Highland's Caden Quigg kick-starts the sectional final. Then he achieves ‘something my dad was able to do.'

Chicago Tribune

2 days ago

As is often the case, Caden Quigg got things going for Highland on Monday night.
The senior center fielder said that was part of the plan against Bishop Noll in the Class 3A East Chicago Central Sectional championship game at Block Stadium.
'We knew from the jump, right away, we had to put it on them, and we weren't going to let go,' he said.
Quigg led off the first inning with a single and scored the game's first run. Later in the inning, he walked with the bases loaded to force in another run. By the end of the first, Highland led 10-0.
That was more than enough for the Trojans, who won their first sectional title since 2000 with a 13-0 victory in five innings.
'That first inning, we put it on them, and we did not let go at all,' Quigg said. 'We knew if we kept going, it was ours, and we did it right from the start.'
It all started with Quigg.
'I was just ready to hit (Monday),' he said. 'I knew my job up there was just to do what I know how to do. Going up to the plate, I just had a clear, clean mind and just attacked the ball.'
Quigg is batting .298 with 16 RBIs for Highland (17-13), which will play Andrean (27-3) in the regional championship game on Saturday. He also has 29 stolen bases, the single-season program record he set against East Chicago Central in the sectional semifinals.
'Q, I love him to death,' Highland coach Zak Pizer said. 'For him to set the goal of 29, to get that stolen base record and for him to achieve it and to put God first, it's just a testament to the man he is, the young man he is.'
The record has been icing on the cake for Quigg.
'It's awesome,' he said. 'The No. 1 goal always was to win sectionals. But at the start of the year, I was looking through the record book, and I saw that I could get those steals. That was my goal. I made that my goal. I told myself I could get it, and I went after it.'
Highland senior Caden VanderMeyden nearly pitched a no-hitter against the Warriors (16-10), who lost 6-5 in the regular-season matchup between the teams on May 22. VanderMeyden allowed only a double with two outs in the fifth to junior infielder Aston Orozco and matched that with a two-run double of his own. VanderMeyden struck out 11 and walked five.
VanderMeyden and Quigg, a three-sport athlete who also competed in cross country and basketball for the Trojans, intend to play baseball and room together at Trinity Christian.
'He means a lot,' VanderMeyden said. 'I'm just happy to win it with him. To be with him and jumping on each other after we won it, it means a lot.'
The sectional championship also means a lot to Quigg's family. His parents, Jason and Courtney, are longtime coaches in the Region. Jason Quigg, a 1992 Highland graduate, was part of the boys basketball team that reached the state semifinals in 1991 and is an assistant for the team. Courtney Quigg is an assistant for Highland's girls baseball team.
'It's amazing,' Caden Quigg said. 'I've been waiting. Ever since I was a freshman, all I wanted to do was just win a sectional. Now I'm able to do it and have something my dad was able to do.'
Jason Quigg was emotional as the Trojans celebrated on the historic field.
'I wanted this for him so much,' he said. 'It's so cool. It's awesome.'
Pizer collected himself before putting the sectional title in perspective. The second-year coach and former assistant graduated from Highland in 2018.
'A long time coming,' Pizer said. 'Twenty-five years — I'm 25 years old. I was probably three weeks the last time we won this. To be a 4-10 team and to win the last 10 of 13 games to keep it going with this team, it's just the resilience they have.
'It just goes to show it's our time.'