Playing on the road can be one of the hardest things to do in high school sports.
Especially in the playoffs.
However, that all changes with your ace on the mound, as Riverside-Brookfield did in Saturday’s Class 3A Clemente Regional final.
“It’s tough to play here because their crowd gets really into it,” Bulldogs pitcher Will Kincanon said. “They chant, make noises and sounds and try to get into your head.”
Middle Tennessee State-bound Kincanon didn’t allow the home fans to affect his play, leading his team to a 9-1 victory in Chicago.
Riverside-Brookfield (23-11) gave Kincanon all the runs he needed in the second inning, when Brian Kulaga drove in Jake Surprenant on a sac fly to center and Gregory Catrambone drove in Kevin Fitzgerald on a single.
Kincanon wasn’t the only pitcher having a stellar day. Clemente starter Jonathan Figueroa struck out the side in the first inning and allowed just two hits after a rough second before he was lifted in the seventh.
Things unraveled for the Wildcats when pitcher Anthony Justiniano took over for Figueroa. Down 3-1 going into the top of the seventh, Justiniano gave up five hits and six runs to put the game out of reach. Three Bulldogs drove in runs in the inning, led by Fitzgerald’s two-run single. Three of the six runs came with two outs.
The game’s two defining moments took place in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth, it looked as if Kincanon had struck out Roberto Berdecia and the home plate umpire called him out, but the second base umpire disagreed.
“What the home plate umpire told me was that the second base umpire said the ball bounced in the dirt, so the catcher had to throw it to first,” Kincanon said. “That allowed the batter to get on and load the bases for their best hitter.”
The call didn’t end up mattering much, as Kincanon picked Albert Mendez off at third.
“After all that you just need to regain your composure and my coaches told me that their runner was leading off pretty big on third,” Kincanon said.
The Wildcats (20-4) threatened again in the bottom of the sixth when Mizraim Fuentes led off with a double and moved to third on a grounder to the second baseman. However, Fuentes was tagged out after a foul out by Ruben Olavarria.
Kulaga led the Bulldogs with three RBI, including a home run in the sixth inning, while Kincanon finished with six strikeouts in his complete-game performance.
Fuentes had Clemente’s lone RBI in the bottom of the fourth on a groundout to second.
