Neuqua Valley beats Naperville Central in slugfest

Stick around baseball long enough and you’re bound to see everything.

Then a game like Saturday’s comes along.

Neuqua Valley outlasted visiting Naperville Central 18-17 in a slugfest like neither side ever had seen before.

The Wildcats (5-0) finally sealed the win by scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to claim their 18-17 lead. Pitchers Alex Bucz and Nick Blackburn each followed with a scoreless inning of relief to end the marathon.

Considering both teams scored at least a run in each of the first five innings, the fact that there were any scoreless innings was a surprise. Those two shutdown innings turned out to be just enough.

Naperville Central (3-2) threatened in the seventh inning after a pair of errors set up Derrick Avers at third base with two outs. Blackburn, though, notched the save for Bucz with a strikeout on the next batter.

“This is the most unusual game I have ever been associated with as a coach, and I’m serious about that,” said Neuqua Valley coach Robin Renner.

Neuqua Valley looked in command after an 8-run bottom of the second — powered by consecutive RBI hits from Jack Amaro, Nick Iarrobino, Chris Medhurst, Ryan O’Keefe and Mike Bogar — put the Wildcats ahead 9-3.

The Redhawks answered in the top of the third with 8 runs of their own. Avers, Ross Murphy, Conor Philbin, Brian Schiemann and Ian Lewandowski, who doubled three times in the game, each drove in runs as Naperville Central reclaimed an 11-9 lead.

The lead changed hands a few more times, and both sides batted around for a second time, until Naperville Central scored 5 runs in the fifth inning to take a 17-15 advantage on Schiemann’s 3-run double.

That’s when the Wildcats took the lead for good with their 3 runs in the bottom of the inning. An error — one of 13 on the day for both teams — opened the door for a game-tying RBI double by Nick Oleskowicz and a go-ahead RBI single by Amaro.

“The lead kept switching and we didn’t quit,” said Amaro, who went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI. “When we got down, we just kept picking each other up.”

Sixteen players accounted for 28 hits and 18 players crossed the plate, including many who scored because of the 14 players who drove in runs.

“You come back tomorrow and hopefully be better,” said Redhawks coach Bill Seiple. “That’s all you can do.”