By Sean Duncan

NAPERVILLE ? The house was packed to see Downers Grove South ace right-hander Nick Burdi face No. 4 Plainfield North on Wednesday.

As it turned out, it was Downers Grove South?s low-yielding offense ? not Burdi ? that knocked off top-seeded Plainfield North, 6-4, in a long but somewhat exciting Class 4A Neuqua Valley Sectional semifinal game.

Ranked No. 2 in the preseason, Downers Grove South (25-13) has since struggled to live up to its lofty expectations. But after beating defending champion Naperville Central and now Plainfield North (32-3), it appears the Mustangs are clicking at the right time.

?Hats off to our offense,? said Downers Grove South coach Darren Orel, whose team will play the winner of No. 1 Providence and Neuqua Valley on Saturday. ?Pitching has carried us all year long. It was great to see the offense step up today.

?Everyone kind of forgot about us, we?ve gotten out of the limelight, which I think has helped us.?

It was the offense that staked the Mustangs to a quick 4-0 lead after the first inning. And when Plainfield North rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth inning against Burdi (6-1), it was the offense that grabbed the lead right back.

With the game tied 4-4 and all the momentum shifting to Plainfield North, senior centerfielder Jacob Wolf hit an opposite-field home run to lead off the top of the sixth. Then after a one-out walk, senior second baseman Kyle Engel laced a run-scoring double, making it 6-4.

?We were real intense in the first inning, and it kind of died off after that,? said Wolf, a Miami Ohio recruit who finished 2-for-4 with two RBI. ?After the home run, we got back in that intense mode again.?

After Downers South reclaimed the lead, Orel opted to relieve Burdi in favor of Wivinis, who pitched two scoreless innings, allowing two hits, to cement the victory. Wivinis, a Kansas State recruit, showed an 86-87 mph fastball and a tight breaking ball in his two innings.

As for 6-foot-4, 210-pound Burdi, a highly considered national prospect who missed a chunk of the season with an injury, he allowed two earned runs, eight hits, struck out six and walked one in five innings. With a handful of pro scouts in attendance, Burdi?s velocity fluctuated, ranging from 84-89 mph in the first four innings. Then in the fifth, he dialed his fastball up in the 90-92 range after Plainfield North tied the game.

?This is my last year in a Mustang jersey, and I want to do something we?ve never done before, which is win a state championship,? said Burdi, a Louisville recruit. ?We?re starting to click at the right time.?

After Downers South mounted a 4-0 advantage in the first inning, Plainfield North finally got on the board in the fourth on Evan Whaley?s two-run double following a costly Mustang error. Then senior first baseman Sean Renzi led off the bottom of the fifth with a home run to left field, and the Tigers tied the game on senior catcher Joey Pendolino?s run-scoring double over the third-base bag.

?I was happy with the way our kids battled back,? said Plainfield North coach John Darlington. ?I felt like once we got it 4-4, we had the momentum.?

Then Wolf hit the home run.

Engel set the tone for the Mustangs, as he hammered the game?s first pitch for a double and went 2-for-4 with two doubles. Junior first baseman Nick Vanek went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored.

Whaley, Plainfield North?s leadoff man who missed some time with mono, came back to go 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI. UIC-bound right-hander Brian Evak pitched well in relief, holding the Mustangs scoreless for three innings, before making a mistake to Wolf. Behind an 84-87 mph fastball and effective 73-75 mph curve, Evak struck out seven and yielded four hits in five innings.