Baseball: Glenbard West knocks out St. Charles East
Multi-tasking took on an added meaning for Glenbard West's baseball team Thursday afternoon.
With the start of their Class 4A regional semifinal game against St. Charles East bumped up 90 minutes to accommodate graduation ceremonies, the Hilltoppers (18-11) made certain the ride back to Glen Ellyn would be a little more enjoyable.
Matt Shellady went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI while starting pitcher Joey Ciero tossed 6 strong innings of 6-hit ball during the Hilltoppers' 6-3 victory over the host Saints (16-14-1) in St. Charles.
"The bus ride to graduation will be much better with the win today," said senior Shellady, who followed teammate Gavin Hepner's RBI single with a run-producing hit of his own during Glenbard West's 2-run second inning.
The Hilltoppers added a third-inning run in the third on Connor Brady's RBI single before Shellady drove in his second run of the game as part of their 2-run fourth that extended the margin to 5-0.
Brady and Peter Schilling each added a pair of hits for Glenbard West.
St. Charles East mounted a comeback in the bottom half of the fourth, closing the deficit to 5-3 on a bases-loaded hit batsman and Ben Testo's 2-run single that hugged the right-field line.
However, Ciero (4-2) escaped without any further damage and only allowed 2 additional baserunners the next 2 innings before giving way to Brett Potter, who worked a 1-2-3 seventh for the save.
Ciero, a senior, walked 1, hit a pair of batters and fanned 3 during a solid 95-pitch performance.
"When I started out, my off-speed (pitch) was working really well," said Ciero. "I was keeping them off-balance and getting outs. Then I was able to use the fastball to my advantage, especially when I was ahead in the count."
Wearing his customary face mask after suffering a broken jaw on a line drive to the face as a 9-year-old, Ciero battled his way through the Saints' lineup.
"It wasn't exactly what I hoped it would be with the one inning where I gave up the three runs but other than that, it was still a great day," he said. "We won and we're heading to the regional championship (game)."
Hilltoppers coach Andy Schultz had plenty of confidence that Ciero would get the job done.
"I'd give the ball to Joey every day of the week if I could," said Schultz. "I trust that kid to go out and give us a good outing every time. He's so prepared and thoughtful and intentional about every pitch he throws."
While Glenbard West played errorless ball, the 5th-seeded Saints struggled in all phases - being outhit 10-6, committing 3 errors, issuing 8 walks and a few baserunning gaffes.
"We got outplayed by them in all phases," said Saints coach Len Asquini. "They pitched better, they hit better, they ran the bases better and they played better defense. They got it done and we didn't.
"That has been the second part of our season."
After a blistering 13-3-1 start, the Saints went 3-11 in their final 14 games.
The 12th-seeded Hilltoppers advance to Saturday's regional finals against 13th-seeded Glenbard North.
"I went to Glenbard North and played for Rich (Panthers coach Smelko) so that's going to be fun," said Schultz.