Bill Seiple finally won his state title in his 25th season as head coach at Naperville Central. The 2006 team was built upon pitchers who would move on to bigger and better things, players like Colin Bates (North Carolina) and Kyle Kaminska (Florida Marlins system).
That staff allowed zero runs or one run in six of eight postseason games, never giving up more than three. Those pitchers didn't receive a ton of support. Here are the final scores from those playoff games: 6-3; 2-1; 1-0; 2-1; 7-2; 1-0; 9-0; 2-0.
The current Central team doesn't have the same makeup but it does have a strong offensive core. Sure, Hinsdale Central's errors helped lead to a 14-5 regional semifinal victory on Wednesday in Naperville. But in something of an identity shift, these Redhawks might not need lights-out pitching to advance. They didn't need to panic after trailing 4-1 early.
"We swing the bat a little bit," Seiple said. "We got some guys that can pull the trigger, and even against some very, very good pitching, which we've seen all spring. Our guys give us a chance."
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