Waubonsie takes ‘crazy’ victory

There’s only one surefire comment to lean on after a baseball game like Thursday’s between Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley.

“Crazy things happen,” said Warriors senior catcher Eric Josupait.

Indeed they did, although Waubonsie Valley reined in the crazy just enough to pull out a 13-11 Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division win over the Wildcats in Naperville.

After leading 7-2, Waubonsie Valley (14-11, 13-7) fell behind 11-7 by the end of the fourth inning. The Warriors tied it in the top of the sixth and tallied what turned out to be the game-winning runs on Josupait’s 2-run homer in the seventh.

On the heels of watching Neuqua Valley (17-6-1, 9-7-1) score in each of the first four innings, Warriors reliever Matt Risch (3-0) closed out 3 innings of scoreless and hitless relief by stranding the tying run at first base in the bottom of the seventh.

“It was a tough day to pitch,” said Risch, referring to the warm breeze blowing out. “I was just focusing on making pitches and getting outs. I didn’t really focus on all the home runs being hit.”

There were plenty, and the 7 combined homers provided the bulk of the scoring.

Warriors starting pitcher Mike Murphy homered in the first inning, and Kyle Limanowski tied the game at 11-11 with his 3-run blast in the sixth.

Two of Neuqua Valley’s home runs came in the third inning when the Wildcats tied it at 7-7. Tanner Giesel started the rally with a 2-run shot, and then Jeff Samuel launched a 3-run homer — his second of the game — to tie it.

Ryan O’Keefe’s 3-run homer in the fourth inning boosted Neuqua Valley’s lead to 11-7, but the Warriors soon rallied. Lost in the home run shuffle was a 4-for-4 day from Mitch Stefani and 2 hits and 2 RBI by Chris Anderson.

“It was a hitter’s day out here,” Josupait said. “Wind blowing out. Hot, thin air. Both teams hit the ball real hard, and we just kept battling.”

With the tough defeat, Neuqua Valley falls a game behind UEC Valley leader South Elgin (11-6-1) in the loss column. The Wildcats look to bounce back in Saturday’s doubleheader at Waubonsie Valley.

“We hit enough, we defended well enough,” said Neuqua Valley coach Robin Renner. “We just didn’t pitch well enough.”