Will Kincanon fired a no-hitter to fuel the Bulldogs’ 1-0 win over Montini in the Riverside-Brookfield Regional championship game last week. The junior right-hander struck out nine and walked none en route to his 77-pitch masterpiece.
The visiting Broncos were quickly shown the postseason door courtesy of Kincanon’s “one and done” mental approach regarding the regional final.
“I told my teammates in the dugout just get me one [run] because that’s all I’ll need,” Kincanon said. “I knew right from that start of the game that I had my good stuff today. My changeup was the best it’s been in a while, my curveball was on and my fastball got stronger as the game went on.”
Kincanon (11-0, 0.76 ERA) helped his own cause with the lone, game-winning RBI in the first inning for RBHS, which improved its record to a gaudy 32-4-1. Leadoff man CJ Duffek reached base via an infield single to open the frame. First baseman Tom Leary followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Kincanon lofted a sac fly to left field scoring Duffek to give RBHS a 1-0 lead.
A 1-0 cushion is all Kincanon needed against Montini (22-9) as only one batter reached base on a throwing error after a strikeout.
“Will pitched the best game I’ve seen in my 11 years coaching high school baseball,” RB coach Dallas Till said. “He was painting the corners, throwing strikes and just dominating Montini, [a team] which had scored 17 runs against Geneva.”
Tom Leary went 2-for-4 as the Bulldogs won their second regional championship over the last three years.
Ben Dobosenski was the tough luck loser allowing only four hits and striking out seven Bulldogs.
In the Bulldogs’ postseason opener, senior Alex Nenadovic (7-1, 2.57 ERA) didn’t allow a hit and fanned five over four innings as RBHS cruised to a 9-0 win over Prosser in the regional semifinals. Luckily, RBHS notched the win in efficient fashion as graduation was held later on the same night.
“We were all rushing a bit for graduation,” Nenadovic said. “I just focused on throwing strikes and getting the game over as quickly as possible. Everything worked out well for us.”
David Sauer and Adam Martinson combined for three innings of scoreless relief, giving up only two hits.
Offensively, the Bulldogs scored four runs in the first and tacked on four runs in the third to put the game away early.
Leary (2-for-3, two RBIs), Alex Spirios (1-for-4, three RBIs), Kincanon (1-for-2, two RBIs) and Duffek (two stolen bases) paced the Bulldogs’ quick strike offense.
RBHS, which has already set a new school record for single season wins with 32, advances to the Nazareth Sectional where the Bulldogs will battle the host Roadrunners May 29 (4:30 p.m.) in a highly anticipated semifinal matchup. Clemente and Glenbard South (which won 2 of 3 games against RBHS) square off in the other semifinal.
“It’s really wide open with all four teams having a legitimate shot to win,” Till said. “It will be interesting to see the strategy each coach uses, particularly in terms of how he manages his pitching staff [at the sectional].”
