It’s regional final time for High School baseball as Waubonsie Valley comes as the underdog holding the 10 seed after knocking off Naperville Central, hoping to bring home a second straight regional plaque. The Warriors take on three-seeded West Aurora, who is coming off a come-from-behind semifinal win over Neuqua Valley. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
We’re scoreless in the second inning as Blackhawk pitcher Jake Niedzwiedz shows why they earned that top three seed with a punchout to retire the side.
West Aurora gets a spark in the third inning. Eliseo Liscano hits one through, and that results in ducks on the pond for the Hawks.
Nick Lambert for the Warriors puts a stop to that by getting a strikeout of his own, and this game remains scoreless after three innings.
Warriors bats come alive in the fourth
Josh Hung starts the fourth inning with a swing that puts the ball into shallow left field for a single. Hung scores later on a Ryan Lucas double to give Waubonsie a 1-0 lead.
The Waubonsie bats are just getting started as Nate Cerilli rips this ball way out to deep left field, which gets down for a hit. Danny McGuigan and Ryan Lucas sprint across home plate, and it’s 3-0 Warriors.
Up next is Seth Neilson, who pokes one, this time into right field, and here comes Cerilli himself for another run for the Warriors.
We go to Shane Torres, who puts some firepower on the swing. The ball goes far enough to give Hiroshy Wong the ok to score, and it’s a 7-0 lead for the Warriors, still in the fourth.
Yes, we’re still in the fourth, and yes, the Warriors are still hitting. Ryan Lucas batting for a second time tallies one of two RBIs in this inning. The green and gold explode for 11 runs in the fourth inning alone.
Strong hitting helps Waubonsie to IHSA baseball regional title
The rest of the bench comes in for the fifth inning, and players like Chris Leigh want to hop in on the hit parade.
Two on, and Ryan Quinn brings them in with one of fifteen team hits in the ballgame. This performance helps Waubonsie Valley take home another baseball regional title with a 15-0 win over West Aurora. Nick Lambert tosses a five-inning shutout on the mound. Up next is the two seed Lockport in the semifinals on Wednesday night under the lights.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
