Senior left fielder Michael Page was a big reason why Naperville Central was playing in a Class 4A state semifinal on Friday.
Page was determined to enjoy every bit of it, no matter the outcome.
“It was just awesome,” he said. “The atmosphere with so many people, so many fans, and playing like that on the biggest stage is always great.”
But the Redhawks’ improbable quest for their first state championship since 2010 ended with a 9-1 loss to Maine South at Slammers Stadium in Joliet.
Naperville Central’s defeat, which snapped a 15-game winning streak, was no fault of Page’s. The North Central College commit went 2-for-3 with a walk, scored the only run for the Redhawks (30-10) and caught all three balls that came his way.
“I said it at our awards night, you can’t have a better senior year,” Naperville Central coach Mike Stock said. “Every player goes in with a plan, especially seniors, and you want to be a certain type of player.
“He’s been a great outfielder for us. He’s turned himself into a plus left fielder, and he’s the best hitter I’ve seen consistently all season. Now, I get a front-row seat for that, but what someone wanted to do their senior year and what he delivered was about as good as it gets.”
Page, who raised his average to .383, delivered against Maine South (26-15). He had the game’s first hit, an opposite-field single, in the top of the first inning and pulled a single to right in the third inning.
“I just think my first at-bat, jumping on that first fastball, really got us going a little bit,” Page said. “That was probably my favorite part of the game.”
It could have been the best part of the game, too, but the Redhawks left the bases loaded in both the first and third, the latter after they put three runners on base with no outs. They stranded 10 runners overall.
The Hawks, meanwhile, took advantage of five errors, scoring three runs in the first and four in the second to take a 7-0 lead.
But the Redhawks didn’t envision getting as far as they did.
“At the very start of the season, it was probably not what I was thinking was going to happen, but we’re a senior-heavy team, and we used a bunch of different guys throughout the season,” Page said. “As the season went on and we got to the end here, we kind of found our nine, and we just got hot.
The Redhawks were fortunate to have two stellar leaders, Page and senior third baseman/pitcher Grant Umbright, who also went 2-for-3 with a walk. They were on base at the same time after each of their first three at-bats.
Umbright, who hits directly behind Page in the order, had complete confidence in him.
“There was no better teammate to play with,” Umbright said. “In the field, I don’t think he’s made an error all season. Any ball in the air he’s catching, so I have 100% trust in everywhere he is.
“Hitting right after him has always been good. I always have trust in him at the plate. He always gets the job done.”
That allowed Umbright to get the job done.
“I come in after him and drive in some runs if possible,” Umbright said. “I had a lot of RBIs this year. Props to a lot of our starting hitters, including Mike. He really carried us far.”
Page attributed his success to hard work. Stock witnessed much of it.
“He works his butt off,” Stock said. “He got stronger, he got confident and he never got in a slump. He hit safely in 14 of our 15 games in conference.
“I’m just real proud of him, and he’s the reason we’re here, along with Grant.”
While the Redhawks were denied a shot at a state title, they have a chance to end on a victory when they play Mount Carmel in the third-place game at 7 p.m. Saturday.
“This whole thing has just been an awesome experience for us,” Page said. “We have 17 seniors, so I think we couldn’t have asked for a better way to go out. We’ve been really hot, and today we just fell a little bit short.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
