Offensive explosion puts Westminster in 1A state title game

Six down, one more for the crown.

The sometimes unhittable Westminster Christian pitching duo of sophomores Ryan Perez and Kevin Elder appeared mortal in Friday's Class 1A baseball semifinal, as did the defense, but an explosive offense lifted the Warriors to the program's biggest win yet.

Westminster Christian mounted a 16-hit attack and scored 5 runs in the final two innings to overcome a 1-run deficit and notch a 12-8 victory over Lebanon in a slugfest at Silver Cross Stadium in Joliet Friday.

"We've got some guys who can bop it a little bit, guys who can put it in play and clutch hitting," Westminster Christian coach Jeff Moeller said. "That's what we saw (Friday). It's a good thing they came through because we needed them."

The win advances Westminster Christian (29-9) to today's state title game against Goreville (24-11). The Class 1A title game follows the conclusion of the third-place game at approximately 12 p.m.

Goreville defeated Tri-Valley in Friday's first semifinal, 4-3. Westminster defeated Goreville on March 24, 7-3.

The Warriors attacked Lebanon starting pitcher Tyler Sonsoucie with 5 runs on 7 straight hits to open the game. The key blows were a bases-loaded single by senior cleanup hitter Joe McGannon that made it 1-0 and a 2-run double by Elder.

"They hit the ball really well and I just had to settle down," said Sonsoucie (11-2). "Arm's tight and this environment's just crazy. You just have to get your nerves settled down and throw strikes."

Lebanon (19-15) unnerved the Warriors in the bottom of the first inning. The Greyhounds struck back with a run on 3 hits against the ambidextrous Perez, who opened the game pitching left-handed.

After Westminster scored a run in the top of the second on a single by Elder to take a 6-1 lead, Perez returned to the mound as a right-handed pitcher. However, he didn't fare much better. Kyle Moore led off with a single and Justin Fohne's one-out single and an error in right field allowed Lebanon's second run to cross the plate.

Sonsoucie subsequently singled and advanced to second on a missed cutoff throw, which prompted Moeller and pitching coach Juan Perez to replace Ryan Perez with Elder, a right-handed sidearmer. He stranded both runners in scoring position with back-to-back strikeouts looking to preserve the 4-run lead.

Perez (3-for-4) gave the Warriors a 7-2 lead with his RBI single in the third inning, but pesky Lebanon stayed within striking distance with an unearned run in its half of the third as rain began to fall. Mason Christ was hit by an Elder pitch and eventually circled the bases on 3 passed balls.

Then came a nearly disastrous fourth inning for Elder and Westminster. A dropped third strike allowed Sonsoucie to reach base to open the frame, and he scored on Dustin Pendegraft's sacrifice fly, which was preceded by a walk and a sacrifice bunt.

Elder hit the next batter with a pitch to load the bases, and all three baserunners scored on 3 wild pitches during an at-bat by Ryan Essenpries, tying the game 7-7.

"I thought I was doing pretty good, but then that rain started coming and I lost the grip on the ball a little bit and I never got it back after that," Elder said. "I was pulling off a lot and I wasn't following through. It wasn't a good day."

"That'll be haunting my nightmares," Moeller said of an inning in which the Greyhounds scored 4 runs without a hit.

Elder ended the inning with his sixth strikeout of the game, his 150th of the season, before giving way in the fifth to reliever Andrew Mason, who last pitched on May 24 at St. Charles East.

"I wasn't really expecting it," Mason said of taking the mound, "but I tried to embrace it and keep my team in there and do my best."

The Greyhounds were able to eke out a run in the fifth inning. With runners at first and third after a single and a walk, Mason threw a wild pitch in the dirt. When the Westminster catcher threw to second base to get the advancing baserunner, pinch runner Adam Barlow broke from third and slid home ahead of the return throw, giving Lebanon its first lead of the game, 8-7.

But the Westminster Christian offense delivered when it was needed most in the sixth. A leadoff walk by McGannon was followed by a run-scoring double from Elder that one-hopped the center-field wall.

"I was seeing the ball real well," said Elder, who finished 3-for-5 with 4 RBI. "(Sonsoucie) was a good pitcher. I was looking for a fastball to drive somewhere."

Elder advanced to third on a wild pitch and a goofy play ensued. Westminster put pressure on the Greyhounds' defense with a safety squeeze bunt by Ben Stevenson. Sonsoucie fielded the ball and flipped it to the plate, but Lebanon's catcher never tried to apply a tag on the sliding Elder before throwing on to first base too late.

"We had a little mental mistake that kind of put us back down and we lost some momentum there," Lebanon coach Todd Harpstrite said, "and it's a momentum game."

Perez returned to the mound for Westminster in the sixth inning. Pitching left-handed, he faced only three hitters in the inning, thanks to a 4-6-3 double play. Then McGannon gave him some breathing room in the seventh after an hourlong delay due to lightning and persistent showers.

Facing Pendegraft, who relieved Sonsoucie with one out, McGannon crushed an 0-1 curveball over the center-field wall to stake the Warriors to a 12-8 lead. The homer was McGannon's eighth of the season, tying him for the Elgin school's single-season record with 2008 graduate Carter Ward.

"He hung me a curveball, and I'm a pretty good curveball hitter so that's what I was looking for," McGannon said. "I think it definitely helped out Ryan, knowing he had more runs to work with."

In the bottom of the seventh, Perez issued a walk and gave up a hit, but he struck out Pendegraft to end the game and send the Warriors to their first appearance in a state championship game.

"That's been the focus all year and in the off-season," Moeller said of playing for the title. "Our seniors, we've got great leadership. You saw McGannon hit the bomb for us here. They're just great leaders. They wanted it and all these other guys believed in it.

"Here we are."