Well-rounded North Boone baseball team gearing up for sectionals

POPLAR GROVE, Ill.—The North Boone baseball team’s 4-3 win over Marian Central Catholic to earn just its third regional title in program history perfectly encapsulated what has helped the Vikings post its all-time winningest season.

On the mound, Matt Self worked around five walks and six hits to strike out eight and allow just an earned run in five innings in his start and Gage Vermett came in after the eighth-seeded Hurricanes added two runs in the sixth to record the final six outs while keeping them off the board with three strikeouts.

Meanwhile Chris Doetch went 3-for-4 and his two-out single in the bottom of the seventh resulted in an error by the center fielder, allowing Eli Lopez to score and walk it off. Seven of the Vikings’ 10 batters recorded a hit in the outing.

In short, it was a well-rounded team effort that helped third-seeded North Boone win Saturday’s IHSA 2A Regional Championship in Byron.

And North Boone head coach Andrew Baden made it clear that it isn’t just a coaching cliche when he says that versatility has been a huge catalyst.

“Honestly, it’s been our depth more than anything else,” he said. “Baseball, it’s such a long season. You play so many games that if you rely on only the top of your order or only on 1 or 2 arms, it’s really hard to go on a winning streak. You’re eventually going to run out of arms or, if the top of your order has an off day, you drop a game.

“That’s the reason we’ve gone on such a good run here is because our lineup is pretty tough to pitch to one through nine. It’s not top heavy, the bottom of the order isn’t an easy out. And also the depth of arms. We have 4 or 5 games in a week and I’ve got enough guys that I can rely on to go out there and compete, throw strikes and get guys out.”

After dropping back-to-back games against Dixon on April 23 and 25, the Vikings have gone off for a 10-game winning streak that helped them finish second in the Big Northern at 13-5. A 6-4 win over Aurora Central Catholic in the regional semifinals and Saturday’s win puts them at 25-8, the most wins in program history.

It was just the second regional title in 30 years for North Boone.

“It’s been a few years of us turning the corner,” Baden said. “We’re becoming a good program, and the guys finally realized that. The regional title is the one thing that’s been elusive for this group. We’ve gotten right to it, had some chances to win it, and haven’t quite gotten it done. This is the year that as a group, they really have all bought in to the team-first mentality and believed they could do it.”

And if there was any doubt that this Vikings’ squad lacked the aggressive, fighting spirit, look no further than Saturday’s comeback victory.

“Bottom of the sixth, down three runs, it didn’t look or feel great,” Baden said. “But there was really no doubt in the dugout that the guys believed that they were going to win. They had each other’s backs and kept a positive mindset. Every at bat was an extremely good at bat, and every guy in the lineup just bought in to keep the line moving.”

A two-run triple by JJ Ford and an RBI single by Grady Condon tied it a three to set up the title victory.

The Vikings will throw Lopez on the mound for the sectional semifinal matchup against Riverdale on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

In addition to leading the team with his .481 batting average, the senior is having a stellar season on the mound. In 10 starts he holds a 2.47 ERA and has struck out 71 batters with 12 walks.

“Eli is maybe the most reliable person in the area,” Baden said. “He’s not bad at anything. He doesn’t have bad days and is our steady hand. He’s been in our rotation for three years now, so teams have gotten multiple looks at him. And they still have a difficult time hitting him because he has great command. He hits his spots. He can throw his breaking ball for a strike in any count.”

Self, who is hitting .316, has also been a force to be reckoned with when he makes a start. He has a 2.24 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 14 appearances.

“Every day that I give Matt the ball, he is like a whole different kid,” Baden said. “His approach when he gets to the park is so focused, so locked in. He’s also got really great stuff.”

And Vermett is yet another player who fits that mold of “great from the mound and the plate.” He is hitting .373 and, in a largely relief role, holds a 2.36 ERA. Baden expressed confidence in bringing him in during any crucial scenario down the stretch and seeing great results.

“Gage is only a sophomore, but he’s the most confident and most focused sophomore that I’ve seen,” he said. “The moment is never too big for him. And if we didn’t have as deep a lineup as we do, he definitely would be hitting up towards the top.”

The steady lineup also features Doetch hitting .422 and leading the team in home runs with five. Margarito Espain is hitting .345 and RJ Wolski is a stout catcher behind the plate who can also swing it, hitting .316 thus far.

Every player who has 50 or more at-bats this season is hitting at least .274 or better.

The Rams of Port Byron are 14-8 and went 7-3 to finish fourth in the tough Three Rivers Conference. Third-seeded Riverdale beat top-seeded Byron of the Big Northern 4-2 to win their regional title.

Baden admitted it isn’t the easiest to scout a team that is over two hours away and has very few, if any, common opponents to compare.

“But I know that they’ve beaten a couple of teams that are traditional powers that are very good,” he added. “And obviously if they beat Byron, they’re as good as any team that’s at the top of the BNC. They’ve got two arms that are pretty legitimate aces that they are just throwing back to back in the playoffs. So, we know we’re going to have to bring our bats to win.”