Baseball: Neuqua Valley goes from in trouble to causing trouble

Three batters into the game, a near disaster turned into a blessing in disguise for Neuqua Valley's baseball team.

With heavy emphasis on "near", the Wildcats and sophomore starting pitcher James Kulak emerged unscathed after Plainfield East loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the first inning. Kulak was clutch while starting a 1-2-3 double play and ending the threat with a strikeout.

"You could just see them swell up," said Wildcats coach Robin Renner. "They were just ready to attack in the batter's box."

That swell absolutely carried over at the plate as a 3-run bottom of the first inning and an 8-run second powered Neuqua Valley to Thursday's 11-0 five-inning victory over Plainfield East in the Class 4A Oswego sectional semifinals.

In search of the program's fifth sectional championship, the sixth-seeded Wildcats (24-13) advance to the final to face No. 1 Plainfield North. The game is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, but the start time might be changed depending on the weather.

"That Kulak double play, that was the turning point," said Wildcats outfielder James Gargano. "That was the biggest play of the game, in my opinion. We were just having fun after that."

Kevin Ringlein, Will Drake and Tyler Cristofaro all drove in runs in the first inning before a surprising second-inning explosion when Neuqua Valley scored all 8 runs with two outs.

Ten straight batters reached base, highlighted by RBI singles from Drake and Cristofaro, and 2-run singles from Jake Wenz and Gargano.

That was plenty of support for Kulak, who dodged five walks and 3 hits while striking out seven in 4 innings. Tenth-seeded Plainfield East (20-17) loaded the bases again in the fourth inning, but Kulak notched three of his strikeouts to get out of it.

Mason LeBreck pitched a scoreless fifth inning, sending the Bengals down in order to end the game early.

"Starting off like that isn't a good start," Kulak said of the first-inning jam. "After that I was feeling great."

Follow Kevin on Twitter @kevin_schmit