NILES, Illinois — The Northridge baseball team walked out of the Plunkett Athletic Complex in Elmhurst Saturday afternoon with the program's first ever regional championship title. The Knights knocked off the #1 seed in the regional, IC Catholic, 7-4 in what became an instant classic.
"This regional championship is not only for all the players that have put in the hard work this year, but for all those that have been a part of our program over that last 26 years," head coach Pat Hunt said. "This senior group has been fully dedicated for the last four years and this is the fruits of their labor. This is a milestone victory for everyone!"
Ben Hunt '24 and Tom Rudolph '24 gave the Knights excellent pitching on the mound, giving up just two earned runs. After the seniors' efforts kept the Knights within striking distance, down 4-3 in the top of the 7th inning, it was a clutch, 3-run home run from Joe Morales '26 that gave the Knights the lead for good. Here's how it all went down:
IC Catholic opened the scoring in the first after a single, taking a 1-0 lead. The Knights quickly responded in the top of the 2nd, with a Jake Krause '26 single tying the game up at one.
Another two-run base hit from IC Catholic quickly took the lead back, 3-1, in the bottom of the second.
An inning later, the Knights tied the game up once again in the top of the fourth thanks to another big single by Krause and a ground out by Athan Maglaras '26.
A sacrifice fly by IC Catholic gave the top seed the lead once again, 4-3, in the bottom of the fifth. The score would stay the same until the Knights came up in the top of the 7th, needing one run to keep their season alive.
After the first two runners reached, Northridge captured the lead in the top of the seventh when Joe Morales homered to right field, scoring three runs to take a 6-4 lead. Thomas Hunt '24 followed up the long ball with an RBI double, giving the Knights a much needed insurance run.
After getting the first out in the bottom of the 7th on a grounder to short, two runners got on base for ICCP. But soon enough, Tom Rudolph drew another ground ball to Thomas Hunt at short, who flipped it to Thomas Hansen '25 at second base to seal the win and the regional title.
The righty Rudolph allowed just three hits and zero runs over 3.0 IP in relief, striking out two to earn the win. Ben Hunt stepped on the bump first for the Knights, giving up five hits and four runs (two earned) over 4.0 IP, striking out five.
Northridge athletic director Will Rey had this to say after the win:
"This was one of the most exciting — and clutch —athletic performances I've witnessed in my 20 years at Northridge. I'm so happy for our baseball seniors and the program in general; but, most of all, I'm happy for our head coach, Pat Hunt. Coach Hunt has weathered the ups and downs that are inevitable in high school coaching as the talent cycles ebb and flow. Regardless of the circumstances, our baseball program has always competed well and hard, and Coach Hunt has placed the character development of his players at the top of his coaching priority list. Over the years, Pat has consistently done an outstanding job with our baseball program, and it's great to see him and his program rewarded with this Regional championship. The way our team performed today is a reflection of the foundation he and his coaches have established in the program. The alums, parents and staff on the sideline for this game were treated to quite a display of toughness and perseverance under pressure. My hat is off to our 2024 varsity baseball team and coaches for making all of us proud to be Northridge Knights."
The Knights will now face Chicago Hope Academy in the Holy Trinity Sectional semi-final on Wednesday, May 22 at 4:30 PM.
