Perez, Elder lead Westminster Christian repeat bid
Returning flamethrowers Ryan Perez and Kevin Elder of Westminster Christian are high school baseball’s version of Two and a Half Men.
Perez, a rarity, equally effective throwing left-handed and right-handed, and Elder — a right-hander who delivers from multiple arm angles and possesses a bulldog mentality on the hill — give the Warriors the three strong arms every team needs to excel in state tournament baseball.
The two combined to split each postseason pitching assignment last season, and the formula resulted in a Class 1A state championship. Warriors coach Jeff Moeller says the plan remains the same this week as Westminster Christian begins to navigate its way through the choppier seas of the Class 2A tournament, a noticeable uptick in competition level from the small-school field they sailed through a year ago.
“A lot of the teams we’ll face in 2A are a little better rounded and have better pitching,” Westminster Christian coach Jeff Moeller said. “It’s more of a challenge for sure because there are more teams who can knock you off an any given day than there were in 1A.”
“Ryan and Kevin give us such a good 1-2 punch. Hitters will face one of them twice at most usually, then we switch it up and give them a whole different look. We like that and the guys are used to doing that. It’s like having three aces. They’re equal but so different and so effective.”
Few lineups can handle either Perez or Elder, regardless of their classification. Perez is 8-1 with an ERA of 1.57. In 58 innings he has an area-best 119 strikeouts against 22 walks. He has allowed just 13 runs on 13 hits with a WHIP of .60.
“I think the teams we’ll see are a little stronger than last year, but I’m confident we can compete if we do our thing,” Perez said of competing in Class 2A.
Elder (7-2) is equally lethal. The right-hander has 110 strikeouts and only 24 walks in 57 innings. He has allowed just 16 earned runs on 31 hits for an ERA of 1.94.
The Warriors (23-7-1) open the playoffs Wednesday as the No. 1 seed in their own Class 2A regional. The Northeast Conference champions will play the winner of Monday’s play-in game between Chicago Rickover Naval Academy and Ida Crown. If they advance as expected to Saturday’s 10 a.m. regional title game, they will face the winner of Thursday’s semifinal between No. 2 Northridge Prep and No. 3 St. Edward (5-22).
Westminster Christian defeated St. Edward 5-1 on April 29, a game in which the Green Wave did manage to score an earned run against Perez.
“We have to get past Wednesday first, but St. Ed’s is a scary team,” Moeller said. “They play in a good conference against good competition. We’re excited.”
St. Edward coach Gene Belmonte plans to step down once the season concludes. A head coach for the last six seasons, he completes a 16-year affiliation with the St. Edward baseball program overall. Belmonte will retire from his job as a code enforcement officer for the city of Elgin next March and intends to remain involved in local baseball in some manner.
“I’d like to stay involved with the game on a different basis, maybe scouting and recruiting on the college level or even working as an assistant somewhere, a larger school perhaps,” Belmonte said Monday. “It’s hard to believe it’s coming to an end. It probably won’t sink in until it’s over with because you’re busy doing the things you have to do to prepare.”
Belmonte’s final season has been spent shepherding a rebuilding program with two sophomores and a freshman in the everyday lineup.
“Hope springs eternal in the tournament,” Belmonte said. “We’re all starting at 0-0. The kids look forward to it every year. I think we have a good shot on Thursday. If we win, we get to see Westminster. We actually played a good game with them during the year. We got a pretty good look at them.”
Elgin, Larkin to renew rivalry: The annual city series between Elgin and Larkin begins today at Larkin at 4:30 p.m. The 3-game set switches to Trout Park for night games on Wednesday and Thursday at 7 p.m.
Though neither Elgin (2-25-1, 2-19-1) nor Larkin (9-20, 3-18) has been a factor in the Upstate Eight River race this spring, each team hopes to use the rivalry series as a springboard to better success in the regional playoffs, which begin next week. Larkin aims to halt a 10-game slide. Elgin has lost 20 straight ballgames.
“It’s a good rivalry series in every sport, everyone knows that,” Larkin coach Matt Esterino said. “I told the kids it’ll be a playoff-like atmosphere with the rivalry. At the end of the season, we hope that will be beneficial to us as we roll into the regional.”
Offensively, the Royals are led by senior center fielder Trevor Whitehead (.386 avg., 7 doubles, 3 triples), senior first baseman Victor Saldana (.367, 21 RBI) and senior pitcher/infielder Miguel Villafane (.357, 6 doubles, 3 home runs, 24 RBI).
Villafane (3-4) is Larkin’s top pitcher. He has 27 strikeouts in 38 innings pitched with an ERA of 4.39.
Elgin’s strength is the top of its batting order. Senior Shaquielle Hayes ascended to the leadoff spot midway through the season and has solidified the position, according to coach David Foerster.
The Maroon’s top three bats follow Hayes in the order. Senior Javier Cardenas is hitting .400 (36-for-90) with 2 doubles 3 home runs and 18 RBI. Senior Lee Jackson is hitting .392 (35-for-89) with 9 doubles a triple and 12 RBI.
“Javier and Lee have stayed hot all year,” Elgin coach David Foerster said. “They are definitely keys to our success when they get on base.”
Senior Jake Meyer (.293) has also contributed 8 doubles and 2 home runs.
Elgin’s weakness has been pitching. The Maroons enter the series with a team ERA of 8.98.