Westminster Christian first Elgin school to win state baseball title

One of Elgin's smallest schools scored the biggest baseball victory in the city's history Saturday.

Westminster Christian, with an enrollment of 208 high school students, won what no other Elgin school ever has: a baseball state championship.

The state title is only the fifth for an Elgin high school in any IHSA team sport, following the Elgin High boys basketball state crowns of 1924 and 1925, St. Edward's boys golf team winning a state title in 1981 and the St. Edward girls basketball team bringing home the big prize in 1985.

The Warriors broke open a 5-5 game with 3 runs in the fourth inning, a 5-run fifth and 2 more runs in the sixth to beat Goreville 15-5 in six innings at Silver Cross Field in Joliet.

Junior Andrew Mason's sacrifice fly to center field with the bases loaded allowed sophomore Ryan Perez to tag up and slide home safely with the clinching run. The Warriors sprinted from their dugout and piled atop one another in celebration at home plate.

The state title is the first in any sport for Westminster Christian and a dream come true for the players.

"Me and the other seniors talked before the year how we wanted to win state this year," Westminster co-captain Brandon Weingartner said. "The first day of practice we got our hats and I wrote "first" right on the inside (of the bill). That's what we wanted to accomplish."

"That was our goal all season," said co-captain Joe McGannon, the word "first" likewise emblazoned inside the bill of his cap since March. "It's just amazing how everything's come together through all our injuries and all the adversity we've faced. It's just amazing."

At times during the regular season, the Warriors, who carried a roster of 12 players until the playoffs, took the field with only nine available men due to a series of injuries that sidelined some top players. Weingartner had issues with his back and missed two weeks after a Frisbee knocked out two of his teeth in gym class; outfielders Mike Bruce and Mike O'Neill missed big portions of the season; and Perez suffered from a bad back in March and April and wasn't allowed to swing a bat until late in the season.

Fortunately for Westminster Christian (30-9), Perez was healthy and able to swing for the fences against Goreville (24-12).

After the Blackcats scored 3 runs in the first inning against Perez, who pitched right-handed, he answered with a 2-run home run to right field to put his Warriors back in the hunt.

"When they came back and scored two, they got the momentum back," Goreville coach Shawn Tripp said. "I thought that was huge."

Perez struck again in the second inning. He blasted a 3-1 offering from Blackcats starting pitcher Alex Stout (8-3) for a 3-run bomb, scoring Dylan Scully and Will Woodhouse, both of whom singled. Perez's titanic home run traveled approximately 400 feet and hit the warehouse across the alley beyond the right-center field fence.

Perez finished 3-for-3 with 7 RBI to lead Westminster's 11-hit attack. His 2 home runs tied a state-tournament game record, and his 7 RBI tied the record for a state tournament game in any class.

"My first home run was a curveball, and I knew that was coming because (Stout) was ahead in the count and was going to try to throw it low," said Perez, who entered the game with 1 home run this season. "I just kept my head down and tried to drive it.

"My second one was a changeup. I thought he was going to throw a fastball, so I just kept my head down and tried to hit a line drive."

However, Goreville scored twice in the third inning against Perez on 3 hits and an error to tie the game, 5-5. Westminster coach Jeff Moeller tabbed sophomore right-hander Kevin Elder to relieve Perez with runners at first and second. A passed ball allowed the runners to advance, and Elder walked Lee Sopczak to load the bases before he coaxed a groundball to shortstop to strand three runners and preserve the tie.

Elder dominated from that point forward. He held the Blackcats scoreless on 3 hits with 7 strikeouts on 67 pitches over 31/3 innings one day after he had allowed 5 runs (4 earned) on 71 pitches in 22/3 innings.

"I knew I had it. I felt good," said Elder, who improved to 11-4 with 157 strikeouts. "I didn't want to come out and have the same day I had (Friday). I just did what I needed to do to fix what I was doing."

Westminster's hot hitters did the rest. The Warriors grabbed a 7-5 lead in the bottom of the fourth, courtesy of catcher Frank Oliver's 2-run single to right field. Oliver's 4-hit performance tied a state-tournament game record in any class.

"It was a good day," Oliver said. "I was able to find my groove at the plate. I just felt really good. I was able to see the ball well and put the barrel on it."

The Warriors added another run in the fourth on a Goreville throwing error to lead 8-5 and erupted for 5 more runs in the fifth. That outburst was keyed by a 2-run single from Perez, Oliver's RBI single and a long drive to right by McGannon that was misplayed in the outfield and ruled a 3-base error.

The Warriors scored their 14th run in the sixth inning, when Weingartner scored on a wild pitch. With the bases loaded, Mason clinched the state title with his sacrifice fly, making Westminster Christian a state champion for the first time.

"I think if you look at our program, it's just a great blend of great kids, coaches that are passionate, coaches that spend time," Moeller said. "I think when you see that kind of sacrifice from coaches and players, this is what happens."

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