Oak Forest Doesn't Flinch After Digging Hole Early

Trailing 4-0 in an elimination playoff game—before even getting a chance to bat—would have plenty of teams worried.

But not the Oak Forest Bengals.

That’s the plight the Bengals faced in Wednesday’s Class 3A Lincoln-Way West Sectional semifinal game against Rich Central. But after the Olympians plated four runs in the top of the first inning, it was all Bengals the rest of the way, as

While the Bengals chipped away at the Rich Central lead, Oak Forest starting pitcher Kyle Linares shut down the Olympians the rest of the way.

“We knew we were going to score some runs,” Bengals coach Thaddeus Gatton said. “We have been hitting the ball all year long.”

The Olympians misplayed some popups and fly balls on the windy day, while the Bengals played flawless defense. Oak Forest learned a hard lesson in playing a poor game at Lincoln-Way West earlier in the season, as they made a number of errors and got blown out.

“This is a tough place to play defense,” Gatton said. “It has a fast infield and a big outfield. Especially tough when the wind was blowing like it was.”

It was the production of some of the lesser-known Bengals who proved to be the difference Wednesday.

“Our big guys are going to get what they’re going to get,” Gatton said.  “It is the people that nobody knows about that need to step up, and that will be the key to us if we want to keep advancing.”

Linares and the rest of the Bengals did not flinch when trailing. They knew their time was coming. The Bengals added four insurance runs in the sixth to put the game out of reach, highlighted by a two-run single by Linares.

“I am a very clutch hitter. When I went up there, I knew if there was a pitch, I was killing it,” Linares said.

“There was never a doubt we would win,” he added. “I knew the first inning was a fluke. I knew we were going to hit the ball.”

The Bengals (24-7) will play in the Lincoln-Way West Sectional championship game Saturday, against Joliet Catholic or Lemont.