Plainfield Central's fast start beats South

Updated: April 7, 2011 4:04PM

Spring football practice at Joliet Junior College had an unusual neighbor Tuesday – the baseball game between Plainfield Central and Plainfield South.

South was supposed to host the Southwest Prairie Conference opener for both teams, but the new sod on the Cougars' field wasn't ready. And according to South coach Phil Bodine, neither were the Cougars.

Twelve batters put together an eight-run first inning for Plainfield Central and the Wildcats made that stand up in an 8-2 victory as junior Mark DeYoung pitched a complete game with nine strikeouts.

"We had a lot of good hits early,'' Plainfield Central coach Bob Dobbertin said.

"Quite frankly, it was a major-league embarrassment,'' Bodine said of his team.

Steve Heffernan led off with a base hit and scored twice in the inning, stealing home for the second run. DeYoung had an RBI double during the barrage, but a sharp single from Joe Sparacio may have been the biggest hit.

"He's one of the guys we need to get going,'' Dobbertin said of Sparacio, who had six home runs and 41 RBI last season. "He's one of our big sluggers. It just kind of let everybody know ‘Here we go.'''

Plainfield Central raised its record to 2-6 after going 1-2 in the WJOL Tournament last weekend.

"We've seen close games and we've seen them be competitive,'' Dobbertin said of his squad. "We've seen a lot of good things from a lot of players, which in the long run will help us.''

Plainfield South starter Nick Manetti pitched with a sore back after falling down some stairs, Bodine said. The Cougars' coach said his defense "couldn't make routine plays'' while Manetti struggled.

Jesse Small and John McNulty had sixth-inning RBI for Plainfield South (3-3). Junior right-hander Julian Clouse pitched six shutout innings, earning praise from Bodine.

South has a chance for redemption – the three-game series continues Wednesday at Plainfield Central with the finale Thursday back at JJC because of the South field problems.

"Playing a team like South, you're never comfortable because you know the kind of firepower they have,'' Dobbertin said.

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