By Mike Sandrolini
Plainfield East had never won a regional semifinal game, let alone a regional crown, going into this season.
But all of that changed within a 24-hour period last week.
The Bengals pulled out an 8-6 victory in 10 innings over Oswego last Friday to record their first semifinal triumph, and then made school history the next day by overcoming a 3-0 deficit to defeat Downers North, 7-3, earning their first regional championship.
“For the program as a whole it’s great because it shows that the varsity squad as a whole has gotten better and built off every year, year after year,” said senior right fielder and leadoff hitter, Cole Lynch. “For me personally it just means the world to hold up that trophy.”
Lynch, who had two hits in the extra-inning victory vs. Oswego, came through in the fifth inning with a two-run double off the center-field fence that gave the Bengals their first lead of the game, 4-3.
The Bengals (20-16) ended up tallying four runs in the inning. Senior Drew DeMumbrum followed Lynch’s double with a sacrifice fly, and yet another senior, first baseman Michael Sullivan, lined a double down the left field line to plate J.J. Zywiciel to provide the Bengals with a 6-3 advantage.
DeMumbrum, a four-year starter and all-conference player, was savoring the regional crown afterward.
“It means the absolute world to me,” said DeMumbrum, who also collected a pair of hits in the regional semifinal contest. “At this point I’m kind of speechless just because the emotions are just crazy right now. But to finally say that we’re regional champions, and not just for myself, but as a team we did it together. I’m very proud of all the guys on the team.”
The Bengals advanced to this week’s Oswego Sectional, and on Wednesday evening, faced Neuqua Valley, the Bolingbrook regional champion, in a semifinal game. Neuqua nipped Naperville Central 4-3 last Saturday.
“We’ve seen Neuqua in the summer,” said Plainfield East coach Adam O’Reel. “I know what Robin (Renner, Neuqua’s baseball coach) has over there usually, and we’ve had a couple of scouts see them already so we know a little about what they do.
“The way we look at it is let’s go with it. We’re going to be playing at the field we know (Oswego) and I’m not too worried with that. They’re a great team and we know that, but we’ve gotten to a point now where we know we can play with anybody and that’s the key. They know they can.”
“With the momentum we have, I think we’re battle-tested and we’re ready for anything,” added senior right-hander Joe Antonopoulos.
Antonopoulos started the game for the Bengals and hit a rough patch during the third and fourth innings, surrendering three walks in the third and hitting three batters in the fourth. However, he closed the door on Downers North after the Trojans scored twice to take a 3-0 lead in the fourth.
“Basically we had two outs at that point and I just really wanted to get that last out and get out of the inning, get out of there with less damage than I was looking to have,” Antonopoulos said. “I got my team going the next inning and we got our bats going and that was the key for us.”
That he did. The Bengals loaded the bases in their half of the fourth after Lynch and Zywiciel singled, and DeMumbrum walked. Antonopoulos then drove in Lynch and Zywiciel with a one-out single.
“He’s struggled lately and he hasn’t been sharp, but we went to our senior today and he pitched well enough to keep us in the ballgame and minimize the damage and it gave us the opportunity to come out and win,” O’Reel said. “We were always up (in the dugout) and we just needed that one thing to get us going.”
Junior Logan Schmitt, who picked up the victory last Friday with two shutout innings of relief work, took over for Antonopoulos in the fifth and pitched the remainder of the game.
Lynch added a run-scoring hit in the sixth to give the Bengals an insurance run.
“We stayed with it and stayed with it and the guys came through in the clutch,” O’Reel said. “All we needed was that big double. Cole Lynch comes up with that big hit and he’s been big for us all year. As Cole goes, we go.”