West Aurora makes the most of fresh start
Like the groomed and prepared baseball field at Waubonsie Valley that was ready for Monday’s regional quarterfinal game, the postseason is also a clean surface where regular-season accomplishments and mistakes have been wiped away.
West Aurora (12-24) came in with the 18th seed in the 19-team Class 4A Romeoville Sectional, but proved again that sometimes seeds are just a way to set up a tournament and not a true mark of what a team is capable of doing.
The Blackhawks scored two runs in the top of the first and fought off a Waubonsie rally to prevail over the 13th-seeded Warriors 5-4. West Aurora advances to Wednesday’s 4:30 p.m. semifinal contest at Waubonsie against second-seeded Hinsdale South.
“This means the world. Baseball is my life and we haven’t moved past the first round the last few years and to be able to do that just feels great,” said winning pitcher Ottavio Dattolo. He went the distance, allowing 7 hits and striking out nine with a good two-seam fastball and forkball.
“Personally, I took it as a whole new approach. Our season wasn’t that great, but everybody did great today,” Dattolo said.
Coach John Reeves said the Blackhawks took their lumps during the regular season in the DuPage Valley Conference, but it was good experience and made the team better than its seed indicated.
“We have a tough 21-game DVC schedule during the season,” Reeves said. “We battled through the season going through different series. We could have cashed in and hung it up a long time ago, but they kept playing.”
Crucial to West Aurora and what Waubonsie (15-19) couldn’t overcome was the Blackhawks attacking from the beginning with 2 runs in the top of the first.
With one out, Adam Lipscomb singled to left. A fielding error moved him to third and put catcher Josh Livingston on base. Carlos Jaime came on as a courtesy runner. Bobby Drager then connected on a single to center to score Lipscomb and Jaime.
“Everything is momentum, and when teams go up early they get confidence,” said Waubonsie coach Dan Fezzuoglio. “Their kid pitched well and kept us off balance. They made some nice plays when they had to. West Aurora is always dangerous.”
Waubonsie got on the scoreboard in the fourth. Leadoff hitter Sean Grannan, who finished the day 3-for-4, got his first hit, a double to right. Starting pitcher Mitch Stefani moved him over on a sacrifice bunt and sophomore Tyler Hasper deposited a single to short right field that was perfectly placed out of reach of nearby gloves and that scored Grannan.
Stefani pitched 5 innings in his final appearance for Waubonsie. He struck out six.
West Aurora increased its lead to 5-2 with a 3-run sixth. An RBI double from designated hitter Quintez Jones and run-scoring singles from Jonathon Acton and Eric Bauer powered the frame.
Waubonsie wasn’t done yet, however.
In their half of the sixth, Grannan connected on his second double of the afternoon. A passed ball moved him to third and he scored on Stefani’s groundball out. With two outs, James Palasz singled to left and Troy Fumagalli walked. Both moved up a base on a passed ball. Then a fielding error put Tyler Josupait on base and brought Chris Dickens, running for Palasz, and Fumagalli home to make it 5-4.
Grannan singled in the seventh, but Dattolo and the Blackhawks were able to close the door.
“All year they never quit,” said Fezzuoglio of his team. “That’s an element of the senior group I’m going to miss. They battled all year.”