Herdman homer is a winner for Neuqua Valley
Twenty-six pitches led to a bunch of frustration - and three strikeouts - for Noah Herdman.
The 27th pitch he saw was a completely different story.
Herdman redeemed himself in a major way with a 2-run walkoff homer in the bottom of the seventh inning that gave Neuqua Valley a 5-3 victory over visiting Naperville Central in Saturday's opening game of their key three-game DuPage Valley Conference baseball series.
The Wildcats (8-0, 3-0) trailed 3-2 heading to the bottom of the seventh, and Naperville Central reliever Tyler Brinker retired the first two batters he faced. James Gargano kept the game alive with a double and tied it by scoring on Ryan Wheeler's infield single.
With the winning run at second base, Herdman launched the ball over the left-field fence to end the game with a gusty wind at his back.
"I fouled a lot off my first three at-bats, but I kind of put that behind me in my last at-bat and just went out there with the intention of getting that run in and winning the game," Herdman said. "Whatever happened, if you hit a home run last time or you struck out, you've just got to forget about it. You've got a new at-bat, new pitch. You've got to be ready for it."
Texas Christian-bound lefty Ryan Eiermann, making his first start of the season, and Neuqua Valley lefty Justin Hicks dueled through six innings. Eiermann struck out 12, including the last five batters he faced, while Hicks struck out seven.
Neither starter allowed a walk. Same with Brinker and Wildcats reliever Mason LeBreck, who picked up the win with a scoreless seventh.
"I can't believe that high school baseball gets a whole lot better than this," said Wildcats coach Robin Renner. "It's one of the better games I've ever been a part of."
First-inning doubles by Gargano and Jack Rigoni gave Neuqua Valley a 1-0 lead, but Naperville Central (6-2, 2-1) took a 2-1 third-inning lead on RBI singles by Tommy Carlson and Eiermann.
Rigoni's RBI single in the bottom of the third tied the game at 2-2 before Jack Hughes gave the Redhawks a 3-2 lead with a fifth-inning sacrifice fly.
"I think the difference was we had a couple of opportunities early to add a couple more runs and we did not get that done," said Naperville Central coach Mike Stock. "But I'm proud of the way our kids battled. It was a great game to be a part of."
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