By Sean Duncan

 

JOLIET - Westminster Christian sophomore aces Ryan Perez and Kevin Elder, who combined for a no-hitter in the supersectional to advance the Warriors to the Class 1A state semifinals, are responsible for 21 of the team’s 29 wins on the mound.

 

Neither pitcher had his best stuff on Friday, but it still didn’t matter. Westminster’s offense set a Class 1A single-game tournament record for hits and pulled out a schizophrenic 12-8 victory over Lebanon to advance to Saturday’s Class 1A state championship game at Silver Cross Field.

 

Overall, the game broke three Class 1A tournament records: combined hits, combined runs, and, most importantly for Westminster, team hits with 16. And the Warriors (29-10) needed every last one of them, as they watched a five-run first inning turn into a one-run deficit in the fifth inning.

 

“It was pretty crazy,” said Westminster coach Jeff Moeller, who has guided the Elgin school to the state tournament twice since 2007. “Kevin and Ryan probably didn’t have their best stuff, and it turned out to be a slugfest.”

 

After an hour and 35 minute rain delay in the top of the seventh inning, Joe McGannon (2-for-3, four RBI) sealed the victory with a three-run homer to centerfield. Westminster now advances to play Goreville, a 4-3 winner over Tri-Valley, in the other semifinal game. Westminster defeated Goreville 7-3 in its second game of the season.

 

Westminster looked like it was going to make quick work of Lebanon (19-15), as the Warriors opened the game with seven consecutive hits to mount a 5-0 lead. Elder (3-for-4, four RBI, two doubles) delivered the big blow in the inning with a two-run double. The Warriors cruised into the fourth with a comfortable 7-3 lead before becoming temporarily unhinged.

 

“I thought we could win this game in five if we could throw strikes and make plays,” Moeller said. “But our defense and pitching wasn’t there.”

 

The hard-throwing Elder, who was relieving Perez, hit two batters, walked one and uncorked three wild pitches that allowed three runs to score. All of a sudden, what appeared to be a blowout was now tied 7-7. Lebanon scored four runs in the inning without the benefit of a hit. Lebanon actually took a brief 8-7 advantage in the fifth before Westminster reclaimed the lead with two runs in the sixth, spurred by Elder’s run-scoring double.

 

“We played really hard,” said Elder. “We just did whatever we could do to pull out the win.”

 

Perez also had three hits for the Warriors, and senior second baseman Brandon Weingartner tallied three hits and two runs. Ben Stevenson contributed two RBI while Andrew Mason had two hits. In all, six of the Warriors starters enjoyed multi-hit games.

 

Perez (10-0) started the game, but lasted only 1 1/3 innings after allowing six hits. Enter Elder (11-4), who got out of a second-inning jam with consecutive strikeouts, but labored through the third and fourth innings. Andrew Mason pitched the fifth, yielding one run, before coach Jeff Moeller brought back Perez. Perez finished strong by striking out two in the seventh to earn the save.

 

Lebanon starting pitcher Tyler Sonsoucie went 2-for-4 and Ryan Essenpries had two hits and a RBI. Sonsoucie, a junior right-hander, fell to 11-2 for the season.

 

“We battled – that’s what we’ve done all year,” said Lebanon coach Todd Harpstrite, whose team was making its first state appearance.

 

In the other semifinal game, Goreville defeated Tri-Valley 4-3 behind Nick Andros’ six-hit complete game. The 6-foot-6, 190-pound junior left-hander struck out nine and walked one to lead the Blackcats to the championship game.

 

Making their first state appearance, the Blackcats (24-11) scored all four run in the fourth inning by stringing together five consecutive hits. Andros (2-for-4) started it off with a double, and Alex Stout (2-for-3) and Nate Webb each followed with a run-scoring singles. After the fourth-inning outburst, Goreville led 4-2.

 

In the seventh, Goreville’s defense got the yips, committing consecutive errors with two outs, as Tri-Valley (13-15) cut the lead to 4-3 with runners on first and third. But Andros got a groundout to Stout to end the game.

 

“I felt great out there,” said Andros, who also pitched the Blackcats to the supersectional victory. “I was zoned in all game. … We just had to bear down at the end.”