Bradley-Bourbonnais Rides Tim Brokop To Victory Over No. 10 Lincoln-Way West
April 24, 2015
By Ryan Quigley
Illinois Scouting Director
BOURBONNAIS, IL – The wind was blowing in hard at Diamond Sports Complex on Thursday for the Southwest Suburban Conference Red showdown between Bradley-Bourbonnais and No. 10 Lincoln-Way West. The elements, coupled with two tall right-handers locked in a pitching duel made offense scarce, as the Boilermakers rode the arm of junior Tim Brokop to a 1-0 victory.
Brokop was in command from the beginning, wiggling out of a jam in the first. Joe Paparelli singled for Lincoln-Way West, and in infield error put runners on first and second with one out. Brokop induced a flyout, and recorded a strikeout for the third out to end the threat.
The first inning threat was all the Warriors could muster, as Brokop put it on cruise control, throwing six more hitless innings, finishing with a complete game shutout one-hitter with ten strikeouts and two walks.
Lincoln-Way West’s Steven Skolarz was equally impressive opposing Brokop, firing a complete game four-hitter. Skolarz was touched for one run in the first inning. Bradley’s Branden Jain tripled to right centerfield and scored on Mike Mateja’s ensuing RBI sacrifice fly to centerfield. Skolarz fired five scoreless innings after the first, impressing with an 86-88 mph fastball, touching 89.
After a second inning leadoff walk, Brokop retired sixteen straight Warrior hitters. After striking out the leadoff hitter in the top of the seventh, the 6-foot-4 uncommitted righthander with an 84-85 mph fastball ran into a bit of trouble with a hit-by-pitch and a walk. After recording a strikeout on a slider down, West put more pressure on executing a double steal to put the winning run on second base. As he did all game, Brokop came up big with a swinging strikeout to preserve his masterpiece and the win.
“I felt good throughout the game, even though my fastball was flat with the wind. I worked the changeup a lot and tried to keep them off balance”, Brokop said. “I basically had to bear down there in the seventh and I threw some good sliders to the last two hitters.”
Bradley-Bourbonnais improves to 9-3 overall, 3-1 in the Southwest Suburban Red, while Lincoln-Way West falls to 14-3 (3-1 in conference). The Warriors host Oak Forest on Saturday for a doubleheader starting at 10 am.
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