Naperville North took a 3-0 lead into what turned out to be a disastrous third inning. Naperville Central tied up Saturday's regional final on a bizarre double steal that completely changed the momentum.
With runners on first and third, Central's Matt Cmiel broke toward second and drew a throw from catcher David McWilliams. It was right on line but no one was there, and it skipped straight into center. Nick Linne scored easily from third and Cmiel raced all the way home as Mike Fattore lost his footing in the outfield.
That was a pivot point in a 19-6 Central win that no one could have seen coming.
"Based upon our last game with Central, (they) attempted with two outs to score a run," North coach Carl Hunckler said afterward. "So we had on a play (where) the second baseman comes in front and the shortstop goes directly to the base.
"If there is a cut call, then (the) second baseman cuts it. (Shortstop) Alex Khoury sort of got blinded. For whatever reason, he didn't pick up the ball. So the ball should have went right into second. We didn't think we were gonna be able to throw that kid out anyway (because) of his speed. ... Mike Fattore came in so hard and it was slippery out. He slipped and didn't get up right away.
"But, again, it was now 3-3, two outs, nobody on base. We got to give them some credit too."
No. 7 Naperville Central celebrated a regional championship on its home field Saturday after crushing Naperville North pitching in a 19-6 mercy-rule win.
The Huskies (25-8) came in seeded second in the Class 4A Lockport Sectional and jumped out to a 3-0 lead but they unraveled in an eight-run third inning. During that sequence Central (22-14) scored eight unearned runs with two outs.
The Redhawks added four runs in the fourth, and seven more in the sixth to back up sophomore pitcher Dan Ludwig (6-1), who threw a six-inning complete game.
Central's Bobby Czarnowski went 4 for 4 with two RBI and three runs scored. Matt Cmiel was 3 for 4 with two RBI and three runs scored for the Redhawks.
Senior pitcher/outfielder Pat Kaminska, junior outfielder Matt Cmiel and senior shortstop Anthony Lopez represented Naperville Central on the all-DuPage Valley Conference baseball team.
Naperville Central advanced to the final eight of last summer's state tournament, which drew about 170 teams. The Redhawks should again be a factor in that event and beyond, considering that their batting order for Wednesday's 14-5 regional semifinal victory over Hinsdale Central began with five juniors.
That group doesn't even include junior second baseman Matt Soria, junior catcher Ryan Walsh or sophomore pitcher Dan Ludwig (5-1, 2.20 ERA).
Seniors Anthony Lopez and Pat Kaminska won't be a part of that future and would like to extend their Central careers by a few more games. Lopez will play at Illinois Wesleyan next season, while Kaminska has decided to enroll at John A. Logan, a junior college in Carterville.
Eventually Kaminska -- who on Wednesday was hitting 82 mph on one radar gun -- would like to follow in the footsteps of his older brother Kyle, a pitching prospect in the Florida Marlins organization.
"If I have to go to college for a year," Kaminska said, "that's the way I'd want to do (it). Go to college, raise some status and eventually (play) some pro ball."
It looked like this regional semifinal was drifting away from Pat Kaminska. Hinsdale Central's Charlie Herr had blasted a three-run homer over the fence in center, and the Red Devils would go on to take a 4-1 lead in the third.
As Kaminska said, "I came out the first three innings, just working slow and being kind of sluggish, (taking) my time in between pitches, and (just) moping more about (things) I can't control."
Then Kaminska found his rhythm, retiring nine consecutive hitters. He settled down to throw a complete game in Wednesday's 14-5 victory, allowing one run across the final four innings and striking out the side in the seventh.
Kaminska (5-2, 3.17 ERA) finished with nine strikeouts, eight of which came against the final 16 batters he faced.
"I knew I didn't have my stuff today," Kaminska said. "Then I tried to play some fastball (from) the third (inning) on, just taking three warmups, getting it going and getting it running and (that) seemed to make everything come together."
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."
If the IHSA wanted a District 203 regional final, No. 7 Naperville Central did its part, advancing with Wednesday's 14-5 victory over No. 10 Hinsdale Central.
Now it shifts to No. 2 Naperville North (24-7), which will play No. 18 Lincoln-Way Central (16-15-1) Thursday afternoon at Naperville Central.
No matter the opponent on Saturday, the Redhawks plan to throw sophomore Dan Ludwig (5-1, 2.20 ERA), who last week allowed three runs in six-plus innings and received a no-decision in a 4-3 comeback win against North.
On Wednesday the Redhawks (21-14) fell behind 4-1 early but Ben Lucas answered with a three-run homer that tied the game in the third inning. They finished Hinsdale Central (17-14) with a seven-run fifth inning that saw only two hits as 10 Redhawks marched to the plate.
That inning was prolonged by two errors - Pat Kaminska's sacrifice bunt scored two runs and Nick Linne's simple groundball to third later added three more.
"All year long, we've played pretty solid defense for the most part and today we let it slip from us," Hinsdale Central coach Tom Dorrance said. "We gave them too many runs. You can't give a good team like that that many opportunities. Too many balls between our legs, too many bad decisions, too many guys (not) in the right spot."
North Carolina (42-16) is looking for a fourth consecutive trip to the College World Series. The Tar Heels are loaded with potential big-league talent -- according to ESPN's Peter Gammons, Dustin Ackleycould be the No. 2 overall pick in the June 9 draft.
But at some point they might also need Naperville Central graduate Colin Bates to take care of some critical outs in order to book a return ticket to Omaha, Neb.
"Any NCAA tournament, you got to be careful not to overdo stuff," North Carolina head coach Mike Fox said Monday. "Changing things at this point would be silly. It's all about our kids being relaxed and confident, just like any other team that comes in here. We need to relish being at home. We need to be excited to (be) hosting a regional at this new stadium.
"I think we will be. We also have to set our mind that (we) need to play our best baseball to get out of this regional."
Storms washed away Tuesday's regional semifinal at Naperville Central. No. 10 Hinsdale Central (17-13) didn't need to get off the bus and it's scheduled to return to Naperville on Wednesday for a 4:30 p.m. game against the No. 7 Redhawks (20-14).
Pat Kaminska (4-2, 2.92 ERA) is expected to start for Central.
Thursday's Sun indicated that Pat Kaminska (50.1 innings) has pitched almost double the amount anyone else has thrown on the Naperville Central staff. That is incorrect -- Dan Ludwig has also pitched 50 innings this season, while Dave Ludwig is around 40.
Wheaton North clinched the DuPage Valley Conference championship outright on Wednesday with an 11-7 victory over Wheaton Warrenville South. That sucks most of the oxygen out of Thursday's series finale at North Central College between Naperville North and Naperville Central. The Huskies were rooting for a Wheaton North loss and a chance to gain a share of the DVC title. Now both teams can focus exclusively on getting ready for the postseason.
Naperville Central coach Bill Seiple was cryptic when asked who will pitch in Thursday's series finale at North Central College. After Tuesday's 5-4 loss at Naperville North, Seiple didn't know the final score of the Wheaton North-Wheaton Warrenville South game.
"How we deal with this depends on what happened to Wheaton North," Seiple said. "If we still have a shot, (we'll) do it one way. If we don't, we may do it another way."
With the defeat, and Wheaton North's 11-1 victory, Central (20-12 14-6) lost any hope of stealing a share of the DuPage Valley Conference championship. We'll be looking at some of Central's options going forward in Thursday's print edition.
Eye black smeared across his face, Alex Helms slammed his helmet to the ground. This time it was Naperville North flooding out of the dugout to celebrate a walk-off victory at home plate.
Again Naperville Central came back from a three-run deficit and pushed a key DuPage Valley Conference game beyond the seventh inning. But with the bases loaded in the eighth, North junior Paul Bloodgood delivered the clutch hit on Tuesday, bouncing a two-run single to left that secured a 5-4 win.
The day before North unraveled late, leading 3-0 heading into the seventh inning before ultimately losing 4-3 in the ninth.
"We have to keep a positive mindset. And that last inning when we came up, everyone's like, 'Ok, we need to get one run,'" Bloodgood said. "Coach was saying, 'Why get one? Get two, end it right here.'"
Once Helms beat the throw and slid in safely for the game-winning run, the Huskies (22-7, 15-5) could jump around, because they still might be able to play for a share of the DVC title.
With the loss, and Wheaton North's 11-1 victory over Wheaton Warrenville South, Central (20-12 14-6) was eliminated from the race with one conference game left to play.
Whether or not Thursday's series finale at North Central College has meaning depends on what happens Wednesday in Wheaton. WW South travels to Wheaton North (23-4, 16-4), which will be looking to clinch.
Today we look at the brutal Lockport Sectional, which could produce the eventual Class 4A champion. Naperville North and host Naperville Central are stuck in the same regional. Benet might have to go through top-seed Lincoln-Way East. Once Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley decide the Upstate Eight Conference race, neither team will have an easy draw in the postseason.
The pairings can be found here. What are your predictions?
LOCKPORT SECTIONAL SEEDS
1. Lincoln-Way East
2. Naperville North 3. Lockport*
4. Plainfield North 5. Neuqua Valley*
6. Downers Grove South 7. Naperville Central*
8. Benet
9. Joliet
10. Hinsdale Central
11. Waubonsie Valley
12. Romeoville
13. Lyons
14. Plainfield Central
15. Plainfield South
16. Providence Catholic
17. Downers Grove North
18. Lincoln-Way Central
19. Oswego East
20. Bolingbrook
21. Hinsdale South
22. East Aurora
*Before the IHSA went to a four-class system last season, the final three Class AA state champions were: Neuqua (2007), Central (2006) and Lockport (2005).
The Naperville Central baseball team will play Andrean (Ind.) on Tuesday at the University of Notre Dame. For a scouting report on Central's opponent, click here. You can listen to the game here.
Brad Engel is the longest-tenured member of The Sun sports staff and has won several national and state awards in his coverage of preps as well as the Chicago Bears, Chicago Fire and general sports.
Patrick Mooney
Patrick Mooney covered politics, prep sports and professional baseball for several print and online media outlets before joining The Sun in August 2007. He concentrates on prep sports, writing features, profiles and breaking recruiting news.
