By Drake Skleba
For the Bugle
For the last three seasons, the residents of Plainfield, Illinois have had the enjoyment of watching two of the best defensive catchers in all of Illinois. On the “North Side”, senior Greg Budig has been a defensive force and handler of the “arms factory” at Plainfield North High School. Last season, Budig along with centerfielder Cam Kissel and right fielder, Garret Cook, helped bring the IHSA Class 4A State Baseball Championship to Plainfield’s “North Side”.
On ”The South Side”, ever since he was a freshman and helped lead his Cougars to the 2016 IHSBCA Summer State Championship, Justin McGuigan has been a defensive stalwart behind the plate for Plainfield South.
On “The South Side” on Thursday, McGuigan showed Plainfield that he can do more than catch. After Monday night’s Southwest Prairie Conference debacle, a 4-1 loss to Plainfield Central, the Cougars were in dire need of a victory over the second-place Wolves of Oswego East.
McGuigan (5-1) was masterful on the mound, firing a one-hit shutout as the Cougars routed the Wolves 10-0 in five innings.
With the Cougars up 8-0, McGuigan took a no-hitter into the top of the fifth. With two outs, Oswego East’s Ed Borwick used “Hawk” Harrelson’s famous euphemism, hit a “duck snort” to right that fell in for the only Wolves’ hit. McGuigan picked up his eighth punch-out to finish out the Wolves’ final inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, Griffin Lapp (2-for-4, RBI) singled to lead off the inning. After one out, McGuigan ( 0-for-1, 3BB, 2SB) walked for the third time in the game. Zach Pawlak (1-for-2, BB, SF, 2RBI) singled home Lapp, for a 9-0 Cougar lead. Tony Mosher (1-for-2, 2BB, RBI) walked to load the bases and Ryan Pawlak (2-for-3, RBI) ripped the game-ending single to right, to score McGuigan for a 10-0 Cougar win.
“This was big for us to bounce back, after last night’s bad loss and pick up a big SPC win,” Pawlak said. “It was important for our confidence to get this win to keep us in first place, heading into this weekend.”
Behind the plate for the Cougars, with McGuigan on the mound, was sophomore Jonny Hernandez. Hernandez was McGuigan-like behind the plate. In the six-run Cougar fourth inning, Hernandez had not one but two hits in the Cougar fourth-inning explosion.
The big hit of the six-run Cougar fourth inning, was provided by sophomore left fielder, Tylor Puma” Phommachanhom.
“Puma” led off the Cougar first with a double and scored on a McGuigan RBI groundout, for a 1-0 Cougar lead. With the Cougars up 2-0 in the fourth, Phommachanhom took an inside pitch and ripped it down the right field line scoring Hernandez, who had singled for a 3-0 Cougar lead. Game Over.
For McGuigan, the shutout victory improves his record to 5-1. McGuigan now leads the Cougar staff with five wins.
“Yesterday’s loss really left a bad taste in our mouth’s,” McGuigan said. “We really bounced back big time today. We played well and proved that yesterday was a fluke. We executed our game plan and the great thing about baseball is, the very next day, you can redeem yourself.”
“On the mound, I just threw strikes and let my defense make the plays, which they did.”
“At the plate, I try to get on base anyway I can,” McGuigan added. “When I get on base, I’m always ready to run.”
“Justin was on point and threw strikes today,” Hernandez said. “Justin feeds off his success and becomes unhittable. We work very well together and are great batterymates. It was a lot of fun for me to be part of Justin’s, one-hitter today.”
“At the plate, I listened to my hitting coach and had great at bats and did my job.”
Plainfield South (18-4, 7-2) and Oswego East (12-6, 5-3) will meet again on Oswego’s “East Side” on Monday, in the conclusion of their SPC series.
“Justin pitched outstanding for us today and we hit the ball well, against a very good Oswego East pitcher,’ Plainfield South head coach Phil Bodine said. “The great thing about baseball is, one day you may think you are not very good and then the very next day, you think that you are good again.”
“Jonny Hernandez did a great job behind the plate and with the way he hit, he will be rewarded with more opportunities, at the plate, in the future. This was a huge win for us heading into what we call “Our All-Star Break” (Prom Weekend).”
SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE through games of April 25
Plainfield South 18-4 7-2
Oswego 12-7 6-2
Plainfield North 8-7-1 5-2
Oswego East 12-6 5-3
Plainfield East 14-7 5-4
Plainfield Central 15-8 4-5
Joliet West 12-10 4-5
Romeoville 5-15-1 2-6
Joliet Central 8-12 2-7
Minooka 6-12-1 2-7
Friday
Oswego at Plainfield North
Romeoville at Oswego East