Goal reached, Raiders want more

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Former Huntley pitcher Tanner Funke was leaning on the right-field fence, grinning and watching his former teammates celebrate on the field Saturday after the IHSA Class 4A Larkin Sectional championship.

“Who would have called this one?” said Funke, beaming at the idea of his guys winning the first sectional baseball title in school history.

Early this season, not too many people outside of the team would have pegged Huntley for sectional champions. The Red Raiders looked like a team that might contend in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division, but the graduation losses were significant, particularly with their top three pitchers.

The players still set the goal to play deeper into the postseason than last season. The Raiders did that in Wednesday’s 11-3 victory against Hononegah, then defeated Cary-Grove, 5-4, for the sectional championship. Huntley (28-9) will face Wheaton North (29-9) in the Rockford RiverHawks Supersectional No. 2 at 7 p.m. today. One more victory and the Raiders will make it the fourth consecutive year an FVC team has reached the state tournament at Joliet’s Silver Cross Field.

Huntley was 30-7 and won its second regional last season with Funke, Zach Liebman and Craig Lipp gobbling up most of the innings pitched. All three were Northwest Herald All-Area first-team selections (Lipp for the third time as an outfielder).

There were key returning position starters in Chris Klein, Phil Pupillo, Andre Sopena and Carlos Alvarez. The pitching has been solid, led by Jeremy Ahillen, Jake Staab and Klein, who has the best ERA among starters but has a strain in his right triceps that might limit his pitching the rest of the way.

“Our motto was to go farther than last year, and we got that goal,” said Ahillen, 8-1, who threw a complete game Saturday against C-G. “I think the offense is a little better this year, and that hitting helps.”

Klein, catcher Phil Pupillo and first baseman Tom Crohan have been the big run producers in the 3-4-5 spots. Freshmen Bryce Only and Colin Lyman, hitting sixth and seventh, also have had their moments.

“[The offense] might be better, with the young players who’ve come on, and the juniors from last year who are now seniors have really improved,” Klein said.

Huntley jumped to an 11-1 start, then further proved it was for real when FVC play began. The Raiders stayed near the top of the FVC Valley standings most of the season, tying with C-G for the title.

“This is like a sigh of relief,” Pupillo said after Saturday’s sectional victory. “We’re not going to change anything.”