By Sean Duncan

BOLINGBROOK, IL – In a Class 4A regional semifinal matchup of two top-level pitchers, it was Neuqua Valley senior right-hander Nick Blackburn who stole the show with one of the more dominant performances I’ve seen all spring.

Blackburn threw a one-hit shutout in a 7-0 victory over Hinsdale Central on Wednesday to advance No. 18 Neuqua Valley (29-7) to the regional championship game on Saturday.

Blackburn (7-3), a University of Illinois recruit, struck out eight and walked two. In the first two innings, his fastball sat at 90-92 with arm-side run. He pitched the remainder of the game at 87-90, with his final pitch of the game reaching 91 mph. Equally as effective was Blackburn’s 76-79 mph slider, and for good measure, he’d drop in a slower curveball, usually starting it in on righties.

The one hit Hinsdale Central (12-22) produced probably went two feet – a chopper right in front of the plate.

“Hits like that happen,” said Blackburn. “I don’t really care about no-hitters just as long as we win the game. … Everything was working today. I was spotting my fastball pretty well and my slider was working.”

The Wildcats offense got it done enough against Hinsdale Central junior right-hander Adam Dressler (2-5), who’s one of the top Class of 2013 pitching prospects. In 4.1 innings, Dressler allowed two hits, struck out five and walked five. Dressler opened the game at 85-88 mph, then settled in at 83-85 mph.

Dressler’s big mistake was serving up a two-run home run to Neuqua Valley senior shortstop Tanner Giesel on a 3-0 count in the third inning. Giesel, a 6-foot-2 athlete, is one of top unsigned senior infielders on the board. Giesel also had a run-scoring single in the fifth, and walked. He also played a stellar shortstop.

“Tanner’s been doing that all year,” said Neuqua Valley coach Robin Renner. “What I saw today from the team was what I’ve seen for the last month.”

Jack Amaro, a Purdue recruit, also hit a solo homer to lead off the sixth, and scored two runs for the Wildcats.