Naperville Central, Ludwig makes sure there's only one comeback
Dan Ludwig headed back to the mound for the top of the seventh inning determined to mow down Lockport just as quickly as he had the previous six innings.
Naperville Central had overcome enough already. He didn't want to give the Porters a chance to think comeback.
"I was thinking, basically 1-run game," Ludwig said of his 3-run lead. "I can't let them get anything back. If I sit back and enjoy my cushion then they have a better chance of creeping back on us. I just wanted to close it out right then and there."
Ludwig finished with 13 strikeouts and Naperville Central earned a 6-3 victory in Saturday morning's Class 4A Lockport regional championship game. The Redhawks advance to meet archrival Naperville on Wednesday in the Plainfield South sectional semifinals.
Junior Conor Philbin got the Redhawks (33-4) started off right, smacking an opposite-field home run to left leading off the first inning.
Lockport (24-13) came back with 3 runs in the second inning. With one out and a runner on first base, Porters first baseman Kyle Billig hit a grounder that appeared destined to be a 6-4-3 double play. Instead the third hop was a bad hop, jumping over shortstop Nick Ryan and into center field.
"I thought we had a double-play ball that bounced over Nick's head," Redhawks coach Bill Seiple said. "That would have gotten us out of the inning. Then Nick tried to make a play on a ball that went off of Luddy, and they ended up getting a couple of runs on it."
Another hit loaded the bases, and after a sacrifice fly scored a run, John Kosmowski lined a single off Ludwig's glove that drove in two more when an off-balance throw to first base went wild. Lockport led 3-1.
No worries, the Redhawks said.
"When we get behind we don't get nervous, we don't get anxious," Philbin said. "We just go out there and compete and try to get ahead and just come back and win."
The Redhawks tied the game in the fourth inning, then won it in the bottom of the sixth.
With one out Matt Cmiel singled to right and stole second base. With cleanup hitter Marc Mantucca up, Cmiel took off again for third. As the third baseman moved to the base, Mantucca singled through the hole he created, almost hitting Cmiel. It was Cmiel's decision to go, Seiple said.
"That was a really good time to steal," Ludwig added. "We really work on being aggressive on the bases, making the defense have to think twice, get out of their rhythm. It really helps at times like that. I mean, if Cmiel doesn't steal, that guy probably fields the ball and we're back at 3-3."
Cmiel scored on Mantucca's single, and after Nick Linne reached base when strike three went to the backstop, catcher Ryan Walsh gave Ludwig his cushion when he one-hopped the fence in center field for a double.
"I knew all I could do was just keep throwing strikes, give the offense the best chance to come back, keep the ball in play, let the defense pick me up because I know they can all the time, and just control what I can control," Ludwig said.
"These guys are used to winning," Seiple said. "We've been winning. Say what you want to. Everybody's kind of taking potshots at us. Maybe we're not as good as everyone says, but we've got 33 wins. These guys know how to win. And you know what? There was no hanging your head, or feeling sorry for themselves. It was OK, 3-1, let's get 4 and we'll beat these guys."