Baseball: Romeoville Eliminated in Regional

Hot Read: Following an Upstate 8 Conference title, Waubonsie Valley went back to work Monday in the first round of regionals.

After blanking Romeoville in the top half of the first, the Warriors wasted no time connecting on back-to-back doubles by seniors Eric Josupait and Mike Murphy. Josupait scored  on a Romeoville error, and Murphy followed suit after Waubonsie Valley senior Brian Deal.

In the same inning, Waubonsie Valley junior James Palasz singled and would later score after senior teammate Harry Vickers homered. The Warriors manufactured a comfortable lead, leading 4-0 in the first.

In the second inning, Murphy and junior Tyler Josupait took consecutive walks. Senior Kyle Limanowski then homered over the left-field fence as they led 7-0 after two innings.

Limanowski added to his RBI total doubling in the third and would later score himself to improve Waubonsie Valley's lead to 10-0.

Romeoville was able to break the shutout in the fourth when seniors Brian Weber singled and Jeremy Pociask homered over the left-center fence. The Spartans cut the deficit and avoided the rout rule to 10-2.

Both teams added a run in the fifth inning.

Patch's MVP: Warriors senior Kyle Limanowski (2-for-4; five RBIs, three runs,  homer, double)

Key stats: Limanowski had a hand in eight of the 11 runs scored by Waubonsie Valley. RHS stranded six runners. Waubonsie Valley scored 11 runs on 13 hits.

Waubonsie Valley leaders: Seniors Mike Murphy (Pitching: six innings, three runs on five hits, four strikeouts and two walks. Batting: 2-for-4; double, RBI, walk, run), Harry Vickers (1-for-3; homer, two RBIs) and Eric Josupait (2-for-4; two runs, double, stolen base and walk)

Romeoville leaders: Seniors Jeremy Pociask (1-for-2; two RBIs and hom erun), Brian Weber (2-for-4; two runs) and Josh Chlebanowski (1-for-3; RBI).

Quotable I: "It's definitely easy to pitch when we score 11 runs," Murphy said. "The chemistry is really strong. We've come a long way, because we started 0-6 this season. We have our rival next in Neuqua Valley, and we're going to be really pumped."

Quotable II: "We got a good group of guys once we get the bats going," Limanowski said. "We feed off each other with the bats. It seems like a merry-go-round once we get it going. It's easy to go to the plate and get a good bat on the ball when your [starting pitcher] is going the distance."

Best play: After Waubonsie Valley hit a line drive, Matt Murphy's pinch runner attempted to score from second base. When Romeoville senior leftfielder Brian Weber grabbed the ball, he crow-hopped a frozen rope to senior catcher teammate Justin Hurdle. Hurdle caught the ball on a fly and blocked home with his mitt, tagging out the Waubonsie Valley runner.

Records: Waubonsie Valley (20-12), Romeoville (12-19).

What's next: The Warriors advance to play Neuqua Valley at Lockport