Kaneland’s Alex Panico had a conversation with his older brother Nik before retreating to bed Tuesday night.
During Nik Panico’s senior season in 2019, the Knights advanced to the Class 3A Sycamore Sectional semifinals and lost to Dixon.
On Wednesday, the same matchup in the same round at the same venue stared down the younger Panico. Jackson and Logan Kottmeyer, younger brothers of Nik Panico’s former teammate Mason Kottmeyer, were in the same mindset.
“For me, Jackson and Logan, this game was bigger than the game for us,” Alex Panico said. “It was all about revenge for our brothers. That’s what we all came out to do. It’s a special feeling.”
The brothers delivered.
Alex Panico scored four runs out of the leadoff spot while Jackson Kottmeyer earned the win with four innings of relief as third-seeded Kaneland turned the tables on top-seeded Dixon with a 15-7 win.
The Knights (24-8) will play second-seeded Sycamore (27-6) for the sectional title at 11 a.m. Saturday. Sycamore beat Wheaton St. Francis 9-7 in the other semifinal.
Alex Panico, a junior center fielder, was the table setter for the Knights once again.
“He’s a scrappy kid,” Kaneland coach Brian Aversa said. “He’s itching to get on base. He’s aggressive. We love it. He’s a kid that’s going to kind of fuel the fire and make sure that we’re going behind him. He gets us started.”
Panico is the third brother to come through the program, following Joe and Nik.
“After the game on Monday, he sends me a picture of Joe with two regional plaques, Nik with two regional plaques and Alex with his one junior year,” Aversa said. “The Panicos have been a big part of our history.”
With the game tied 5-5, Panico led off the fourth inning with a walk. He stole third and scored the eventual winning run on a wild pitch.
“That’s kind of what my role is — see pitches, get back to the dugout and tell them what’s going on,” Panico said. “Get on and get in — that’s what we’ve all been doing. Especially lately, we’re all hot, we’re all getting on and we’re all scoring. That’s all we needed to do in this game.”
The Knights scratched out four runs in the fourth to take the lead for good against Dixon (24-3).
“We answered back, put a crooked number up on the board,” Aversa said. “I’m proud of the way our guys fought. It’s been that way all year.”
The Knights had three four-run innings, so Panico wasn’t alone in doing damage at the plate. Johnny Spallasso and Parker Violett each had three hits, scored three runs and drove in three runs. Violett and Cole Pugh homered.
With a four-run lead, Jackson Kottmeyer went to the mound in the bottom of the fourth and wound up finishing the game. He allowed two runs on three hits, struck out seven and walked one in four innings.
“When he came in, he did his job,” Panico said. “That last inning, he said, ‘I want to go out and get three outs.’ You could tell he was feeling it.”
As has been the case since the playoffs began, Kaneland was the underdog in this one, and Aversa said that probably will be the case again Saturday.
“We love that,” Aversa said. “I love people underestimating us. We love playing that role. We just want to be in the mix and give ourselves an opportunity to get there.”
The Knights have won 14 straight. Their last loss came against Sycamore on April 27.
“I’m loving it personally, and we’re all loving it,” Panico said. “It’s hard to get us out. It’s our time to shine.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.