Downers Grove South had a tremendous regular season in the spring finishing with a 30-5 record but the goal all season long was getting better each and every day in order make a long postseason run.

Unfortunately the latter part never happened as South made a quick exit from the state playoffs falling to Lincoln-Way Central in the regional championship.

Losing a couple of key players to graduation in Jake Rone and Dan Walsh, the Mustangs tried to regroup for the summer season.

But South could never put together any momentum and its summer season came to an end Monday, July 19 with a 10-2 defeat at the hands of Naperville Central in the opening round of the Phil Lawler Summer Classic.

“We put a lot into (the summer) and we take it very seriously,” Mustangs’ head coach Darren Orel said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a spring game or a summer game. We try to hammer home to these kids that when we step onto the field we’re giving a 110 percent and we’re competing, fighting and battling.”

South came into the home game as the eighth seed while Naperville Central was seeded ninth. Nick Burdi, who is committed to Louisville, was on the bump for the Mustangs and he’s expected to be one of the best players in the state next spring. Prep Baseball Report has Burdi ranked the No. 1 player in the Class of 2011.

Burdi lasted just 4 1/3 innings and gave up three runs on three hits. The Redhawks scored five runs in the fifth to create some breathing room and they never looked back.

“We struggled with the bats this summer,” Orel said. “We played good defense and usually our pitchers will keep us in it and Nick did that today. He didn’t have really good stuff and wasn’t at his best by any means but he competed for the innings he was in there.

“We played a good team today. (Naperville Central pitcher Dan Ludwig) was tough as nails out there. Every pitch he throws up there can be a strike. They played nice defense and had a good approach at the plate. That team knows how to win.”

With the way the spring ended, there was some concern the disappointment might roll over into the spring. But Orel doesn’t think that’s what happened.

“The kids play so many baseball games, I don’t think they live in the past too much,” he said. “I think they were excited about moving forward and the nucleus we had back.”

Orel would like to see his team change the way they approach games. He compared how Naperville Central got ready to face Burdi to the way his team prepared for Ludwig. “I could tell that (the RedHawks) were excited to face (Burdi), that was an exciting challenge for them,” Orel said. “On our side it was a little more cautious, nervous, apprehensive. It was ‘I think we can do it.’ But we’re going to keep plugging along and we’ll get there.”

There were several players that had good summers for South. Junior left-handed pitcher Nick Vanek, shortstop Nick Radenkovich and pitcher John Dillon all excelled.

“Nick had the best summer for us offensively and we hope he can break into the top four for us,” Orel said. “Defensively, had an outstanding summer. Trying to replace Danny Walsh, we were a little apprehensive when the summer started whether he could do the job. But I think he made one error all summer. He was phenomenal there and that’s such an important spot. He really impressed me.”

“I think we never really got started this summer,” Radenkovich said. “We pitched and played defense but we could never hit the ball. It’s really disappointing that we couldn’t score more runs.”

Radenkovich and his teammates will try to learn from their experiences in the spring and summer for next season.

“We’ve beaten a number of Division I pitchers throughout the spring and summer and we know we can do it,” he said. “If we all come together and play like we know how to play, we’re good.”

For Radenkovich, he left just a couple days after South’s loss to play in the CABA World Series held last weekend in Ohio with his travel team, the Upper Deck Cougars. South senior pitcher Max Vykouk is also on the team. The Cougars have played every week during the summer but this is the last tournament until fall baseball gets underway.