Robin Renner didn’t mince words.
“That was the best performance that we’ve seen all year,” Renner said of Connor Peplow back on May 20. “I’d say the (Ryan) Eiermann game (on April 11) and that one were interchangeable. But far, those two were the best. (Peplow) was really good – three pitches for strikes, about 87, 88 miles an hour. But I thought he was really good and we had some chances and we just couldn’t (score).”
Fifteen days after Peplow struck out a season high 12 in a 1-0 Plainfield North victory over Neuqua Valley, Renner’s program gets a second shot at John Darlington’s Tigers.
For the third time in four years, sixth-seeded Neuqua Valley (24-13) and top-seeded Plainfield North (31-3) cross paths in a sectional come Saturday in the Class 4A Oswego Sectional Final.
A fifth sectional title awaits Neuqua Valley with a victory on Saturday while Plainfield North hopes to bring home a second straight sectional plaque.
If a pair of one-run postseason meetings in 2013 and 2014 – which the two teams split – and another one-run meeting this year are any indication, Saturday shouldn’t be much different.
“They put the ball in play. They play good defense,” Darlington said of the Wildcats. “Their pitcher kept throwing strikes. Those are traditions of Neuqua Valley, so you’re going to have to match them defensively and not have mistakes. And if you do, we’ll be beat. That’s that huge part. They’re not going to beat themselves, so hopefully we can not beat ourselves.”
Peplow scattered six hits in throwing a complete game at the Wildcats, besting a complete game effort from Mason LeBreck, who struck out eight.
No Wildcat got more than one hit off Peplow while Justin Yeager’s third-inning single provided the game’s only scoring.
Yeager was the only player on either team to record two hits.
“Yeah, I mean, we just played them,” Wildcats’ shortstop James Gargano said of the Tigers on Thursday. “I mean, we’re familiar with them. We know they’re not going to lie down after (Thursday’s) performance. Down seven, they came back. They’re going to have a lot of heart. We do too, though. It should be a good game.”
Yes, the Tigers indeed staved off elimination on Thursday after falling behind 12th-seeded Plainfield Central, 7-0.
Two runs in the fourth inning were followed up a five-run sixth before Plainfield North secured a walk-off single to pull out an 8-7 victory.
Whether it’s Peplow (3-0), who threw a scoreless seventh on Thursday, or Tyler Garrity (8-0) possibly pitching for the Tigers, Renner knows what his team is up against.
“They’re really, really good,” Renner said of Plainfield North. “We’re going to have to play the best baseball game we’ve played all year in order to have a chance. There’s no doubt.”
An 11-run, 11-hit performance in Thursday’s 11-0, five-inning victory over Plainfield East has the Wildcats’ offense primed.
Four players recorded two hits while four knocked in two runs against the Bengals for an offense that features Kevin Ringlein (.400) and Gargano (.366) leading the way.
“We were just having fun with it,” Gargano said of the eight-run second from Thursday. “And the dugout was going crazy. We were just barreling up strikes, putting the ball in play. Good things were happening.”
Whether it be against Naperville Central or Neuqua Valley, Plainfield North offers thrilling competition come the postseason.
In six combined meetings with Naperville Central and Neuqua Valley, Plainfield North is 3-3 and all six games have been one-run games.
For a group that has some youth sprinkled in with several key sophomores and juniors, Renner believes the way that game back on May 20 transpired will help.
“I think that it gives our guys confidence. Yes, I do,” he said. “It’s certainly different than if we had lost 8-0. So, yeah, I do. I think our guys go in thinking, ‘you know what? A bounce here or there or a pitch here or there and it could go the other way.’”
