The Willowbrook baseball team’s memorable 2026 season came to an end with a 5-2 loss to York in an IHSA Class 4A regional final in Villa Park on Saturday, May 30.
The Warriors finished their season with an overall record of 29-7. After starting the season with a 1-4 record, Willowbrook reeled off 27 straight wins before ending its regular season with two straight losses.
During their 27-game winning streak, the Warriors won the West Suburban Gold Conference championship with a perfect 18-0 conference record.
Willowbrook opened the post-season with an 11-1 six-inning win over Maine West in a May 27 regional semifinal in Villa Park. That win propelled the Warriors to Saturday’s regional final against York, which defeated Wheaton Warrenville South in 3-1 on May 28 in the Willowbrook Regional’s other semifinal.
With its win over Willowbrook, York advanced to this week’s Bartlett Sectional. The Dukes are the sectional’s No. 9 seed. The Warriors, who were the sectional’s No. 1 seed, hoped to win Saturday’s regional final to claim a regional plaque in head coach Vic Wisner’s final home game. Wisner is retiring at the end of this season.
York scored three runs in the top of the third inning to take a 3-0 lead in Saturday’s regional final. The Warriors committed two errors during the inning. The Dukes extended their lead to 5-0 by scoring two runs in the top of the seventh inning.
Willowbrook senior Alex Dew singled to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning. Senior Tommy Roelle then drew a walk. After York recorded an out with a strikeout, senior Jake Bonino hit a hard grounder that the Dukes’ shortstop couldn’t field cleanly. Dew scored on the play. Moments later, Roelle scored on a groundout by junior Ben Swanson. Senior Jory Crocker then hit a fly out to end the game.
“For us, we hadn’t played like that in weeks,” said Wisner after the season-ending loss to the Dukes. “We just played on our heels a little bit, which wasn’t us. It took us a while to catch our breath. And in a playoff game, you don’t have a lot of time to catch your breath.”
York’s program has now won regional championships in five consecutive seasons from 2022 to 2026.
Junior Mikey Garner pitched the first three innings of Saturday’s game for the Warriors. He allowed one earned run, three hits and two walks while striking out three batters. Senior Noah Edison pitched the next four innings for Willowbrook. Edison allowed two earned runs and six hits. He didn’t issue any walks, and he recorded three strikeouts.
