Brady Buenik’s teammates stepped up for him, and he returned the favor Friday night.
Buenik pitched three-hit ball over 6 2/3 innings as Libertyville moved closer to a second straight Class 4A state title with a 3-1 win over Mount Carmel at Slammers Stadium in Joliet.
The Wildcats (30-10-1) will play Maine South (26-15) in the 4A final at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The IHSA flipped the 4A game times to avoid possible weather issues.
Buenik, a 6-4 right-hander committed to Tennessee, hit a personal-best 98 mph on his fastball during a bullpen session earlier in the week. But that’s not the only reason coach Matt Thompson gave him the start against the Caravan (30-11).
‘We truly believed in him and his teammates were behind him,” Thompson said. “They actually came to us before the game, a couple practices ago, and they said, ‘We want Brady to have the ball.'”
What convinced Thompson was not just Buenik’s velocity in that bullpen session but his command.
“I was like, ‘OK, he’s in the [strike] zone, he’s confident, we’re going with him,'”
That hasn’t always been the case this season. Buenik came into the game with a 2-3 record, a 4.76 earned-run average and a 42-16 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 25 innings.
But catcher Ryan Wilberding knew what his pitcher was capable of.
“It’s just great to have his best at this time,” Wilberding said. “It kind of felt like earlier in the season when we played Glenbrook South and he threw a no-hitter.”
The Wildcats staked Buenik to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Illinois State commit Chase Lockwood sliced a two-out, two-run double to left. Wilberding added an RBI double in the third and Buenik, with last-out relief help from Aksel McKnight, made the lead stand up.
Mount Carmel scored on a bases-loaded walk to Illinois recruit Joey Ireland and had the bases loaded in the seventh before McKnight closed it out.
Now the Wildcats are one win away from a repeat. Lockwood has welcomed that challenge.
“I love having a target on the back,” he said. “It makes it fun. It makes everybody give you their best and that’s what’s really fun.
“And it helped this year [knowing], ‘OK, you’ve been here before, calm your nerves. … Step back for a second and you’re going to be OK.”
Maine South 9, Naperville Central 1: Creighton recruit Luka Stojakovic went 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBI as the Hawks (26-15) jumped ahead 7-0 after two innings and advanced to their first title game since 1966.
Division II Rollins recruit Connor Griffin and two relievers combined on a five-hitter.
“When you have a [big] lead, that makes everything a lot easier,” Maine South coach Brian Lorenz said. “Especially when you have a guy like Connor Griffin on the mound, who’s just going to pound the zone. Our best attribute is our team defense and we were just making plays all over the place.”