Warriors' Singh shuts down Tomcats

Waubonsie Valley's Trevor Romeo makes a catch against East Aurora.
(Michael Dinovo/For the Naperville Sun)

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With its run to last year's IHSBCA summer state tournament final four as a reference point, Waubonsie Valley may be hitting its stride at the right time.

Waubonsie toppled East Aurora and its ace Dan Okapal for the second time in little more than a week, beating the Tomcats 7-0 in a Class 4A Plainfield South Regional quarterfinal Monday in Aurora.

If all eyes coming in were on Okapal, who is viewed as a pro prospect and a potential selection in next month's first-year player draft, it was his Warriors' counterpart, Kris Singh, who stole the show.

In improving to 5-4 on the year, Singh went the distance for Waubonsie (19-14) and dominated East Aurora to the tune of 11 strikeouts and only two hits.

"On the mound, I knew I needed to throw strikes and felt like I got it done," Singh said. "I knew (East Aurora) was pitching Okapal, and my team came through and was hitting pretty well for me."

Singh also helped his own cause at the dish by going 2-for-3, stroking a solo homer and scoring two runs.

Using the momentum gleaned from its last two games against Neuqua Valley and Oswego -- where the Warriors scored 18 runs combined -- the Waubonsie offense came to the table once again in getting to Okapal.

Waubonsie third baseman Sam Carius went 3-for-4 with a double, triple and two RBIs. Kevin Kirchner went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Jeff Brown went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

"I was feeling comfortable," Carius said. "(I) went into the game today knowing Okapal was going to pitch, and knowing that he's a really good pitcher and he can hit spots and that he throws very well. Just kind of went up (to the plate) relaxed. I didn't want to think about (Okapal) too much. I just went up there with a clear mind and just focused and relaxed. Looked for my pitch (and) when I found it, (I) went after it."

Okapal went six innings for the Tomcats and got tagged for seven runs, three earned, on 11 hits, while fanning three.

Waubonsie coach Dan Fezzuoglio thought Okapal was a lot sharper Monday than back on May 16 when the Warriors roughed him up, which Fezzuoglio believes will help his troops in the long run.

Waubonsie advances to play sixth-seeded Downers Grove South in a regional semifinal at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

"We told the boys Downers Grove South is obviously a quality team. And they are a quality program," Fezzuoglio said. "They're similar (to us). I told the boys they're very similar to us, I think, in a lot of ways. They do things well. They'll bunt (the ball), they'll hit-and run. They're aggressive and they'll play defense. So they're very, very similar to us."