Wildcats capture third straight Regional crown

For four innings Saturday, it looked as though Wilmington and Coal City were headed for another tense postseason battle. Then the Wildcats exploded. Behind a dominant two-hit pitching performance from senior Ryan Kettman and a five-run fifth inning, third-seeded Wilmington rolled past Coal City 9-0 to claim its third consecutive regional championship and earn a trip to the Herscher Sectional. The victory was especially sweet for the Wildcats, who entered the game looking for revenge after Coal City defeated them twice during the regular season. “We talked about they got us during the regular season twice and it was time to get back at them,” Kettman said. “So we all had that mindset where we had to jump on them. I'd say that motivated us to play harder with a couple of timely catches and good fielding.” Kettman was outstanding on the mound, scattering just two hits while striking out seven and walking two. The senior right-hander threw 71 strikes among his 103 pitches and never allowed the Coalers to mount a serious threat. “My best pitch today was getting that strike one,” Kettman quipped. “We mixed pitches up as we went, but mainly I wanted to get ahead of each batter so they were behind on the count. Putting batters on the defensive helped.” Coal City's best opportunity came in the fourth inning when Bobby Rodriguez singled and Gavin Berger walked with one out. After Kettman struck out Connor Henline, Donnie Ladas lifted a fly ball to right field that Colin Strong tracked down for the third out. That defensive gem proved to be a momentum changer. “I knew I was gonna be able to trust my defense today, especially against these guys,” Kettman said. The Wildcats broke the game open an inning later against Coal City ace Lance Cuddy, who had dominated Wilmington in both regular-season meetings. After Strong singled and Nash Rink was hit by a pitch, Caius Drown moved the runners into scoring position with a perfect sacrifice bunt down the first base line. Kettman then ripped a two-run single to center, scoring Strong and Rink for a 2-0 lead. Following an intentional walk to Zach Ohlund and a walk to Declan Moran, Cooper Holman lined a two-run single to right field to score Kettman and Ohlund. Moments later, Brysen Meents added an RBI single to left, plating Moran and extending the lead to 5-0. The Wildcats never looked back. Wilmington added four more runs in the seventh inning to put the game out of reach. Holman finished with two hits and four RBIs, while Kettman drove in two runs. Rink collected two hits and two RBIs, and Strong scored twice. For coach Mike Bushnell, the offensive breakout was simply a matter of persistence against one of the best pitchers in the area. “Lance Cuddy is probably the best pitcher that we faced all year, and we played some big schools with some impressive arms,” Bushnell said. “There's no doubt Cuddy topped all of them. But our guys provided Ryan with error-free defense including a big catch by Colin (Strong) in right field when they had two guys on base in the fourth.” “I’m not sure that was the turning point of the game, but our guys got charged up in the fifth and took over from there.” Bushnell credited the entire roster for Wilmington's postseason success. “It doesn't matter who's in the lineup, these kids are going to come ready to battle each and every day,” he said. “They are a special group, and I'm lucky to be able to coach them.” The regional title sends Wilmington to the Herscher Sectional, where the Wildcats will face top-seeded Manteno at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Manteno advanced by defeating Sandwich 9-7 in its regional championship game. The other sectional semifinal will feature Ottawa Marquette, which edged Bishop McNamara 4-3 on a walk-off home run, against IC Catholic, an 8-4 winner over Lisle. “We've got a big game Wednesday at Herscher against Manteno, a team we've beaten twice before,” Bushnell said. “But we can't let our guard down because they handed Coal City their only conference loss all season, so they are capable of winning just as much as we are. It should be fun. It will be a playoff atmosphere, but most of our players have been on the big stage before and know what's expected of them. Hopefully we can keep this rolling.” Wilmington punched its ticket to the regional championship game with an impressive 11-1 victory over Prairie Central on Thursday. The Wildcats wasted little time taking control, scoring four runs in the first inning and never looking back. Wilmington added single runs in the second, fifth and sixth innings before erupting for five more in the seventh. Meents powered the offense with a home run and four RBIs, while Kettman collected two doubles and scored twice. Strong and Rink each added two hits, and Ohlund drove in a run. Dierks Geiss and Colin VanDuyne combined to limit Prairie Central to four hits while striking out eight. Geiss earned the victory after tossing three scoreless innings with four strikeouts before VanDuyne worked the final three frames. The convincing win set the stage for Saturday's showdown with Coal City, where the Wildcats completed their revenge tour and secured another regional plaque for the trophy case.