By Sean Duncan

NAPERVILLE – Midway through each of Saturday’s doubleheader games between No. 4 Naperville Central and No. 13 Naperville North, the score was close. Kind of what you would expect from two 18-2 teams in the DuPage Valley Conference.

You wouldn’t detect it from the final results, however. Naperville Central seized control of the DuPage Valley and in the process earned bragging rights of this neighborhood rivalry by pounding Naperville North 11-1 in six innings, then winning 9-3 in the second game.

In each victory, Naperville Central (20-2, 11-0) used late-inning outbursts to put an end to Naperville North’s 10-game winning streak.

“One person gets a key hit and then we keep going,” said Kansas State-bound Shane Conlon, who went 4-for-7 with a home run, double, three runs, and two RBI in the doubleheader, in addition to earning the Game 2 victory. “One one person smells blood and we kind of all go for it.”

Clinging to a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning of Game 1, Central put the game away by scoring seven runs on five hits. Senior DH Marc Mantucca and Ryan Walsh each had two-run doubles in the inning, and Matt Cmiel added a run-scoring double. Senior second baseman Matt Soria, who led off the inning with a single, also delivered a rare two-run sacrifice fly to deep right centerfield.

Conlon continued the offensive onslaught by leading off the sixth with a home run, and Nick Linne added a run-scoring single. Five Redhawks enjoyed multi-hit games in the first game. Bobby Czarnowski got Central off to a quick start with a two-run double in the first inning against North starter Kyle Klosak (4-2), whose fastball sat at 87-90 in four innings work.

“We have a pretty good lineup,” said Naperville Central coach Bill Seiple. “We have nine guys who come at you. It was a good day for the Redhawks.”

Junior left-hander Dan Ludwig (5-0) pitched all six innings for Central, allowing seven hits and one run with four strikeouts and one walk. Ludwig pitched especially well in jams, as Naperville North (18-4, 8-3) stranded 10 runners. The Huskies had the bases loaded in the fifth, but Ludwig struck out two straight batters looking to get out of the inning unscathed.

“The offense jumping out in the first gave me a good cushion,” said Ludwig. “Usually I get more strikeouts, but the defense really picked me up.”

Central received a similar strong pitching performance from Conlon (5-0) in Game 2. The left-hander was in complete control, allowing four hits and one run in six innings work. Conlon struck out nine and walked one despite cramping up during the game.

“I felt good,” Conlon said. “My changeup was working real well, and I was locating my fastball.”

Conlon and North left-hander Charlie White were locked in a pitchers’ duel through four innings. White, a University of Maryland recruit who’s one of the top outfielders in the state, allowed only one hit in four innings as the Huskies led 1-0.

Central finally broke through in the fifth for three runs, spurred by Cmiel’s two-run triple. Mantucca followed with a run-scoring double to make it 3-1. Then Central busted it open with six runs in the sixth. Mantucca hit a two-run homer in the inning, and Conlon also had a run-scoring double. Conor Philbin added an RBI single and Mason Hallett had a double in the inning. Central led 9-1 heading into the seventh.

“Our team, we never lose confidence in each other,” said Mantucca, who finished with five RBI, two doubles and a homer in the doubleheader. “[Charlie] White and Kyle [Klosak] are very good pitchers. I think we all had good at-bats against them and made them work.”

Naperville North, which was averaging around 9 runs a game, had 11 hits on the day. Sophomore third baseman Mariano Long went 3-for-5 with a walk to lead the Huskies, and White had two hits, including an RBI double.

 “This was huge,” said Conlon. “We’ve been looking forward to this all year. We came in wanting to take it to them, and we kind of did.”