Dean does the little things for Neuqua Valley

Jeff Dean already had taken two for the team.

Luckily for Neuqua Valley's senior third baseman, a third hit by pitch wasn't necessary.

Instead, Dean drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh inning on Saturday to give the Wildcats a 6-5 nonconference baseball win over visiting Naperville North.

Despite putting only one ball in play in four trips to the plate, it was still an eventful day for Dean. He reached base twice after being hit by pitches, scoring the second time on Mike Bogar's game-tying double in the sixth inning.

With two outs and a full count on him in the seventh, the decisive pitch went high to drive in Mike Gerber with the winning run.

"I didn't really swing the bat at all today," Dean said with a laugh. "I was looking fastball the whole time, and when I got a full count he threw it up high. I wanted to get a hit, but it's great to get this win. It's always good to beat North."

Naperville North (10-2), which had its nine-game winning streak snapped, watched two leads disappear while Neuqua Valley (7-4) also lost a 1-run advantage.

Beyond the rallies several potential runs were also left on base. Naperville North stranded seven runners, including five in scoring position. The Wildcats stranded six, including the bases loaded in a scoreless fifth.

Neuqua Valley did, however, manage to take advantage of its final scoring chance in the seventh.

"We expected a game very similar to this," said Naperville North coach Carl Hunckler. "Our pitchers were forced to pitch under great pressure. That's just the way it goes, and you learn from that."

Naperville North jumped to a 3-0 second-inning lead on three straight RBI singles by Dan Grimley, Alex Khoury and Charlie White. The Wildcats answered with a 4-run third on 2-run homers by Jordan Williamson and Joe Ippolito.

White's run-scoring triple tied it at 4-4 in the fourth inning before the Huskies claimed a 5-4 lead in the sixth on his sacrifice fly.

Kevin Clendening (4-0) pitched a scoreless top of the seventh to win in relief of Drew Sutton, who scattered 10 hits, struck out three and walked none in 6 innings.

"Anytime you beat a team like Naperville North or Naperville Central with the quality kids they have and the quality coaches they have, it's always a battle," said Wildcats coach Robin Renner. "It's always a big win."

BOX SCORE

Neuqua Valley 6, Naperville North 5

Naperville North 030 101 0 -5-11-1

Neuqua Valley 004 001 1 -6-8-3

2B: NV: Bogar.

3B: NN: White.

HR: NV: Williamson, Ippolito.

WP: Clendening (4-0); LP: Klosek (1-2).