By Sean Duncan

MINOOKA ? No. 3 Plainfield North was flat, perhaps still reeling from the pounding by No. 1 Providence dealt the Tigers last Friday; perhaps they were starting to swoon, as many top-ranked teams have done recently.

Whatever it was, Minooka was having its way with the Tigers, leading 7-2 heading into the sixth inning. Then Plainfield?s bats came alive.

Game over.

Plainfield North rallied for 12 runs in the final two innings to defeat Minooka 14-7 and claim its third consecutive Southwest Prairie Conference championship Tuesday.

?The intensity was down in the dugout,? said junior third baseman Joey Cresta. ?We?ve never been in a hole like that before, except for Friday (against Providence).?

No one was more pleased to see Minooka junior ace Josh Jimenez exit the game in the sixth inning than Cresta, who had struck out his first three plate appearances against the left-hander. But the first pitch Cresta saw from a Minooka reliever, he ripped a two-run single to tie the game.

Then in the seventh inning, Cresta crushed a grand slam to cement the remarkable comeback victory for the Tigers (23-1, 16-0).

?This is an up-and-down game, that?s for sure,? said Cresta, who finished with six RBI.

No kidding.

Trailing 7-2 in the sixth inning, the Tigers rallied for five runs. Plainfield North tallied four hits in the inning, with Cresta delivering the two-run single to climb all the way back. Then the Tigers erupted for seven runs in the top of the seventh behind five more hits and three walks. Pat Cashman followed Cresta?s grand slam with a solo shot of his own.

?I knew we would struggle early against Jimenez,? said Plainfield North coach John Darlington. ?I knew it would take a while, but I didn?t think it would turn out like this. ? I was just hoping to hang around long enough to get Jimenez out of the game.?

Jimenez (5-5), who went 12-1 as a sophomore last year, had Plainfield North off-balance in the early innings with a mixture of two-seam fastballs (81-84 mph), curveballs and changeups. In 5 2/3 innings, he struck out eight, walked two, and allowed eight hits. In the fifth, he got two quick outs, then Plainfield North strung a few hits together, coupled with two walks and a hit batter before he was taken out.

?The final score is not a good indication of how the game went,? said Minooka coach Jeff Petrovic. ?I thought Josh pitched great. We played five really good innings. Unfortunately, you don?t stop after five innings.?

Plainfield North leadoff man Evan Whaley went 4-for-5 with three run-scoring singles and three runs scored. Sophomore shortstop Kurt Palandech went 3-for-4 with a double, three runs scored and reached base all five plate appearances.

Cashman retired the side in order, including two strikeouts, in the seventh, to close out the game. Cashman, who is committed to Benedictine University, sat at 85-87 mph in his one-inning stint. Starter Brian Evak, who is signed at UIC, yielded eight hits and struck out four in five innings behind a mid-80s fastball.

Junior shortstop Tyler Thorson led Minooka by going 2-for-2 with a two-run triple and two runs scored, and third baseman Dakota Brown added two hits and an RBI. Perennial power Minooka, which is young this season, dropped to 16-9, 9-7 in the conference.