Prairie Ridge 7, Neuqua Valley 1

The clash of the baseball titans went to Prairie Ridge.

Scoring 6 unearned runs with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Wolves advanced to the Class 4A state championship game with Friday's 7-1 semifinal victory over Neuqua Valley at Joliet's Silver Cross Field.

Prairie Ridge (31-8) -- bolstered by five Division I players -- will play Oak Park (29-9) at 7 p.m. Saturday with a chance to claim the program's first state title. The Huskies will vie for their third title.

"I'm just so proud of these seniors and this team," said Prairie Ridge coach Dave Haskins. "They deserve it. They earned it."

The loss by Neuqua Valley (32-7), last year's final Class AA state champion, denies them a chance to become the first team to repeat as baseball champions since Maine Township in 1958 and 1959. They'll play Wheaton North (24-14) at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Class 4A third-place game.

"Our guys have played unbelievably well for two years," said Wildcats coach Robin Renner. "We didn't play very well today, and unfortunately it was a pretty critical game."

In a highly anticipated matchup between 30-win teams, Prairie Ridge (31-8) and starting pitcher Michael Heesch (10-1) found themselves locked in a 1-1 tie with the Wildcats and starter Geoff Rowan (5-2).

The Wolves broke through for 6 unearned runs in the fifth inning, sparked by T.J. Swank's tie-breaking, bases-loaded walk after an intense 11-pitch at-bat. Three run-scoring hits followed to pad the lead.

Heesch, who pitched a 4-hitter, notched 5 of his 10 strikeouts in the final two innings and struck out the side to end the game.