Baseball: Minooka finds its groove in toppling Normal Community in sectional semifinal

NORMAL – The Minooka baseball team had a stretch this season where it won just three of 15 games.

But even when the Indians were running through that period of major scuffles, veteran coach Jeff Petrovic still believed that if his team could catch its groove, it could easily overcome the tough stretch.

Consider it in the rearview mirror now as Minooka advanced to the Class 4A Illinois Wesleyan Sectional championship with a 4-1 victory over Normal Community on Thursday in the sectional semifinal.

Minooka (22-13-1) will play the defending Class 4A State Champions from Edwardsville (28-9) at 11 a.m. Saturday for the sectional crown.

“I just always tell the kids how special the postseason is and how when you make these runs at the end of the year, you’re not only doing it for yourself, but you’re doing it for the kids coming behind you,” Petrovic said. “You’re doing it for your program because now every other kid wants to get here and they want to do the same thing.

“And we always make that a point to make that a huge goal at the beginning of the year, that you want to enjoy this and this is the fun time of the season, right?”

It was equal parts grind and fun for Minooka on Thursday.

Normal (25-10) collected the first run of the game in the top half of the second after Dexter Niekamp earned a two-out walk, moved up to second on a wild pitch, and then came home on a single from No. 9 hitter Kyle Beaty.

And with the way the game was shaping up, it appeared that lone run might be enough for Normal’s big lefthander Ethan Eberle.

But Issac Goddard touched him for Minooka’s first hit in the bottom of the third on a double. Nate George promptly tied the score with a single immediately after to tie the game at one-all.

Sully Minor’s one-out double in the middle of the fourth set the table for an eventual sacrifice fly from CJ Deckinga that put Minooka out in front 2-1.

And just like that the tables had turned as Minooka starter Ryan Anderson had clearly found his groove.

“I just settled in and found everything that I needed to do.”

—  Ryan Anderson, Minooka pitcher

Anderson, an Arizona commit, gave up consistent traffic on the basepaths in the early going. But only one managed to cross and as things moved along it appeared pretty obvious that the Ironmen were going to have a hard time making any more dents.

After surrendering the run in the second in, Anderson would only allow two more hits and no Ironmen baserunner advanced past second base. He finished the contest with seven strikeouts and retired the final eight batters he faced in order.

“I just settled in and found everything that I needed to do,” Anderson said. “I found the changeup today, which is something I don’t usually do,” “And I thought my slider was probably the best it has been this season.”

Anderson was forced to pitch in tense situations for most of the game, but a sequence of small-ball execution in the Minooka half of the sixth gave him some insurance.

George started things by reaching on a dropped third strike. Then, Brayden Zillis reached on a beautiful bunt single.

Another bunt moved the runners up, and Deckinga drilled a single through a drawn-in infield to stretch Minooka’s lead to 4-1.

It provided more than enough cushion for Anderson to seal the sectional final berth with a 1-2-3 seventh inning.

“When you let your guy get settled in they can be really tough,” Petrovic said of Anderson. “They did scratch one out early and with the way their guy was throwing maybe they though that might be enough. But this group will fight. They’ll scratch and claw and they’ll find a way and they did a lot of things right today.

“So everybody sees the big arm and it’s there, don’t get me wrong. It was just a terrific outing. But there’s a lot that goes into these things and it’s a team effort. And our kids yell, “Family” every single time. They love Minooka baseball and they enjoy being with each other. They are a really, really good group and its been a fun ride so far.”