|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Sports
Panthers lose grip on Redhawks : Sports : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisPanthers lose grip on Redhawks
| by Laura M. Medina
| 5/31/2012
|
For four and a half frames, No. 12 Oswego's matchup against fifth-seeded Naperville Central in the opening round of the IHSA Class 4A Downers Grove South Regional was a pitcher's duel.
A rough fifth inning, however, turned the tide for both sides, and when all was said and done, it was the Panthers falling 9-4 to the Redhawks last Thursday afternoon.
With the win, Naperville Central advanced to the championship game, defeating the host Mustangs 5-1 on Saturday - one year after Downers Grove South eliminated them from the playoffs. The Redhawks were set to face Plainfield North on Wednesday in the first game of the Romeoville Sectional, but results were unknown at press time.
Naperville Central right-hander Ian Lewandowski took the hill for the home side, while sophomore left-hander Jerome Minick headed to the mound for Oswego, and both pitchers were at their very best to start last week's contest.
Lewandowski scattered just four hits through the first 4 1/2 innings, allowing only recently-graduated shortstop Tim Wodzisz's triple in the second to bring a run home for the Panthers (15-19-1).
"We knew we weren't going to out-slug them, because we really haven't out-slugged anybody all year, but the strategy was to stay close and win a 4-3 game," Panthers head coach Chris Neitzel said. "Unfortunately, it got a little bit out of hand there."
Meanwhile, Minick conceded a run - on center fielder Blake Butler's single to right - and five hits through four frames, but eventually ran into trouble when he returned to face the Redhawks (25-12) in the bottom of the fifth.
With two outs and a runner on, Minick walked the next four batters he faced, bringing around two in the process to make it 3-1. He surrendered six hits, six walks and fanned four in 4 2/3 innings in his last outing of the 2012 slate.
"Jerome came up before (junior) Alex Milne was hurt, he pitched a little in relief for us, and then, we put him in the rotation," Neitzel said.
"He's really been one of our best pitchers for the second half of the year, so this is a great experience for him as a starter. He wants to play in games like this, and I know he's down on himself, but he did a good job of keeping us in the game, which is all we can ask for."
Recent graduate and right-hander Parker Meek came on in relief after that, but designated hitter Cody Campbell's shot to center field was dropped, clearing the bases and opening the game up.
Campbell then came around to score on a passed ball at home, making it a 7-1 Naperville Central lead after the home side sent 10 batters to the plate. Only one hit - a single to right by second baseman Jeff Lucas - was recorded in that span.
"It's almost like for (four) innings, our strategy worked perfectly," Neitzel said. "We had a good scouting report on them, we knew they struggled with left-handers and we thought Jerome played into that pretty well ... and then, one bad inning, a couple walks and things don't go your way, and the game gets out of hand a little bit."
After keeping the Panthers off the board in the top of the sixth, the Redhawks returned to the plate in their half of the inning, tacking on two more runs to make it 9-1.
But Oswego didn't go down quietly in the top of the seventh. With a runner on and two outs, the team recorded three consecutive hits, with junior left fielder Brandon O'Dea's single scoring one run and junior first baseman Chad Burdo's double bringing two around to cut the deficit to 9-4.
"We battled back there nicely...but the score really wasn't indicative of how close it was - it's 1-1 in the fifth and then (7-1) just like that," Neitzel said. "But at the same time, we try to teach our kids that in baseball, you've gotta remember that every little detail can turn a game like that.
"What I liked to see was that our junior guys got some of those hits, and really, four runs for us is an outpouring, so we'll take it."
Soon after, however, the inning ended with a strikeout, effectively ending the Panthers' rally and sending the Redhawks ahead in their postseason run.
Lewandowski surrendered seven hits and two walks, hit a batter and fanned a season high-tying 11 in his fifth complete game of the year, and while he turned in an impressive performance, he was just one of many solid pitchers the young Panther hitters faced throughout 2012.
"Yes, it's Naperville Central, but the (Southwest Prairie) Conference is so good," Neitzel said. "I was asked if I thought it was tough to face a kid like Lewandowski, and I said 'no,' because if you throw (recent graduate and Auburn-bound) Matt Schultz from Oswego East out there, we'll see the same thing from him or (Joe) Cresta from Plainfield North.
"It's just a matter of cleaning things up a little bit, and we need to hit the ball better for sure, because we you come in with a team batting average of .228 or whatever it is, that's going to be tough to win baseball games."
Though Neitzel will be without the offensive - and defensive - services of five recently-graduated players next season, what he can rely on is that his incoming junior and senior players have already racked up extensive varsity experience, and that can only benefit them in 2013.
"Parker played varsity for four years, (outfielder) Nick Gerber played for three, (infielders) Tim Wodzisz and Brandon Lentz played a lot the last two years, and (pitcher) Hector Barocio did a nice job for us," Neitzel said. "It's a bittersweet thing when the seniors are done. You know that they're about ready to be done, and they want to be out of school. At the same time, you hate to see them go.
"But then, we played a lot of underclassmen this year. All of these juniors got at-bats, and hopefully, it pays off this summer. There were some highs this season, but that's going to be our goal this summer - to hit the ball a little better, to get a little bit better offensively."
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
