Redhawks win battle of champs

Naperville Central baseball coach Bill Seiple and his staff know just what Neuqua Valley coach Robin Renner is experiencing so far this year.

After taking home the trophy as state champions in 2006, the Redhawks suffered from a letdown in the beginning of 2007 and struggled all year to regain their successful form.

After winning the state championship in 2007, Renner already understands the difficulties of repeating as champions. Saturday afternoon the previous two Class AA champions squared off in Naperville, with Naperville Central earning a tight 5-4 home victory.

The Redhawks (2-2) turned a 1-0 deficit into a 5-1 lead in the bottom of the third, taking advantage of a pair of doubles and some lackluster Neuqua Valley defense. Sophomore Marc Mantucca's double off the left-field wall provided Naperville Central with some much needed insurance, as the Wildcats made things interesting in the game's late stages.

"I was looking for a first-pitch fastball, because he threw me three straight in the first at-bat," Mantucca said. "He was starting a lot of kids off with curveballs too, but for my approach I was looking for that first-pitch fastball."

Mantucca performed equally adeptly on the mound, throwing 4½ innings and allowing 3 earned runs.

"I was kind of nervous in the beginning when I gave up the first run," Mantucca said. "Once I started to settle down I started making better pitches. I think that's the main thing for me."

Neuqua Valley (1-1) scored once in the top of the seventh on Ken Vrtis' single and had the tying run in scoring position before junior Pat Kaminska shut the door with back-to-back strikeouts.

"When you go in there, you just need to throw strikes," Kaminska said. "I just tried to mix all three pitches in there (for the outs) that we had to come up with in the end."

Seiple chose to focus more on the value of the experience his young players gained rather than beating a cross-town rival.

"We're a very young team, and we've got to play," he said. "We got young pups that are learning to play the game … and this game is real fast for some of these guys.

"Good players slow the game down, and the better situations we can get ourselves into, the better it's going to be for them."

While Renner felt encouraged by junior Mike McKinley's outing, the rest of the game left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"We were outplayed offensively, defensively, in every facet of the game, and it clearly showed," Renner said. "Our guys think they can just show up and it happens."