In a battle of defensive endurance, the College of DuPage baseball team stayed locked in for the second game of the NJCAA Region 4 tournament on May 11 against Waubonsee Community College. The Chaparrals’ offense didn’t come out firing, but they found holes in the Chiefs’ defense after five scoreless innings.
COD’s defense remained impenetrable after breaking through at the plate. Maintaining solid pitching and defense gave the Chaps an 8-0 victory over the Chiefs in eight innings. This win advances COD to the NJCAA Region 4 Championship game.
“That first pitcher for Waubonsee came out and did a tremendous job,” assistant coach Matt Gould said. “I told [my team] going into the tournament that as good as our offense is, hitting a baseball is always going to be hard. [We were] able to stay with the approach when things weren’t going our way early. Eventually, we started to find some grass. That’s just how baseball goes.”
Sophomore utility Quinn Flanagan secured the game-clinching hit to drive in freshman infielder Hudson Williams and end the game in eight innings. At the plate, Flanagan secured four hits in five at-bats. He scored two runs and recorded two RBIs. He described COD’s defensive approach and his own offensive gameplay.
“We know that our defense is lights out when we’re on,” Flanagan said. “At the end of the day, it was just catch-ball and throw-ball. That’s what we did. I wouldn’t say I’ve been struggling, but [I’ve been] getting a lot of hard-hit outs lately. It was good to see a couple sneak through.”
Freshman pitcher Eddie Scaccia earned his sixth win in his eighth start of the year. He shut down the Chiefs, throwing eight strikeouts and walking three batters. Scaccia allowed only three hits in six innings and gave up zero runs. He said having confidence in himself and his team made it easy to execute.
“I just trusted my stuff,” Scaccia said. “I knew that if I was in the zone, it was going to be good. I trusted my offense. I trusted my defense. I went out there and tried to give us the best chance to win.”
Returning for the playoffs from an ankle injury that made him miss nine games, freshman infielder Jack Wade recorded three hits in four at-bats in the designated hitter position. He also picked up three RBIs. He said his first game back against Oakton College on May 10 gave him the confidence to produce.
“[My ankle] was a little shaky,” Wade said. “It took me a while, but my last hit in the [Oakton] game yesterday gave me all of the confidence I needed to come in today. [I was] hitting sixth also. [My team] all got on base, and it was my job to put them in.”
Freshman pitcher Mike Biscan started the seventh inning for COD in his eighth appearance of the season. Biscan threw two strikeouts and gave up two hits, but completed the shutout victory. He said coming into the game after the Chaps found offensive success helped him focus on the mound.
“[When I went] into the game, we were hitting and scoring runs,” Biscan said. “I just knew to throw it down the middle. [Waubonsee] was down. They were quiet and seemed like they didn’t want to be here. I let them get themselves out and trusted my offense to keep hitting.”
With two decisive wins, Gould said the team looks to remain consistent heading into the championship game.
“We’re all feeling pretty good,” he said. “Our offense is still producing. The pitchers have inspired confidence in all of the pitchers that are going to come tomorrow. We’ve got plenty of people available to go. It’s all hands on deck, and the Chaps need one more.”
The Chaparrals meet with the Oakton College Owls one more time for the NJCAA Region 4 Championship at 11 a.m. on May 12 at the COD Baseball Field.
