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Plainfield North rallies past Minooka
Updated: May 10, 2011 9:31PM
No one was more pleased to see Minooka junior ace Josh Jimenez exit the game in the sixth inning than Joey Cresta.
The Plainfield North junior had struck out his first three at-bats against Jimenez, but the first pitch Cresta saw from a Minooka reliever, he ripped a two-run single to tie the game.
Then in the seventh inning, Cresta crushed a grand slam to cement No. 3 Plainfield North’s remarkable 14-7 comeback victory over host Minooka on Tuesday. The victory gave Plainfield North (23-1, 16-0) its third consecutive Southwest Prairie Conference championship.
“This is an up-and-down game, that’s for sure,” said Cresta, who finished with six RBI.
No kidding.
Plainfield North trailed 7-2 heading into the sixth inning before the Tigers rallied for five runs. Plainfield North tallied four hits in the inning, with Cresta delivering the two-run single to climb.
Then the Tigers erupted for seven runs in the top of the seventh behind five more hits and three walks. Pat Cashman followed Cresta’s grand slam with a solo homer.
“I knew we would struggle early against Jimenez,” Plainfield North coach John Darlington said. “I knew it would take a while, but I didn’t think it would turn out like this. I was just hoping to hang around long enough to get Jimenez out of the game.”
Jimenez (5-5), who went 12-1 as a sophomore last year, had Plainfield North off balance in the early innings with a mixture of two-seam fastballs, curveballs and changeups. In 52/3 innings, he struck out eight, walked two and allowed eight hits. In the fifth, he got two quick outs, then Plainfield North strung a few hits together, coupled with two walks and a hit batter before he was taken out.
“The final score is not a good indication of how the game went,” Minooka coach Jeff Petrovic said. “I thought Josh pitched great. We played five really good innings. Unfortunately, you don’t stop after five innings.”
Plainfield North leadoff man Evan Whaley went 4-for-5 with three run-scoring singles and three runs. Kurt Palandech went 3-for-4 with a double, three runs and reached base all five plate appearances. Cashman retired the side in order, including two strikeouts, in the seventh, to close out the game.
Tyler Thorson led Minooka by going 2-for-2 with a two-run triple and two runs, and Dakota Brown added two hits and an RBI.
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