Alex Panos tosses gem to lead Lincoln-Way Central to win over BBCHS

BRADLEY − With regional play just 10 days away, Lincoln-Way Central and Bradley-Bourbonnais came together Monday to start off the final SouthWest Suburban Conference series for both teams.

It was a must-win game for Lincoln-Way Central (16-10, 11-4 SWSC) if the Knights wanted to keep their chances at the SWSC title alive, and thanks to a commanding outing from pitcher Alex Panos, a win is just what they got over the host Boilermakers (17-16, 5-10).

Panos allowed just four hits over seven innings, recording nine strikeouts with no walks. With the victory, the Knights stayed even with Lincoln-Way East, which beat Sandburg 1-0 Monday, in the standings.

East swept Central in a pair of close games on April 26 and 28, so the Knights will need to beat the Boilermakers again Wednesday and have the Griffins fall to Sandburg to claim the conference crown. Before any of that can happen, though, the Knights needed to win Monday.

“It’s a huge win,” Panos said. “Everybody did their job and it’s a huge game we had to win if we want to win conference this year. It all starts with our approaches and throwing strikes.”

Throwing strikes is certainly what Panos did on Monday. He only had one three-ball count all game, which ended in a strikeout.

“Alex Panos did an absolutely outstanding job today,” coach Ryan Kutt said. “He did an outstanding job jumping out in front of hitters and utilizing all his weapons. Utilizing his changeup 0-1, utilizing his changeup 2-2, he had all the confidence in the world to throw all three pitches at any point in the count.”

Limiting free passes is something that Panos is always conscious of. He said something that helps him avoid walks is confidence in his defense, that after making an error on the first pitch Monday, was sure-handed the rest of the way.

“I really had my stuff today, and I was trying to stay ahead in every count and mix up the pitches, and not be predictable out there,” Panos said. “My fielders worked, and if I fell behind in a count just let them hit it and see that [the defense] can do. I’m not trying to give out free bases and free baserunners. That’s how they get run on the board.”

In fact, the Knights’ first two runs of the game came after Bradley-Bourbonnais’ Jack Kanoski hit both Filippo Barratta and Liam Arsich to start the game. Barratta scored on a single from Cade Andrews and Arsich scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Shawn Mowry.

After a Jackson Meyer single drove in another run in the top of the second, the Boilermakers were able to shut down the Knights’ lineup the rest of the way.

Lucas Garrett pitched a scoreless third inning before Mason Shaul came in to pitch from center field and cruised the rest of the way. Shaul allowed just three hits over the final four innings, recording seven strikeouts and not issuing a walk.

Although the offense was ultimately unable to break through against Panos, Bradley-Bourbonnais head coach Brad Schweigert said Shaul’s effort to give the team a chance to come back was huge.

“He just competes all over the field, no matter where you put him,” Schweigert said. “If we put him on the mound, we know we’re going to get a competitive outing from him. He did exactly what he needed to do today, gave us a chance and held us at bay. We’ve got some more big games left where he’s going to have to be that big guy for us out of the pen.”

Both teams will be hitting the postseason looking to follow up on regional titles from 2024, with the Knights then falling in the sectional semis and the Boilermakers having their run cut short in the sectional championship.

While the Knights still have their sights set on a hopeful conference championship, Kutt said the team is looking to build momentum for the postseason regardless of what happens.

“We’re just going to worry about winning Wednesday,” Kutt said. “Wherever the chips fall, the chips fall, and we’ll go from there. The boys are playing really good. We’re playing at our best right now.”