“It’s certainly going to be a tough sectional, but nobody is going to feel sorry for us,” shrugged OPRF baseball coach Chris Ledbetter, whose team held a 25-9 record going into its final game of the regular season against Oak Lawn earlier this week.
Ledbetter has reason to be optimistic that his Huskies can go far in the Class 4A playoffs. OPRF enters the Mt. Carmel Sectional as the fourth seed, a perfect spot to fly under the radar and surprise some opponents. Before the start of this week, the team had gone 14-1 in its last 15 games.
“We’ve been down this road before, and we’re not going to have a bulls-eye are on backs. We’re good enough to go a long way,” he said.
Ledbetter added that one thing for sure he won’t be doing is looking beyond the regional that the Huskies are hosting in Oak Park.
“We’re likely to open with Proviso East, and I expect my team to come out and take care of what they need to take care of,” he said. “Proviso East did score some runs off us recently so we’re not going to take them lightly. We just need to go out and play the game the same way we would play a game against anyone else.”
The Huskies, who open the regional tonight (Wed., May 25 at 4:30 p.m.), swept Proviso East 14-4 and 15-7 in doubleheader action earlier this month. A victory would likely pit OPRF against fifth-seeded De La Salle in the regional championship on Saturday (Noon).
“[The Meteors] are good, but I think that since we’ve weathered through some very good teams like York and Lyons, we have a shot at winning the regional,” said Ledbetter, whose Huskies had a 12-game win-streak going until a 4-2 loss to Hinsdale Central to start last week. “We’re starting to play a better brand of baseball — taking bases when given the opportunity, being selective at the plate — we’re playing smarter. These are the types of things that will help us win in the playoffs.”
If OPRF is able to get past its own regional, either St. Rita or Fenwick is likely to be waiting. As of last week, St. Rita was 24-6 and ranked in the Top 10. But the Huskies’ cross-town rivals can’t be ruled out as a possible opponent in that opening round game on June 1. Vengeance may be on the minds of the sixth-seeded Friars (18-12), who lost to their Catholic League foes 7-5 back on April 20. Fenwick will have to go through the Mustangs in the St. Rita Regional.
With depth on the mound in hurlers Will Polley (4-3, 4.23 ERA), PJ Brennan (3-2, 3.90 ERA), Max Guzzetta, Joe McKune and Zack Weigel, the Huskies should be able to sustain a formidable playoff run. The team is also hitting well, entering the postseason with a .392 team average. The Picchiotti brothers have done the most damage at the plate. Jack Picchiotti took a .522 average into the playoffs and led the team with 32 RBIs. His game-winning RBI led the Huskies to a 4-3 victory over Downers Grove South last week. Frankie Picchiotti was batting .471 going into the playoffs.