Baseball: Neuqua Valley keeps rolling, ousts Plainfield North
This was vintage Neuqua Valley baseball.
The kind where every phase contributes. The kind that perennially sends a program deeper in the playoffs.
The Wildcats were brilliant in Wednesday's 3-0 victory over defending state champion Plainfield North in the Class 4A Oswego sectional semifinals, a game played in Carol Stream due to unplayable field conditions in Oswego.
Top-seeded Neuqua Valley (26-7) advances to Saturday's sectional final for a fourth straight season to face No. 6 Plainfield Central, a 6-3 winner over Plainfield South. The Wildcats have split with No. 4 Plainfield North (18-13) after four straight sectional matchups.
"They knocked us out of the playoffs last year so it feels really good to come back and play a great game this time," said Wildcats junior Nolan Clifford, who notched the save and drove in 2 runs. "I think we can keep it rolling because this was a big win for us. The whole team is playing phenomenal right now."
Neuqua Valley starter Anthony Sterchele didn't allow a ball hit out of the infield in 5-plus innings, giving up an infield single and 2 walks while striking out two. Coaxing 11 groundball outs, the senior right-hander needed only 58 pitches before handing the ball to Clifford with a runner on first and nobody out in the top of the sixth.
Clifford won a 12-pitch battle against Garret Cook with a double play, then ended the sixth with a strikeout. Clifford allowed a leadoff single in the top of the seventh but retired the next three batters to cap a combined 2-hitter.
"I think it benefitted us that Plainfield North was so aggressive at the plate," said Wildcats coach James Thornton. "We got to make plays behind our pitchers. That's what we want."
Clifford singled in a run in the bottom of the third inning off Plainfield North starter Dylan Szajkovics. In the fifth inning Ethan Schreier drove in a run on an error and Clifford followed with a sacrifice fly.
"We'll just feed off this win and keep going along," Sterchele said. "We have a lot of momentum right now."
Twitter: @kevin_schmit