Early lead, strong pitching send Newman past Johnsburg

MENDOTA – An early lead and all that experience were all Newman needed to win its fifth straight sectional title.

The Comets scored three runs in the top of the first inning, then tacked on three more in the fifth to back pitchers Drake Cole and Garret Matznick in a 6-2 victory over Johnsburg in the Class 2A Mendota Sectional final Saturday.

“There’s nerves every game, especially the postseason, because you never know when you’re going to go home,” Ashton Miner said. “But we’ve been here before and we’ve seen everything these past few years, so it’s really just the confidence to know that you can do what you’ve got to do.”

Newman (27-7-1) came out swinging as Matznick reached on an error, Garet Wolfe walked, then Miner smoked a laser to left-center field for a two-run double. Daniel Kelly ripped a one-out single up the middle for a 3-0 lead just five batters into the game.

“We got out ahead early and never looked back. We just put the foot on the pedal,” Miner said.

“That’s huge because it gives us the confidence the rest of the game,” Joe Oswalt said. “You know you have a little bit of backup if you start to falter on defense. But if we can reinforce that lead with defense, those three runs help us set the tone and take over.”

While Newman attacked early in the count, Cole was able to throw first-pitch strikes and then keep the Skyhawks (24-9) off-balance with offspeed pitches and well-placed fastballs.

“I think throwing first-pitch strikes and getting ahead in the count was huge,” said Kelly, the catcher. “We kind of picked up on it after the first three batters weren’t swinging at the first pitch, so we just got ahead in the count and made them guess. I think we only gave up a few walks and a hit batter, so we wanted to make them put it in play – and if they do, that’s when we’re best because we have a really good defense.”

Johnsburg cut the deficit to 3-1 in the third inning when an Evan Pohl double put runners on second and third for Ashton Stern. The Skyhawks starter helped his own cause with an RBI single to center, but Newman center fielder Chase Decker threw out Pohl trying to score from second to effectively end that threat.

Newman stretched the lead to 6-1 in the fifth as Wolfe doubled and scored on a Decker single. Kelly followed with a double, then he and Decker both scored on an Oswalt single.

“Tacking on those later runs was huge,” Kelly said. “Those extra runs give us momentum for our pitchers, and it gets the other team’s energy down.”

“We realized that we needed to swing early and hit the ball hard, and that’s just what we did,” Oswalt said. “Any pitch we liked, we saw it, hit it hard and put it in play. That’s the name of the game for us.”

In the bottom of the inning, Dom Vallone led off with a single and Riley Johnson followed with a double for Johnsburg. Pohl’s groundout up the middle drove in Vallone, then Stern lined a shot to left for an apparent sacrifice fly. But Newman appealed the tag-up play, and the umpires ruled Johnson left third base too soon to erase a run and end the inning.

“I do think experience has something to do with it; they’ve been in the moment before and we haven’t,” Johnsburg coach Eric Toussaint said. “I like the way we responded against Byron [in the semifinals], and we needed that big inning today and we just never got it rolling. We got guys on base, second and third a couple of times, we just couldn’t come through and find that hole for the big hit.”

Matznick didn’t allow a baserunner over the final two innings, retiring each of the eight hitters he faced. Cole struck out five, walked four and hit a batter, but allowed just two runs and four hits in four-plus innings.

The Comets will play in their fifth straight supersectional Monday at the Kane County Cougars’ stadium, and will take on Chicago Hope Academy in a rematch of the last two supersectionals held at the Rockford Rivets’ stadium. Newman won 6-2 last year and 3-2 in 2023.

“It’s awesome to be back,” Oswalt said. “We don’t want to be the team that ends the streak, and it feels great to do this again.”

“It definitely feels amazing to get the job done and play well,” Kelly said. “Drake pitched amazing, Garret came in and pitched amazing, and we all did our jobs. We’ve got one more to go before we get back down to state, so this feels good, but we’re not ready to be done.”

As for the Skyhawks, they finish with just the third regional title in program history after the best season they’ve ever had.

“The season was fantastic. Nobody could tell us that this wasn’t a success,” Toussaint said. “We became better people along with becoming a better team. They set the bar high now, and every new generation coming up now has a team that they’ve got to match – and they believe that they have a chance. Nine seniors are going to be really tough to replace because they’re really great kids, but like I told them, ‘You’re the best team in Johnsburg history, that’s 45 years and you’re the best team. There’s nothing to be sad about.’”

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Newman’s Drake Cole celebrates a Comet win over Johnsburg Saturday, May 31, 2025, in the Class 2A Sectional final in Mendota. Cole took the win as the pitcher. (Alex T. Paschal)