Latest news with #WaubonsieValleyRegionalsemifinals
Chicago Tribune
6 days ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Waubonsie Valley senior Danny McGuigan earns a new perk in his new gig. He gets to enjoy a tie and a win.
Waubonsie Valley senior Danny McGuigan didn't see a lot of playing time until late in the regular season. He was used mainly as a pitcher out of the bullpen. But Waubonsie Valley coach Bryan Acevedo saw something in the Aurora University commit and decided to try him as the designated hitter. 'On Saturdays, when he got some opportunities, he hit some baseballs hard, and we liked his approach,' Acevedo said. 'We gave him some opportunities a couple weeks ago as the DH, and he hasn't left the lineup.' McGuigan left the bench only four times on Thursday, but he took advantage of his chances. He went 3-for-4 with a career-high four RBIs to lead the 10th-seeded Warriors to a 7-1 victory over sixth-seeded Naperville Central in the Class 4A Waubonsie Valley Regional semifinals. McGuigan's two-out, bases-loaded double in the top of the first inning plated the first three runs of the game. He blooped the hit into a perfect spot about a foot inside the right-field line. 'I was lucky on that one,' he said. 'I think it was a change-up away, and I tried to foul it off, but it stayed fair. 'That felt great. It set the tone for the rest of the game, and it really hyped me up as well as the team, so I was really pumped up by that.' The three runs were more than enough for senior right-hander Owen Roberts. The Indiana State commit pitched a three-hitter with two walks and 10 strikeouts and also went 2-for-5 with an RBI for the Warriors (20-12), who advance to play third-seeded West Aurora in the regional final at 11 a.m. Saturday. Roberts improved to 7-2. Junior infielder Casey Cooperkawa scored an unearned run in the sixth for the Redhawks (20-16). By that time, Waubonsie Valley was comfortably ahead, and it all started with McGuigan's big hit. 'That helped us to wake up because the energy was low,' Waubonsie Valley senior third baseman Hiroshy Wong said. 'When we scored that three runs, we got excited, we got happy.' Wong is happy to see McGuigan succeed. 'Being a DH is really tough because your only job is hitting, as you know,' Wong said. 'He had a slow start, but he never gave up. 'As they say, the game always comes back to you. So he's been working really hard in the cages, and it's paying off right now.' McGuigan got hits off three pitchers. He had an RBI double and scored in the fifth inning and singled in the seventh. 'I've got to stay locked in on the other pitcher, taking it at-bat by at-bat,' McGuigan said. 'So before my first at-bat, l just really try to zone in and figure out how I'm going hit him and see what he's throwing.' McGuigan's hitting prowess isn't the only new wrinkle for the Warriors. He was seen wearing a striped tie in the dugout after each of his hits. 'Our manager, Matthew Choi, used to dress up in a shirt and tie for big games, and today he just brought the tie and used it as kind of like the celebration chain type of thing you see in the NFL or Major League Baseball,' Acevedo said. Just like that, a new tradition appears to have begun. 'It started out of nowhere,' McGuigan said. 'Matthew just brought it out and put it on one of the poles and started putting it on everybody who hit.' Expect McGuigan to continue as the DH. 'He's got a really good mentality for it,' Acevedo said. 'He's kind of a goofy kid, but he's able to lock in in spurts. 'We talk about team mystique in our program and for guys to take the next step as a senior, and he's definitely done that for us this year.'
Chicago Tribune
27-02-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Mason Martin has a straightforward role in his varsity debut. ‘Keep shooting.' Neuqua Valley is happy he does.
There's a simple explanation for why Mason Martin is playing varsity basketball for Neuqua Valley as a sophomore. 'He was the best shooter on the sophomore team last year,' coach Todd Sutton said with a chuckle. Martin hasn't been any less effective this season. 'He's the leading 3-point shooter,' Sutton said. Indeed, while freshman phenom Cole Kelly has made the most 3-pointers for the Wildcats, the 6-foot-3 Martin is the most efficient long-distance shooter, connecting on 39% of his attempts. Martin eclipsed that rate in his playoff debut on Wednesday. After missing his first three shots from beyond the arc, Martin hit his final four. He scored 13 of his team-high 16 points in the second half to lift the seventh-seeded Wildcats to a 51-40 victory over 10th-seeded Naperville North in the Class 4A Waubonsie Valley Regional semifinals. Kelly added 13 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals for Neuqua Valley (20-12), which advances to play second-seeded Waubonsie Valley (30-2) in the regional championship game at 7 p.m. Friday. Junior guard/forward Miles Okyne led Naperville North (17-15) with 16 points. Martin, who is averaging 10.0 points per game, struggled with illness and inconsistency during the first half of the season. But Sutton's confidence in him didn't waver. 'Every time I'm open, our coaches keep telling me to shoot it,' Martin said. 'So I've been working for so long on that. 'When I get it when I'm open, I'm going to keep shooting it. I've got to have that confidence.' Which is why Martin wasn't flustered when he and Kelly, who went scoreless in the first half, started slowly on Wednesday. The Huskies took a 20-18 halftime lead after Okyne hit a lean-in jumper at the buzzer. 'In the first half, I wasn't really hitting all that,' Martin said. 'I've just got to keep that confidence that the next one's going in.' It did. After Kelly and sophomore forward Danny Mikuta scored on putbacks, senior guard David Taiwo found Martin open underneath for a layup that gave the Wildcats a 24-20 lead. It was the beginning of a 14-3 run during which Martin hit back-to-back 3-pointers that gave Neuqua Valley a 32-23 cushion. 'That's his job — shoot the ball,' Sutton said. Martin has been doing so more frequently in the past month, and his scoring has increased in proportion. 'He wasn't always like that,' Neuqua Valley senior guard Garreck Chong said. 'He didn't start every game. He started off on the bench, but he's always been there. 'He's had some big games, and he just hits shots. We just rely on him to make threes and score for us.' That's part of Kelly's job, too, and he eventually came through against Naperville North. He did it without hitting a 3-pointer, partially because the Huskies were keying on him. That left Martin operating in the shadows, which is a familiar and comfortable place for him. 'I love being in it because if they're going to keep focusing in on him, if they go box-and-one, everyone else is wide open,' Martin said. 'So I love that he's such a good player that he can still overcome that. When everyone else is playing freely, it's so nice for us.' That was the case in the second half. 'We had that little run in the third quarter,' Chong said. 'In these playoff games, all it takes is that little swing, and they never came back. We kept the lead.' The Huskies did cut the gap to 38-35. But on the ensuing possession, Chong found Martin open on the left wing, and Martin hit a 3-pointer with 4:33 left in the fourth quarter. 'The coach was screaming 'drive and kick' the whole time, so he was open,' Chong said of his assist to Martin. 'He got his rhythm and got some shots and made them.' Martin, whose final shot was a layup to make it 49-38 with 1:11 left, said he wasn't calling for the ball. Nor did he call his shot on the tide-turning 3-pointer. 'We were just running through the offense,' he said. 'They were in that zone, so we were just trying to move it. Eventually it just got to me. 'I was open, so I just had that confidence that I was going to keep hitting.'
