PEORIA — After Somonauk’s 7-4 Class 1A state semifinal loss to Valmeyer Friday, the consensus was that sophomore reliever Nolan Wegener pitched well enough to win.
A quick look at his line confirmed it: four innings, one earned run on five hits allowed. The problem was the five errors the Bobcats committed, which led to six unearned runs for Valmyer, thwarting Somonauk’s dreams of returning to the state championship game for the second straight year.
“Nolan deserved to win that game,” Somonauk coach Troy Felton said. “Our defense let him down. You have a lot of guys that would have gone out there and all of a sudden the wheels are falling off around them and they start letting it get to them. Nolan wasn’t letting it get to him. You know at that point that the guy’s got it together.”
Wegener points to his experience last year, appearing in the state championship loss to Goreville, as helping him remain composed under duress Friday.
“Coming in as a freshman, being told you’re pitching, that was pretty nerve-racking,” Wegener said. “I was a lot more relaxed (Friday). I focused on throwing strikes. I did my best.”
Wegener came on in relief of his senior brother, Nate, who got the start. Nate Wegener got through the first two innings without giving up a run, stranding four runners to hold Valmeyer (28-9) at bay. After allowing two baserunners to start the third, Felton called on Nolan Wegener, a right-hander, to relieve his left-handed brother.
That’s when the errors started coming for the Bobcats (24-2). A dropped fly ball in the third scored the first run. Somonauk came back to take a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth and had two out in the bottom half with none on.
Three straight errors kept Valmeyer in it, however, and all three runners eventually scored with the extra chances. Three more runs came across in the fifth, two of them unearned, to put it away.
“A lot of routine plays, for whatever reason, we didn’t go out and make them,” Felton said. “You get the momentum shift to the other team. At one point, I the momentum shifted over to us and we were starting to get to their pitcher (freshman Philip Reinhardt). Then all of a sudden you have those errors. I don’t know that the momentum ever came back.”
The Bobcats earned a date with Goreville in Saturday’s third-place game. Somonauk wanted a shot at Goreville after losing in the state title game last year. The Bobcats didn’t envision the rematch being for third place, but they welcomed the challenge anyway.
“It’s definitely not a game that we want to go in and lose,” Felton said. “I don’t want to lose to them twice down here. I’d like to go out and get one from them this year. There is still something most certainly to look forward to Saturday.”
Senior Ryan Lumsden, who was 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs Friday, noted that after the Bobcats suffered their only regular-season loss to Harvest Christian, they rattled off 20 straight wins. They hoped to end the season with a win on Saturday.
“We have to bounce back,” Lumsden said. “We just have to pull it together.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance writer for The Beacon-News.
