Tigers Oust Falcons from Postseason

Jason Schuman had it going all afternoon on the mound. And Wheaton Warrenville South’s offense got it going in the fifth and sixth innings en route to surprising Wheaton North 4-1 during Friday’s regional semifinal showdown between the two rivals.

Schuman was two outs away from a no-hitter, but University of Alabama-Birmingham recruit Jeff Schalk singled off the second-base bag to spoil his bid.

Schalk eventually came around to score an unearned run following three Wheaton South infield errors, but Schuman preserved the victory by striking out two Wheaton North batters with the bases loaded.

The No. 13-seed Tigers await the winner of Saturday’s other regional semifinal contest—fifth-seeded Glenbard North vs. 12th-seeded Addison Trail—for the regional championship game on Memorial Day.

“I was a good day, that’s all I can say,” said Schuman, a senior who fanned 13, including striking out the side in both the fifth and seventh innings. “I haven’t even thought about the regional yet, but now that this game is over, I’ll think about it tonight (Friday night) and see how it goes.”

“He’s been terrific for us all year,” Wheaton South coach Tim Brylka said. “Every game he’s gone out there he’s given us a chance to win. He didn’t let something like that in the last inning rattle him, and (he) stays calm, cool and collected. He gets the outs and gets out of it.”

The regional title game, originally scheduled for Saturday, was pushed back to Monday due to the weather-related postponement of games Wednesday and Thursday.

“We live to see another day,” said Brylka, whose team is 19-13. “We take it one day at a time. Obviously two good ballclubs (referring to Glenbard North and Addison Trail). We’ve seen Glenbard North three times in the (DuPage Valley) conference season so we know they’re going to be a tough opponent.”

The Falcons, seeded fourth in the 22-team St. Charles North Sectional complex, simply could not get any offense generated against Schuman.
 
“We got beat by a really good pitcher today, and we didn’t do much with him for six innings,” Wheaton North coach Dan Schoessling said. “You’ve got to tip your hat to a guy that beat a pretty good lineup.”

The Tigers led off the fourth, fifth and sixth innings with doubles off Falcon starter Eric Scandora. Steve Lemm was left stranded in the fourth, but the Tigers capitalized on Dan Roadman’s fifth-inning double when third baseman Nate Fillers delivered a run-scoring single to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

“Huge hit,” Brylka said. “Nate had been hurt for a long time and missed a good part of the season (with a broken finger). Nate’s a guy that absolutely loves the game and so it was killing him to be out. When he came back he was a little rusty at the plate, so for him to step up today it was a great stage for him to have a good day.”

Wheaton South broke the game open in the sixth. No. 9 hitter Kevin Bridges came through with a two-out single to score Rich O’Neil and Dan Roadman that made it 3-0.

Junior Mike Shelton, who replaced designated hitter Matt Sturgeon after Sturgeon sprained his ankle in the first inning, followed Bridges with an RBI single. Shelton had two hits on the day.

“Mike has been swinging the bat for us well and did a nice job of stepping up,” Brylka said. “When his name is called, he was ready to go.”

Bridges, Fillers and Lemm each finished with multiple-hit games for the Tigers.

Meanwhile, the season ends for the Falcons (21-10), who last year advanced to the Class 4A supersectionals. Schalk, Scandora, Dale Trimble and Reece Butler are among the graduating seniors who were part of that team.

“Our seniors have accomplished a lot,” Schoessling said. “They’re just a great group that’s had a big impact on our program. Just a classy group of kids. You wouldn’t want to have anybody else represent you. It’s definitely not the way we want to go out, but it doesn’t take away from a lot of the things that we accomplished this year. It hurts now, but we’ll be OK.”