West Aurora’s Matthew Tarr had a simple goal as he walked up to the plate for the bottom of the first inning Wednesday.
“I wanted to put it on the street,” Tarr said of the ball. “And I did it, so I guess that worked out well.”
Pretty well, indeed.
The junior catcher crushed a two-run homer — his fourth of the season — to spark an 11-run inning as the Blackhawks rolled to 13-1 victory over rival East Aurora in a Class 4A regional quarterfinal game.
The five-inning win allowed West Aurora (6-18) to advance to face top-seeded host Naperville Central at 4:30 p.m. Friday.
“He absolutely obliterated that ball,” West Aurora coach John Reeves said of Tarr. “He’s really come on lately. If people don’t know about him, they should. I know there have been some schools that have called him.”
The Blackhawks sent 15 batters to the plate in the first inning. Ben Wisniewski followed Tarr’s homer with a sacrifice fly. Trenton Crump contributed an RBI single.
When the lineup turned back over to the top, Ryan Deliman delivered an RBI single and Kelly Roney added a two-run double. Tarr, Ryan Niedzwiedz and Colin Buziecki then chipped in with RBI singles to culminate the outburst.
“The first inning when guys get on and get hits early, it’s contagious,” Tarr said. “I’m just trying to do my best for the team, get the team going.
“Once we get one, it usually starts coming. That’s what we need to carry on against Naperville Central.”
The final two runs for West Aurora came on a two-run homer from Joseph Pokryfke in the third. Deliman finished with three hits out of the leadoff spot for the Blackhawks.
East Aurora (4-13) was held off the scoreboard until the fourth inning, when Edwin Flores singled in Misael Jalapa.
“It’s a coaching mantra to win the inning, and they sure as heck did in the first,” East Aurora coach Jerry Taulbee said. “I’m proud of my kids. We didn’t fold. We played baseball the rest of the game.
“It was a well-played game other than the bottom of the first, which was definitely a punch in the mouth. Tip your hat to those batters. They hit the tar out of the ball.”
Especially Tarr.
Taulbee, however, was encouraged by the progress his young team made this spring.
“We have a good, young team, a lot of good kids coming back,” Taulbee said. “We grew a lot. We played well. It’s unfortunate that the first inning happened.
“But there are a lot of positives to take from the season for sure. I look forward to our future — it looks bright.”
West Aurora has a young team as well. That group is headlined by Tarr, who’s starting to make a name for himself now that the college recruiting dead period has ended.
He’s hoping a strong finish to the season and a good summer playing for Top Tier, his travel team, will get him noticed.
“It’s been slow, especially with the COVID season last year,” Tarr said. “I’m ready to get my name out there.
“I’m playing for Top Tier, so I’ll get a lot of exposure. I’m excited. I’m glad things are coming together toward the end of the season.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
