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Willowbrook wallops Addison Trail

Willowbrook’s baseball team enjoyed its best day of the season on Saturday.

It showed clear as could be on the scoreboard.

The Warriors dominated Addison Trail in Villa Park, winning 18-0 and 11-2 in their West Suburban Gold Conference doubleheader in Villa Park.

The gloves, arms — and definitely the bats — all seemed in sync as Willowbrook (5-6, 3-5) struck early in both games and cruised late thanks to solid pitching performances by David Cericola, who fired a 2-hitter with 7 strikeouts in the 5-inning opener, and Kevin Johnson, who allowed 2 runs in 6 innings of Game 2.

The Warriors pounded out 28 hits on the day. Every starter and two pinch hitters had hits in Game 1.

“We’re finally getting out of our slump,” said Warriors shortstop Brian Johnson, who had 4 hits and 8 RBI in the two games. “We haven’t been hitting well as a team lately and I think today definitely will be a turnaround day for us.”

Willowbrook batted around twice in the opener including the 6-run first inning. Leading 10-0 after two innings, the Warriors added an 8-run top of the fifth.

Cericola, meanwhile, rolled through the 5-inning outing while allowing four baserunners in front of an errorless defense. Addison Trail committed 7 errors in the opener.

“We got good pitching, guys felt pretty confident,” said Willowbrook coach Vic Wisner. “We had a way better approach at the plate. We got walks, our strikeouts were down. I think getting that good pitching helped us all around.”

Game 2 started in a similar way as Willowbrook burst to a 3-0 lead in the second inning. The Warriors nearly ended the game early after a 5-run top of the sixth made it 11-0, but Addison Trail (4-6, 3-2) kept it going by scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Mike Cacioppo and a run-scoring double by Joe Amato.

Everyone contributed offensively for Willowbrook, which looks to sweep the three-game series Monday in Villa Park. Mike Rothmund had 5 hits while Cal Moltzan had 4 hits.

“You’ve got some young guys in spots who get it in practice, but when they come out here in games they kind of forget,” said Blazers coach Steve Gilliam. “You just sort of work through it. As long as they try and their effort is there, that’s all you can ask for as a coach.”

Follow Kevin on Twitter @kevin_schmit

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  Brad Schonder of Addison Trail just misses the tag on Gabe Gage of Willowbrook at third base on Saturday in Addison. Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com
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