By Drake Skleba
For the Bugle
In the IHSA Class 3A St. Laurence Sectional Semifinal at Ozinga Stadium in Crestwood, JCA trailed Tinley Park 5-1 as the game moved to the top of the sixth.
Answering the Titans (26-7) five-run bottom of the fifth inning, the Hilltoppers (28-7) answered with a five-spot of their own in the top of the sixth inning, to grab a 6-5 lead.
Senior right-hander Zach Hise fired 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief, to lead JCA to the 6-5 victory. JCA will take on the sectional hosts from St. Laurence (33-5) on Saturday for the IHSA Class 4A St. Laurence Sectional Championship. The game will be played at Viking Field in Burbank.
(For complete details on this game see next week’s Joliet Bugle and Shorewood Sentinel)
After Plainfield South’s Ryan Pawlak hammered a three-run homer in the bottom of the second inning in Plainfield Central’s Class 4A Oswego Sectional Semifinal, Wildcat senior right-hander Zach Rana turned the lights out on the rival Cougars.
Rana (6-4) shut the Cougars out the rest of the way and struck out seven of the last 10 Cougar hitters he faced, and the Wildcats (28-9) rallied past the Cougars 6-3. The Wildcats used a little 2-out magic scoring five of their six runs after two outs.
Plainfield Central will meet Neuqua Valley (26-8) at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning in the IHSA Class 4A Oswego Sectional Championship game.
(For complete details on this game see next week’s Plainfield Enterprise)
The defending Class 4A state baseball champions from Plainfield North (18-13) fell to Neuqua Valley 3-0 in Wednesday’s first Class 4A Oswego Sectional Semifinal. Junior Eben Heine had the two lone Tiger hits in the game.