By Drake Skleba

 

LISLE - In a Class 4A Lockport Regional first-round battle, Benet Academy defeated Plainfield South 6-4 and advances to a date with No. 2 Naperville Central (30-4) on Wednesday. The game will be played at historic Ed Flink Field in Lockport at 4:30.

 

Benet senior left-hander Pat Callahan (4-2) fired four shutout innings, allowing a pair of hits and striking out six Cougar hitters, in leading the Redwings into the regional semifinal.

 

“Today was good and I pounded the ball down low and had all of my pitches working,” said Callahan. “We picked up a couple runs early and held them off for a good team win.”  

 

Benet struck for a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning against Plainfield South starting pitcher Nick Mannetti (3-3). With two out and two on, Redwing No. 9 hitter junior catcher Matt Dorsett hammered a clutch two-out, two-run double to give Benet a 2-0 lead.

 

“I was just trying to hit the ball and get the runs in,” said Dorsett. “Pat pitched great today. He had all of his pitches working today.”

 

Benet doubled its lead to 4-0 with a pair of runs in the third. Junior Zac Lewinski picked up an RBI single and sophomore Sam Santa Maria picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

 

“We played well today and Pat Callahan did a great job on the mound,” said Santa Maria. “I had some good swings in RBI situations to get the runs in and help the team win. We are looking forward to playing Naperville Central on Wednesday.”

 

In the top of the fifth, Benet Academy head coach Jeff Bonebrake went to his bullpen and brought in senior Eric Patzelt. Plainfield South scored two runs to cut the lead in half at 4-2 on sophomore Brett Ritter’s two-run double.

 

The Redwings responded with a two-spot in the bottom of the fifth to regain their four-run lead at 6-2. Santa Maria (1-for-2; SF, 2RBI) and freshman Pat McInerney (2-for-2, BB, RBI) came up with two-out RBI singles to pad the Redwing lead.

 

Patzelt had a solid sixth inning to shut down the Cougars. In the top of the seventh the Cougars did not go down easily. Cougar second baseman Austin Howarth (2-for-3) led off the inning with a single. Shortstop Keegan Weber reached on an infield hit and the Cougars were in business. Patzelt bore down and struck out Ritter for the first out.

 

A force out at third for the second out brought up Cougar cleanup man Jack McGrail, who singled to right scoring Howarth. An overthrow at third allowed  Cougar centerfielder Da’ rell Collins to be awarded home plate and the Cougars trailed 6-4.

 

Bonebrake once again went to his pen and brought in senior lefty Jake Norton to put out the fire. Norton responded and struck out the final Cougar hitter and the Redwings were on their way to Lockport.

 

Naperville Central head coach Bill Seiple and his Redhawks should be concerned about their matchup with the Redwings on Wednesday. Benet Academy just last week defeated Catholic Blue powers Brother Rice and St. Rita in nonconference games. The best 16-17 team in Illinois also has victories over defending Class 4A champs New Trier and East Suburban Conference champion Carmel.

 

“To make a run in the tournament we need Pat, Eric and Jake out on the mound for us,” said Bonebrake. “Pat did an outstanding job for us today. For the last couple of weeks, Matt Dorsett had been our most productive hitter. We have beaten a number of quality teams this season and are looking forward to facing Naperville Central and we hope we can give them a good game on Wednesday.”

 

Plainfield South closes out the season at 14-18.

 

“I am really proud of the way we battled,” said Plainfield South head coach Phil Bodine. “This is a tough defeat for us because we really wanted to have a shot to play the top team in the state (Naperville Central) on Wednesday.”