By Sean Duncan

 

JOLIET – No. 1 Naperville Central vs. No. 2 Stevenson … you best believe there was considerable hype heading into Friday’s Class 4A state semifinal game.

 

Although the contest may not have lived up to the pregame buzz, Prep Baseball Report’s preseason No. 1 Naperville Central advanced to the championship game with a 6-4 victory at Silver Cross Field.

 

The Redhawks (37-4) needed a resilient pitching performance by junior left-hander Dan Ludwig, an all-around impressive defensive effort and some timely hitting to play for their second state championship since 2006. Naperville Central will face St. Rita, which defeated Huntley 7-6 in the other semifinal, in Saturday’s Class 4A title game.

 

“What a thrill for me,” said Naperville Central coach Bill Seiple, whose team had to win the brutally tough Plainfield South Sectional to advance. “We felt coming over, the one edge we might have is we had to play games like this throughout the tournament.”

 

True, while Naperville Central had the toughest road in the state, Stevenson (34-4) had been hammering its opponents, scoring nearly nine runs a game in the playoffs. And it seemed like the Patriots were going to do the same against Ludwig (9-0), who was tagged for three hits and two runs in the first inning.

 

“I definitely didn’t think after that first inning I’d have shut them out until the seventh,” said Ludwig.

 

Indeed, Ludwig bounced back after the first and held the Patriots in check until the seventh. He yielded eight hits – five after the first inning – and two earned runs in his 114-pitch complete game. He struck out five and walked one.

 

“After they hit me around in the first, I thought it was going to be a long game,” Ludwig said. “But all I can do is throw strikes and try and get outs.”

 

Ludwig wasn’t the only Redhawk to rebound from a slow start. Centerfielder Matt Cmiel had struck out his first three at-bats and was 0-for-4 before he laced a two-out, two-run single in the top of the seventh to give Naperville Central a much-needed 6-2 cushion.

 

Stevenson (34-4), which in April had defeated Naperville Central 10-4, scored twice in the bottom of the seventh on two hits and an error to bring up the Patriots’ best hitter to the plate, Kyle Ruchim (2-for-4, double, run). But Ludwig got Ruchim to pop out to end the game.

 

 

Naperville Central scored three runs in the third inning to take a 4-2 lead behind two walks and three hits, including a pinch-hit, RBI single by Mason Hallett.

 

Shane Conlon, who will start the championship game Saturday against his former team, St. Rita, went 3-for-5 with two runs to lead the Redhawks offense. He singled off Stevenson junior right-hander Tyler Radtke (9-1) in the first and scored on Marc Mantucca’s double. He also led off the Redhawks’ three-run third with a single and eventually scored on Nick Linne’s single.

Matt Soria added two hits and a run for Naperville Central.

 

The Redhawks’ defense came up with several big plays, none bigger than in the sixth when Ludwig hit Patrick Wilson to lead off the inning. But it was soon erased on a slick double play by Soria and sophomore shortstop Nick Ryan. Linne also robbed of a run-scoring extra-base hit at third base in the fifth.

 

Stevenson right-fielder Erick King went 2-for-3 with two doubles, including one in the first that capped the Patriots’ two-run inning. Michael Martin also had two hits for the Patriots, who will play Huntley for third place on Saturday.

 

“Naperville Central performed better than us today,” said Stevenson coach Paul Mazzuca, “and they’re moving on and we’re not.”