaw Ryan Hudspeth and right-hander Jared Shurtleff (in no particular order) have won half the team's games with a combined record of 15-0.

Junior left-hander Phil Warner and senior Austin Schuetz provide mound depth, while flame-throwing closer Kevin Borst waits in the wings.

Offensively, junior outfielder Jake Bergren and Nebraska-bound shortstop Ryan Richardson have both been table-setters and base-cleaners, backed by Mike Budka, Borst, Matt Stevens, Chase Williams and sophomore John Brodner.

One team that would rather forget about the last two weeks is Geneva, which lost six of its last seven Western Sun games and finished one game behind tri-champions Batavia, DeKalb and Kaneland.

"I think most teams go through periods where seemingly everything goes your way or everything goes against them," said Vikings coach Matt Hahn, whose team won regional titles in 2007 and '08 and opens at home against either 13th-seed West Chicago or 20th-seed East Aurora.

"During our 10-game winning streak earlier in the year, pitchers were getting big strikeouts, the defense was turning double plays and we were getting every two-out hit. The last two weeks, our pitching has faltered a bit and we haven't been able to get those key hits."

Led by senior right-hander Riley Perry (9-2), the fourth-seeded Vikings boast plenty of power, evidenced by their single season, record-breaking 38 home runs.

Junior outfielder Chris Hipchen has hit a team-record 13 home runs and is supported by Jason Adams, Alex Sroka, Mike Monaghan, Eric Renner and Jack Delabar.

But Hahn is faced with a difficult decision in Wednesday's regional opener. Should he send Perry to the mound or roll the dice and save his ace for Saturday's possible championship showdown against No. 5 St. Charles East?

"Unless you've got two dominating pitchers, you've got to go with your No. 1 guy first," said Hahn. "Ever since the four-class system began, the mindset has changed a little bit. Before that, if you had a good season it was kind of a 'gimme' in your first regional game so you could get away with starting your No. 2 or 3 pitcher.

"Now most 12, 13 and 14 seeds have at least one good pitcher."

Football coaches wouldn't dream of switching quarterbacks, and few basketball coaches would change starting lineups right before postseason play.

But baseball is a little different.

"A pitcher can take over a game," said Hahn. "In football, a great running back will have problems if nobody blocks for him. In basketball, if someone's raining threes you can double-team them.

"In baseball, the defensive team has the ball in its hands."

Armed with junior southpaw Wes Benjamin (9-1), St. Charles East would like nothing more than to return home for its own sectional next week.

First, the Saints will have to bag a pair of victories, beginning with Thursday's opener against No. 12 Glenbard West.

Saints coach Dave Haskins, who guided Prairie Ridge to the Class 4A state title in 2008, also must decide whether to start Benjamin against the Hilltoppers or go with either Tommy Konrad or Robert Wendt.

"It's a tough decision to make, but you don't want to have your ace on the bench either," said Haskins. "We've got a couple left-handers and a right-hander we can throw."

Incidentally, Benjamin's lone loss came two weeks ago, 3-2 against St. Charles North. The cross-town rivals could meet again in next week's sectional semifinals.

My job is to look ahead, something coaches will likely warn their players against doing this week.

"You don't hold back anything Wednesday," said Hahn. "You don't want to leave a pinch hitter on the bench."

"The kids have put in the hours in the weight room and batting cages," said Haskins. "Now you want them to play their best and have some fun."

Let the fun begin.