Normal West Baseball

5-24-2010 vs. Decatur MacArthur Generals

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
MacArthur Generals	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	3	7	7
NCWHS Wildcats	1	0	0	0	9	0	X	10	13	0

Seniors come up big on Senior Day

Seniors Jason Cullen, Michael Collins and Brock Stewart celebrated Senior Day with their bats, leading the Normal West Wildcats to a 10-3 win over Decatur MacArthur to finish out the conference campaign at 12-1 as Big 12 Conference champions.  The win moves the Wildcats overall record to 26-8.

The Wildcats bats started slow, producing only one run over the first four innings, but got very hot in the 5^th to pull away.  In the 1^st inning, Alex Jefferson reached based on an infield error and stole second before scoring on a Jason Cullen double over the centerfielder’s head.  In the 5^th inning, Stewart started the rally with a single.  Cullen then doubled again.  They both scored on a dropped fly by the right fielder.  Wes Sery’s ground ball to second was thrown away to score another run and put him on second.  Michael Collins doubled him in and then scored on a single by senior Brandon Brittin.  An Alex Jefferson single put two men on and Stewart drove home Brittin with a base hit.  Cullen then hit his third triple of the game over the left fielder’s head to drive in two more. Senior Jacob Birlingmaier finished it with a base hit to score Cullen.

Cullen and Collins led the Wildcats with three hits, while Stewart had two.  Cullen also led the Wildcats with three RBIs.

Adam Seifert got the victory on the mound for the Wildcats.  He pitched six innings, giving up three runs on seven hits with no walks and four strikeouts.  He struck out the side in the 3^rd and was helped by a nice 5-4-3 double play to end the 4^th inning.  Alex Jefferson pitched a perfect 7^th inning with one strikeout.

The Wildcats play Pontiac at home tomorrow at 4:30 in their regular season finale.

5-22-2010 vs. Lyons Township Lions

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
NCWHS Wildcats	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	3	9	3
Lyons Township	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	5	5	1

Walk Off Beats the Wildcats

A walk off three run homer with two outs in the bottom of the 7^th inning led the Lyons Township Lions to a 5-3 victory over the Normal West Wildcats at Lyons.  The Wildcats looked to have the game in hand, but a couple of late errors gave the Lions extra opportunities and they took advantage, scoring four runs in the last at bat.  The loss drops the Wildcats to 25-7 while the Lions move to 23-10.

 The game was a matchup of team aces that lived up to its billing.  Kyle Vaughn tossed the first four and two thirds innings, giving up one run on three hits.  Jason Cullen came on and got the Wildcats out of the 5^th inning with a runner on and closed the door in the 6^th before giving up four unearned runs in the 7^th on only two hits.  The outfield worked hard all day, recording thirteen outs, including a diving stab by Tyler Emmerson in right field.

After falling behind 1-0, the Wildcats came right back in the 5^th inning to take the lead.  Kyle Vaugn led off with a walk and got moved to second by Michael Collins.  With two outs, Jason Cullen singled to right to score Vaughn.  Jacob Birlingmaier then doubled off the center field wall to score Cullen with the go ahead run.  The Wildcats added a run in the 7^th when Brock Stewart singled, Cullen singled to left and Birlingmaier brought him in with a single to center.  Birlingmaier led the Wildcats with three hits while Stewart and Cullen had two each.  Birlingmaier also had two runs batted in.

The Wildcats return to action on Monday at home for Senior Day against Decatur MacArthur, which was rained out last Thursday.

5-18-2010 vs. Decatur MacArthur Generals

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
NCWHS Wildcats	0	0	0	1	4	0	5	10	9	4
MacArthur Generals	2	0	7	0	0	0	2	11	10	1

Wildcats Fall to the Generals

The Normal West Wildcats came all the way back from a 9-0 deficit, but couldn’t make it stand up, losing to the Decatur MacArthur Generals 11-10 in a Big 12 Conference game at Decatur.  The loss drops the Wildcats to 25-7 overall and 11-1 in the conference. 

The Generals broke out early with two runs in the 1^st inning and seven in the 3^rd inning before the Wildcats could get on the scoreboard.  A Wes Sery one out single, followed by walks to Erik Sipes and Brandon Zwaga loaded the bases and Trey Rogers broke the goose egg with a sacrifice fly to center.  In the 5^th inning, the Wildcats gained momentum when Kyle Vaughn singled and Alex Jefferson doubled him home with a shot to right center.  A Brock Stewart infield followed by a fielder’s choice put runners at the corners.  A wild pitch scored Jefferson and then Erik Sipes cracked a two-run homer to left.

 In the dramatic 7^th inning, Jefferson, Stewart and Jason Cullen walked to load the bases with no outs.  Wes Sery’s grounder was misplayed by the General second baseman to bring in a run before Erik Sipes lined a double down the left field line to score Stewart and Cullen.  After Sery scored on a wild pitch to tie the game, Tyler Emmerson smashed a triple to right center to put the Wildcats in the lead. 

The Generals, however, were able to score two runs in the bottom of the seventh on a triple and a double.  The winning run scored on a controversial infield out as the batter potentially interfered with a throw from first base to home.  The base umpire had signaled interference, but after a conference with the plate umpire, waived it off to end the game.

 Kyle Vaughn, Wes Sery and Erik Sipes led the Wildcats with two hits while Sipes had four runs batted in.

Alex Jefferson took the loss on the hill.  He worked 3 2/3 innings after taking over for Michael Collins to start the 4^th, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk and striking out six.  Collins went three innings, allowing nine runs, but only two earned on eight hits with two walks and a strikeout.

The Wildcats get another chance at the Generals on Thursday at West Varsity Field, where they will be celebrating Senior Day.