Somonauk Skul-ed By WFC
Warrior Pitcher, Errors Do In Bobcats ...
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At Gardner-South Wilmington
Class 1A Regional
Championship
Woodland/Flanagan-Cornell
6, Somonauk 4 (8 innings)
WFC (6) – Roeschley cf 4-0-2-
0, Buscher 3b 4-2-1-0, Skul
p/ss 3-2-2-2, Serratto 1b 3-0-
1-1, Lentman pr 0-0-0-0,
Erschen lf/p 3-0-2-1, Katcher
rf 4-0-0-0, Duffy ss/2b 3-1-0-
0, Bullard dh 4-1-1-1, Starkey
2b/lf 0-0-0-0, Collins c 4-0-0-
0. Totals 32-6-9-5.
Somonauk (4) – Schmitt cf 2-
1-0-0, Green c 4-2-3-0,
Kartheiser p/ss 3-0-2-3,
Wesolowski cr 0-1-0-0,
Alvarez 1b/p 4-0-0-0, Land 2b
3-0-0-1, D. Morsch ss/lf 3-0-0-
0, Thayer lf 3-0-0-0, Heerhold
3b 3-0-0-0, Stahl rf 3-0-0-0, J.
Morsch 1b 0-0-0-0. Totals 28-
4-5-4.
WFC 200 02002 – 6 9 1
Somonauk 301 00000 – 4 5 5
LOB – WFC 8; Somonauk 5.
2B – Kartheiser. HR – Skul.
SB – Erschen, Kartheiser. D.
Morsch. SAC – Buscher. SF –
Land. HBP – Skul (by
Kartheiser), Duffy (by Alvarez).
WFC ip r er h bb k
Skul (W, 7-2) 7 4 3 5 4 9
Erschen (S) 1 0 0 0 0 1
Somonauk
Kartheiser 7 4 4 8 2 10
Alvarez (L, 8-2) 1 2 0 1 1 2
Records: WFC 23-7,
Somonauk 24-4.
Class 1A Regional
Championship
Woodland/Flanagan-Cornell
6, Somonauk 4 (8 innings)
WFC (6) – Roeschley cf 4-0-2-
0, Buscher 3b 4-2-1-0, Skul
p/ss 3-2-2-2, Serratto 1b 3-0-
1-1, Lentman pr 0-0-0-0,
Erschen lf/p 3-0-2-1, Katcher
rf 4-0-0-0, Duffy ss/2b 3-1-0-
0, Bullard dh 4-1-1-1, Starkey
2b/lf 0-0-0-0, Collins c 4-0-0-
0. Totals 32-6-9-5.
Somonauk (4) – Schmitt cf 2-
1-0-0, Green c 4-2-3-0,
Kartheiser p/ss 3-0-2-3,
Wesolowski cr 0-1-0-0,
Alvarez 1b/p 4-0-0-0, Land 2b
3-0-0-1, D. Morsch ss/lf 3-0-0-
0, Thayer lf 3-0-0-0, Heerhold
3b 3-0-0-0, Stahl rf 3-0-0-0, J.
Morsch 1b 0-0-0-0. Totals 28-
4-5-4.
WFC 200 02002 – 6 9 1
Somonauk 301 00000 – 4 5 5
LOB – WFC 8; Somonauk 5.
2B – Kartheiser. HR – Skul.
SB – Erschen, Kartheiser. D.
Morsch. SAC – Buscher. SF –
Land. HBP – Skul (by
Kartheiser), Duffy (by Alvarez).
WFC ip r er h bb k
Skul (W, 7-2) 7 4 3 5 4 9
Erschen (S) 1 0 0 0 0 1
Somonauk
Kartheiser 7 4 4 8 2 10
Alvarez (L, 8-2) 1 2 0 1 1 2
Records: WFC 23-7,
Somonauk 24-4.
By Bill Lidinsky
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Contributor
GARDNER - After throwing 137 pitches during the Class 1A regional semifinal on
Saturday, it wasn’t very likely that Woodland/Flanagan-Cornell pitcher Lucas Skul
(pronounced 'school') would be towing the pitching rubber 48 hours later in the
championship game.
Those who would have assumed that would’ve been dead wrong.
Skul decided he was ready to go on just one day of rest as the No. 2 seed Warriors
battled No.1 Somonauk on Monday for the championship of the Gardner-South
Wilmington Regional.
The senior right-hander almost unbelievably hurled another seven strong innings
throwing 128 more pitches. From there, he and his teammates took full advantage of four
Bobcat errors in the top of the eighth inning in which WFC would score two unearned runs
that broke a 4-4 tie and gave Skul and the Warriors a 6-4 eight-inning regional title game
win.
Skul (7-2) would get some help from reliever Mason Erschen in the bottom of the eighth
as he finally gave out after Somonauk got the first two batters on base. But Erschen
closed the door recording the save by getting the final three outs of the contest with
runners in scoring position.
For the favored Bobcats, Skul's performance was a tough pill to swallow as their fine
season came to an end.
“Credit him. He threw the ball extremely well for someone who pitched a full game two
days ago. I think we had a lot of guys at times helping him out when they shouldn’t have
been, but give him credit,” said Somonauk coach Bob Honkala. “This is a game when you
make mistakes like we did this time of year they just compound. It’s so important that you
don’t make them. But when you do, you’re opening the door for an inning like it happened
tonight. Credit Skul, but put some blame on us for not executing. One team executed
tonight and one team didn’t.”
WFC (23-7) executed offensively in the top of the first inning against Somonauk starting
pitcher Brock Kartheiser. Skul helped his own cause with a two-run bomb to left field that
put the Warriors up early 2-0.
“I got down 0-2 and I picked up his curve ball that hung up there. He just left a curve ball
up and I took advantage of it,” Skul said.
But the Bobcats would fire right back with three runs in the bottom of the first to go up 3-2.
Jeremy Schmitt led off with a walk and went to second on Eric Green’s single. Kartheiser
then followed with a booming two-run double to right-center field and the game was tied.
One out later, courtesy runner Dylan Wesolowski would tally on Mack Land’s sacrifice fly
to right and the Cats were up by one.
Somonauk (24-4) would go up 4-2 after three with an unearned run in the bottom of the
third, but that’s where Skul shut the Cats down. He wouldn’t allow another hit until the
eighth.
Meanwhile the Warriors would get to Kartheiser again in the top of the fifth to tie the score
at four.
With two out, WFC strung together four consecutive singles including the last two from
Matt Serratto and Erschen whom plated Sam Buscher and Skul to draw WFC even.
“Brock didn’t really take the ball with his best stuff today. It was one of the first times we’ve
really had to see him battle or labor on the mound,” Honkala said. “That was an inning
where he struggled after getting the first two batters out and they took advantage to tie it
up.”
The two clubs would battle into extra innings with Kartheiser giving way to Aaron Alvarez in
the fateful eighth inning.
Alvarez (8-2) struck out the first batter and then hit the second. What followed was four
Somonauk errors that led to a pair of unearned runs and a 6-4 Warrior lead with a half
inning to play.
Green (3-4 two runs scored) led off the bottom of the eighth by legging out an infield
single. Kartheiser (2-3, 3 RBI) then singled to center as Green went to third.
Finally after 265 pitches in 48 hours, Skul was finished and Erschen came on. Kartheiser
then stole second to put the tying runs in scoring position with no outs.
Erschen would get a key strikeout and then an infield line out before closing the book on
the WFC championship win by recording an easy fly ball to left to end the game and the
Bobcats season.
But it was Skul who carried the day and the whole regional for WFC.
“We talked about me pitching both days and coach (WFC head coach Jeremy Heck)
asked me about eight times how my arm felt on Sunday. I iced it all Sunday and I was
ready to go today,” Skul said. “I was tired the whole game today, but this is what I wanted.
It’s my senior year and I wanted to step up. I wanted the game in my hands.”
“He’s got a heck of an arm. He just uses it to the best of his ability. It looked like he really
never let up. He was still probably throwing low 80’s in the six and seventh innings,” Heck
said. “I guess we got the best of the pitching situation today. It was a great win against a
very good Somonauk team.”
Bill Lidinsky is a Northern Illinois Sports Beat contributor. He can be reached in care of
NISB at Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our
Message Boards!
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Contributor
GARDNER - After throwing 137 pitches during the Class 1A regional semifinal on
Saturday, it wasn’t very likely that Woodland/Flanagan-Cornell pitcher Lucas Skul
(pronounced 'school') would be towing the pitching rubber 48 hours later in the
championship game.
Those who would have assumed that would’ve been dead wrong.
Skul decided he was ready to go on just one day of rest as the No. 2 seed Warriors
battled No.1 Somonauk on Monday for the championship of the Gardner-South
Wilmington Regional.
The senior right-hander almost unbelievably hurled another seven strong innings
throwing 128 more pitches. From there, he and his teammates took full advantage of four
Bobcat errors in the top of the eighth inning in which WFC would score two unearned runs
that broke a 4-4 tie and gave Skul and the Warriors a 6-4 eight-inning regional title game
win.
Skul (7-2) would get some help from reliever Mason Erschen in the bottom of the eighth
as he finally gave out after Somonauk got the first two batters on base. But Erschen
closed the door recording the save by getting the final three outs of the contest with
runners in scoring position.
For the favored Bobcats, Skul's performance was a tough pill to swallow as their fine
season came to an end.
“Credit him. He threw the ball extremely well for someone who pitched a full game two
days ago. I think we had a lot of guys at times helping him out when they shouldn’t have
been, but give him credit,” said Somonauk coach Bob Honkala. “This is a game when you
make mistakes like we did this time of year they just compound. It’s so important that you
don’t make them. But when you do, you’re opening the door for an inning like it happened
tonight. Credit Skul, but put some blame on us for not executing. One team executed
tonight and one team didn’t.”
WFC (23-7) executed offensively in the top of the first inning against Somonauk starting
pitcher Brock Kartheiser. Skul helped his own cause with a two-run bomb to left field that
put the Warriors up early 2-0.
“I got down 0-2 and I picked up his curve ball that hung up there. He just left a curve ball
up and I took advantage of it,” Skul said.
But the Bobcats would fire right back with three runs in the bottom of the first to go up 3-2.
Jeremy Schmitt led off with a walk and went to second on Eric Green’s single. Kartheiser
then followed with a booming two-run double to right-center field and the game was tied.
One out later, courtesy runner Dylan Wesolowski would tally on Mack Land’s sacrifice fly
to right and the Cats were up by one.
Somonauk (24-4) would go up 4-2 after three with an unearned run in the bottom of the
third, but that’s where Skul shut the Cats down. He wouldn’t allow another hit until the
eighth.
Meanwhile the Warriors would get to Kartheiser again in the top of the fifth to tie the score
at four.
With two out, WFC strung together four consecutive singles including the last two from
Matt Serratto and Erschen whom plated Sam Buscher and Skul to draw WFC even.
“Brock didn’t really take the ball with his best stuff today. It was one of the first times we’ve
really had to see him battle or labor on the mound,” Honkala said. “That was an inning
where he struggled after getting the first two batters out and they took advantage to tie it
up.”
The two clubs would battle into extra innings with Kartheiser giving way to Aaron Alvarez in
the fateful eighth inning.
Alvarez (8-2) struck out the first batter and then hit the second. What followed was four
Somonauk errors that led to a pair of unearned runs and a 6-4 Warrior lead with a half
inning to play.
Green (3-4 two runs scored) led off the bottom of the eighth by legging out an infield
single. Kartheiser (2-3, 3 RBI) then singled to center as Green went to third.
Finally after 265 pitches in 48 hours, Skul was finished and Erschen came on. Kartheiser
then stole second to put the tying runs in scoring position with no outs.
Erschen would get a key strikeout and then an infield line out before closing the book on
the WFC championship win by recording an easy fly ball to left to end the game and the
Bobcats season.
But it was Skul who carried the day and the whole regional for WFC.
“We talked about me pitching both days and coach (WFC head coach Jeremy Heck)
asked me about eight times how my arm felt on Sunday. I iced it all Sunday and I was
ready to go today,” Skul said. “I was tired the whole game today, but this is what I wanted.
It’s my senior year and I wanted to step up. I wanted the game in my hands.”
“He’s got a heck of an arm. He just uses it to the best of his ability. It looked like he really
never let up. He was still probably throwing low 80’s in the six and seventh innings,” Heck
said. “I guess we got the best of the pitching situation today. It was a great win against a
very good Somonauk team.”
Bill Lidinsky is a Northern Illinois Sports Beat contributor. He can be reached in care of
NISB at Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our
Message Boards!
Bobcat Baseball Star
To Become A Skyhawk
Somonauk’s Kartheiser
Chooses Sauk Valley At
The Next Level
To Become A Skyhawk
Somonauk’s Kartheiser
Chooses Sauk Valley At
The Next Level
C o d y' s
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C o l u m n s
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C o l u m n s
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