Lipp, Huntley win regional opener

Huntley pitcher Craig Lipp wanted to play Wednesday's regional opener against DeKalb.

Lipp needed to continue to refocus as the thought of postponing Huntley's game against DeKalb in the opening round of the Class 4A Huntley regional loomed as weather conditions produced a constant mist throughout the day.

Unlike many other area teams, Lipp and the Red Raiders did take the field, with the benefit coming in a 5-1 victory against DeKalb (18-16). Huntley awaits the winner of today's matchup between Jacobs and Woodstock in Saturday's 11 a.m. championship game.

"This is a good jump for us for Saturday," Lipp said.

Lipp nearly gave DeKalb a good jump when leadoff batter Steven Karasewski opened the game with a deep triple to right-center field. Lipp (8-1) refocused himself again, struck out 5 of the next 6 DeKalb batters and did not allow another hit until the sixth inning.

"That first triple I left the ball over the plate," said Lipp, who finished the game allowing just 1 run on 4 hits with 8 strikeouts. "I left a fastball over the plate. After that, I tried to change it up. You could see (DeKalb's) players getting frustrated."

Lipp's efforts were backed by a solid defensive effort. Lipp picked Karasewski off second base in the second inning and then picked off catcher Pat Meisch in the third. Huntley (29-6-1) did not commit an error in the game, and produced a double play in the fifth.

"Craig threw well and our defense, we played a good ballgame," Red Raiders coach Andy Jakubowski said. "We wiggled out of two innings. We work on that a lot, getting ourselves out of a jam."

Huntley worked DeKalb into a jam in the fourth. Jordan Contreras got a two-out single, with leadoff hitter Nathan Sopena walking the bases loaded a batter later. Carlos Alvarez then drew a walk from DeKalb starter Ben Dallesasse (4-4), which scored Zach Liebman, who had reached on a fielder's choice.

The ball 4, however, was also a wild pitch and scored Contreras putting Huntley up 3-0. DeKalb put Mike Meier on the mound, who in turn threw a wild pitch on his second pitch to score Sopena.

Lipp helped his cause with an RBI double to score Alvarez and give Huntley a 5-0 advantage going into the fifth. Liebman put the Red Raiders on the board early when his RBI single scored Tanner Funke, who reached on an error, in the second.

"We hit the ball pretty well," Jakubowski said. "We're an aggressive team. We're always looking to take a base when we can."