Just nine days earlier, Crystal Lake Central hung a 10-0, five-inning loss on Woodstock North.

And when the Tigers jumped to a 3-0 first-inning lead - a lead that blossomed to 6-0 after four - things looked bleak for the Thunder in the Class 3A regional final Saturday morning.

But there were two people in particular who knew the game was far from over. One was North coach John Oslovich. The other was Central coach Cal Aldridge.

“We saw how they played Wednesday (in a 2-0 upset win over second-seeded St. Viator), so we knew they weren’t going away,” Aldridge said.

The 15th-seeded Thunder kept things close and then added three runs in their half of the sixth, but the rally stopped there and Central hung on for a 6-3 victory at Fred Tipps Field. The victory moves the Tigers (19-15) into next week’s Grayslake Central Sectional against Grayslake Central, a 3-0 winner over Prairie Ridge in the Cary-Grove Regional.

North (13-17) finally got to Central starter Danny Adams in its half of the sixth with an RBI groundout from Ryan Lalor and a double from Parker Halihan. Zaiden Vess greeted reliever Bud Shanahan with an RBI hit, but Shanahan got Brady Rogers to fly out to end the threat.

Adams was solid in his 5⅔ innings, giving up three runs on six hits with six strikeouts. He kept the Thunder at bay by getting ahead of most hitters and relying on his slider for his strikeouts.

“I had a good feel on the slider and I set that up outside a lot. If I can get the ball there, I’m in a good place,” the junior right-hander said. “Toward the end of that (sixth) inning, I felt a little gassed and that’s when they got to me.”

Aldridge lauded his pitcher’s grit, a characteristic he said he’s seen all season.

“Danny competes every time he goes out there,” Aldridge said. “Sometimes, he’s lights out. Sometimes he has to work a little harder. Today he had to work a little bit, but he competed like he always does.”

The 9th-seeded Tigers scored three times in the first on a pair of walks, an error, a groundout from Wade Ozment and an RBI single from Konnor Altergott. They increased the lead to 6-0 in the fourth on a balk, a wild pitch, and an Ozment single.

Still, the Thunder kept rolling.

“We are no strangers to being the underdog and there was no way this senior group was going to quit,” Oslovich said. “It’s been their calling card the last couple of years. Most of these kids played last year as juniors so that two years of experience gave them the understanding they can play with anybody. Sometimes, it gets tough and you take one on the chin.”

Central enters sectional play having won 10 of its last 11 games and its late-season surge is reminiscent of the Tigers’ 2024 team that went on a late-season run culminating with the Class 3A state championship.

“Yeah, people are always trying to compare what you’re doing now with what you’ve done before,” he said. “But this is a completely different group of players, which is awesome. The thing that’s the same is, just like those kids (from ‘24), this group likes to compete every day.”

Next week, the Tigers will get that chance.