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Plano Wipes Out Wilmington
Reaper’s Shock State Champs After 0-3 Start

By Bill Lidinsky

It’s not how you start but how you finish. So goes the credo for Plano High School head baseball coach Jim Schmidt when formulating the strategy for success in 2006 for his veteran Reaper varsity baseball squad.

Certainly Schmidt wasn’t happy with his ballclub’s 0-3 beginning to the 06 campaign. But the veteran leader couldn’t have been more pleased with the way his team responded especially against the defending IHSA Class A state champion Wilmington Wildcats.

After a tough 6-5 defeat on Tuesday March 28 at Aurora Central Catholic, Plano was faced with an early home and home Interstate Eight Conference battle against non other than the 2005 state champion Wilmington squad that posted a 40-1 record in winning the Class A title last season.

Behind a masterful pitching performance the very next day at home by senior ace Nick Preston, Plano sent a message to the defending champs that despite their slow start they will be a force to be reckoned with in the I-8 this season.

On Wednesday Preston threw a complete game, six inning gem in which he struck out six, walked only two and allowed a paltry four hits as he and his teammates shocked the perennial power with a 2-0 shutout.

“I limited walks and threw a lot of strikes. The infield and outfield behind me made a lot of plays. We got things done when we needed to and we were able to get our first win of the year against a team we were more than happy to beat,” Preston said.

Senior Matt Priesman had an RBI single that scored senior Will Brown in the bottom of the third and he then scored himself on a balk in the sixth as the Reapers would tally the only two runs needed for the victory.

“We were ready to go against Wilmington. We knew they were the defending state champs and we took it to them. Nick did a great job and so did we defensively. It was great to get our first win against such a good opponent,” Priesman said.

Plano was hardly through with Wilmington however. On Friday March 31, the Reapers traveled to the Wildcats home field and delivered an even more convincing blow to the faltering champions.

Plano led 5-1 after three innings before putting up seven runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 12-1 lead. Junior Brook Bott has a two run double, while senior Brent Day slashed a two run single that keyed the seven run attack which saw Plano bring 11 batters to the plate in the inning. Wilmington added three runs in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 12-4. The game was halted there due to a controversial darkness call by the home umpires. By IHSA rule the game will be resumed at a future date or the Reapers will be awarded with a victory. The later is most likely to be the case since schedules are so tight. Regardless, Plano showed the strength and resolve in overcoming a slow start in dominating last year’s state champions.

“We’ll see what the IHSA wants us to do. If we have to go down there again and play three more innings leading by eight, I’m sure we’ll prevail,” Schmidt said. “But they may just grant us a four inning victory in which case we’ll take the two conference wins and be happy with that. Either way, we showed what a great team we can be when we set our minds to it.”

Junior Eric Nelson pitched a great game in his first start of the season against Wilmington. He gave up only two earned runs in three innings, walking three, and striking out two during his first appearance on the mound for Plano in 2006.

“I thought it would be tougher than that against Wilmington. We stepped up and were battling good along with executing well on defense. That allowed us to keep them to a minimum of runs and we were in charge,” Nelson said.

Preston and Nelson definitely keyed the charge as the Reapers served notice to the Wildcats.
“Nick and Eric definitely pitched well over the two games. We hit the ball well the second game but Nick threw great in game one, while Eric was unstoppable in game two versus Wilmington,” Schmidt said. “I’m very happy with the way those two guys pitched for us against who I consider the best team in the I-8 conference.”

Plano then faced a double-header on Saturday April 1 at Somonauk. Despite a 13-5 loss in game one, the Reapers rallied for a 9-6 win in the nightcap versus the Bobcats. Junior Josh Wright took the loss in game one, while junior Ben Heller recorded the win in game two striking out six Somonauk batters over five innings while walking only one. Senior Kevin Klingberg moped the last few innings for the save as Plano moved their overall record to 3-4 pending the IHSA I-8 review of game two versus Wilmington.

“We took some steps forward versus Wilmington but we took a step back against Somonauk. They put together 12 singles against us in game one and we didn’t deserve to win,” Schmidt said. “In the second game we jumped out to an early lead and got everyone involved and that was good for us.”
Bott led the way in game two with two hits and three RBI. The junior captain knows his team will be competitive this year.

“I was hitting well against Somonauk. But it all started against Wilmington for me,” Bott said. “I’m willing to do anything for this team and I just know we can be successful in 2006.”

The Reapers hosted Westmont on Tuesday and will travel to Earlville on Thursday and Newark on Friday. All three games will serve as a big test for Plano as the hope to capitalize on their newfound success on the ball diamond achieved last week against Wilmington.

“We’re really happy with the Wilmington series but a little disappointed with the split versus Somonauk,” Schmidt said. “Next week will be a big one for us.

Hopefully we can get three next week and roll on as the team to beat in the area as well as the I-8.”
Plano fans will hopefully see it’s not how you start, but how well you finish.

Aurora Beacon News

Plano 12, Wilmington 4 — Will Brown had three hits and two RBIs, while Brook Bott, Shawn Gwilt and Brent Day all drove in two runs apiece.

Indian Creek 14, Somonauk 0 — Graham Gletty tossed a no-hitter for Indian Creek, striking out seven while issuing two walks. Gletty also had three hits and an RBI, while Chris Tidwell had three hits and three RBIs, and Josh Johnson chipped in with two hits and two RBIs.

Hinckley-Big Rock 19, LaMoille 7 — Nolan Craig smacked a grand slam and drove in six runs to lead the way for H-BR. Kyle Runyan earned his first win of the season in the mound as the Royals improved to 2-5 overall and 2-1 in the Little 10.

PREP BASEBALL ROUNDUP

From the Ottawa Times

The Seneca baseballers have completed their annual trip to southern Illinois, winning one of five games, despite some nice pitching performances.

Goreville 9, Seneca 8

At Benton, the Irish led 8-0 after five innings, but failed to maintain the advantage, wasting a fine pitching effort by Alex Spicer. Spicer started his first game and worked nearly six innings before the pitch-count got the best of him.

Tim Shymanske was 3-for-4 with a home run, Jered Ness doubled with two runs-batted-in, Luke Underhill and Seth Hobbs had two hits apiece.

Benton 11, Seneca 4

In their second game of the day at Benton, the Irish took a 3-1 lead in the first four innings, but left 12 men on base and lost. Underhill doubled and Nic Ugolini singled twice. Matt Musser threw a pretty good game according to coach Kirk Houchin.

Pleasant Plains 3, Seneca 2

At Harrisburg, Seneca was leading 2-1 with two out and two strikes on the batter in the bottom of the final inning, but this one slipped away and Hobbs (1-2) took a tough loss. Musser and Hobbs both finished with two hits.

Seneca 3, Harrisburg 2

The Irish downed the host school in dramatic fashion. Seneca had a one-run edge in the bottom of the seventh, but Harrisburg had the bases loaded with one out. Seneca's Jake Kennedy tracked down a fly-ball and threw the tagging runner out at the plate to conclude the game.

Knapp doubled, Ness doubled and Ugolini had an RBI double. Marty Hetelle was the winning pitcher with seven strikeouts.

Carterville 5, Seneca 1

At Carterville, Spicer was 3 for 4 with a triple and Hetelle doubled, but the Irish committed three errors in the third inning and were never able to overcome the home-team's lead.

Plano 12, Wilmington 4

At Wilmington, the Reapers completed an Interstate Eight Conference sweep of the Wildcats in a game shortened to four innings.

Plano rang up a pair of runs in the second inning, added three in the third and then popped for seven more in the top of the fourth.

Will Brown finished with three singles and two RBI to lead the Reaper charge. Alex Jensen (double, RBI), Brook Bott (double, two RBI), and Brent Day (two RBI) had two hits apiece. Eric Nelson was the winning pitcher for Plano (2-3, 2-0).

Plano 14, Wilmington 4 (4 innings)

PLANO (14) -- Priesman cf 3-0-1, Jensen lf 3-2-2, Bott ss 3-2-2, Gwilt 1b 2-1-1, Brown dh 3-3-3, Day rf 2-1-2, O'Hara c 3-1-1, Preston 3b 3-1-0, Wright 2b 2-1-1, Nelson p 0-0-0. Totals 25-12-13.

WILMINGTON (4) -- Gurnitz lf 3-0-0, Tofoya cf 2-0-1, Roark ss 2-0-0, Dziuban c 2-1-1, Mitchel 1b 1-1-0, Spell p 1-1-0, Cragg 2b 2-0-2, Vercelli 3b 1-0-0, Stickel rf 2-0-0. Totals 16-4-4. Plano (2-3, 2-0) 023 7 -- 12

Wilmington       010 3 -- 4

E -- Plano 3, Wilmington 5. DP -- Plano 1, Wilmington 0. LOB -- Plano 3, Wilmington 3. 2B -- Jensen, Bott, Gwilt, Dziuban. SB -- Priesman. RBI -- Bott 2, Gwilt 2, Brown 2, Day 2, Jensen, O'Hara, Wright, Cragg, Vercelli. K -- Nelson 2, Klingberg 0, Spell 3, Mitchel 0, Wright 1. BB -- Nelson 3, Klingberg 0, Spell 1, Mitchel 0, Wright 0. WP -- Nelson (1-0). LP -- Spell.