Nothing will come easy in baseball playoffs
Neuqua Valley's baseball team won't be making a state title defense.
It'll be more like a self defense.
In the first year of the four-class playoff system, next week the Wildcats will begin their quest for a second straight title. A quick glance of the Class 4A bracket shows the challenge looms far tougher than last season.
"I'm sure some people are looking at us like we're the favorite," said Wildcats coach Robin Renner. "But we're going to have our hands full."
Join the club.
The Class 4A Neuqua Valley sectional is loaded with some of the premier teams in the state. The top-seeded Wildcats are followed by No. 2 Downers Grove South, No. 3 Lockport and No. 4 Lincoln-Way East.
If Lockport and Lincoln-Way East seem odd partners for the DuPage County schools, it's because they are.
Like in basketball the four-class system has created a Chicagoland logjam in Class 4A. The dense concentration of schools forced the Neuqua Valley sectional to bulge with 23 teams.
Unfortunately for the local teams, it means the addition of many more quality programs.
"The only good part is we don't have to beat all of them," said Neuqua Valley coach Robin Renner. "But we still have to beat a few of them."
The Neuqua Valley sectional's Naperville North regional features a hornet's nest of rivals. While the host Huskies and Naperville Central meet in one semifinal game, Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley could meet in the other.
The Wildcats, though, are primed for another deep run. In addition to a stacked pitching staff with hard-throwing lefty Ian Krol, Mike McKinley, Geoff Rowan and Jason David, the team also set a program record for home runs in a season with 34.
And, at 25-5 after Tuesday's win over Bartlett, the Wildcats boast their best-ever regular-season winning percentage. Krol threw his second no-hitter of the season on Tuesday and has an additional perfect game.
In spite of all that, nothing will be easy.
Seventh-seeded Benet features one of the state's best pitchers in Illinois-bound Bryan Roberts, who has 107 strikeouts versus 12 walks. Naperville Central and Naperville North, the eighth and 10th seeds, respectively, both entered the week with hopes of winning the DuPage Valley Conference title.
The depth of the sectional is evident everywhere. Hinsdale South, the 11th seed, advanced to the final eight of the summer state tournament.
In another corner of the 4A bracket, Wheaton North is the second seed in the Larkin sectional behind No. 1 Schaumburg. The Falcons, despite key injuries and tough recent losses, still have the stuff to claim the program's first sectional title.
Junior Jack DeAno's 5-1 on the mound and is batting .479. Matt Palackdharry and Ryan Javech, both overcoming injuries, have combined for 49 RBI.
"When you play 30-plus games you'll go through some ups and downs," said Falcons coach Dan Schoessling. "And we've certainly gone through both."
The Falcons face a difficult initial hurdle in a regional, which they host, that includes DVC rivals Glenbard East and West Chicago in addition to Willowbrook and St. Charles East. Wheaton North's posted a 3-4 record against those teams.
"We obviously can't look too far ahead," Schoessling said.
Similar to the Neuqua Valley sectional, Larkin's field has tremendous depth. Among the DuPage County sleepers are No. 6 Lake Park and 10th-seeded York.
The Class 3A tournament will be represented by five DuPage County teams playing in the Nazareth sectional -- third-seeded Glenbard South, No. 5 Montini, No. 7 St. Francis, No. 9 Wheaton Academy and No. 11 Fenton. Top-seeded Nazareth, Guerin and Riverside-Brookfield are the other top four seeds.
A key regional to watch is at Glenbard South, where the host Raiders are on a path to face the winner between Montini and Fenton in the final.
Glenbard South's offense is powered by third-year catcher Joe Biagini, who is batting .477 with 8 homers and 44 RBI. Montini leans on second baseman-pitcher Andrew Brauer. He's batting .400 with 7 homers and 36 RBI and on the mound has a 1.74 ERA in 48 innings.
"It's going to be different with four classes, but there are still a lot of good teams in 3A," said Raiders coach Mike Riley. "We see it as an opportunity for us."