Waubonsie Valley baseball has been red-hot in DVC play this spring. Sitting at 9-0 in head-to-head matches, they travel to face Naperville North. The Huskies enter right behind Waubonsie in conference standings and look to right the ship after a close loss to Oswego last Thursday. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
The Warriors get on the board first
Top of the first with a runner already on third, Shane Torres hits a grounder to first and gets tagged out, but the third base runner, Parker Howland, makes it home just in time to put Waubonsie up early 1-0.
But the Huskies respond in the next half-inning. With a runner on second, Brady Marino hits a grounder that evades the third baseman. He gets to first for a single and allows runner Sam Steele to score, putting North on the board. We’re tied at one.
The Huskies take the lead before a weather delay
A few at-bats later, the Huskies strike again. Caden Vorwick catches Waubonsie off guard, and with an errant throw to third, he steals home, putting North up 2-1.
The runs keep coming with Jack Ruderman, who grounds out to first but gets another run on the fielder’s choice in the form of Brady Marino. Imminent weather delays the remainder of the game to Wednesday, and we pick it up two days later with the score 3-1 at the top of the second. The teams played game two of the three-game series on Tuesday at Waubonsie, with the Huskies handing the Warriors their first loss by a 7-1 score.
With game one resuming on Wednesday, the Huskies pick up right where they left off, getting the bats swinging again. Vorwick grounds it right to the shortstop, but beats the throw to first in time for a single, looking to score another run.
That would come in the form of Max Steele. He nails a line drive hit out to deep right field, and it is gone for a two-run home run as Naperville North extends its lead to 5-1 over Waubonsie.
On the mound, Steele would be the Huskies’ ace up their sleeve. In the top of the fourth, he gets Liam Edelman swinging and missing for a strikeout, then on the next at-bat, he does the same to Jacob Reyes, to retire the side with back-to-back Ks.
Waubonsie tries to respond in the fifth inning. Ryan Lucas hits a line drive to deep center field that goes to the back wall. He gets to second for a double to keep the hope alive for the Warriors.
Two at-bats later, Scott Gillen hits a soaring fly ball towards the same spot. This time, the catch is made for the out, but Lucas has more than enough time to jog home, cutting the deficit down to 5-2.
Max Steele takes over on the mound and at the plate
But Max Steele is as cold as Steel. In the next inning, he records three more strikeouts of Nate Cerilli, Jack Roberts, and Liam Edelman to keep it a 5-2 margin. It’s three of nine strikeouts on the day for Steele.
The Huskie offense looks to put the game out of reach away. Steele’s brother Sam helps with that. He hits a line drive to center and gets to first for a single, while first base runner Charlie Furbee advances to third and is in scoring position.
Caden Vorwick comes through with insurance, hitting a grounder to first and getting tagged out, but Furbee dashes home for another Huskie run to extend their advantage to 6-2.
Naperville North takes another win on the diamond
Max Steele is as effective at the plate as he is on the mound. This time, he hits a grounder that stays just in the baseline, and allows his brother to race home for an RBI double. The Huskies hand Waubonsie Valley its first DVC series loss of the season with a 7-2 triumph over the Warriors. Both teams play the series finale on Thursday. After that, North will play Glenbard East on Saturday, while Waubonsie has a nine-day break before facing Yorkville.
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