Providence rallies again, but falls just short

Providence Catholic's John Ciolkosz pitches against Naperville Central.
corey r. minkanic/for h.n.

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LOCKPORT -- It seemed like Providence Catholic High School's baseball team had Naperville Central right where the Celtics wanted them.

The Celtics -- aka the "Cardiac Kids" -- were trailing 4-3 heading into the top of the seventh inning. In their previous four state tournament wins Providence had come from behind, and each time in the late innings, to beat what was usually a higher-seeded team.

"Deep down," said Providence Catholic coach Mark Smith, "when Colin (McEnery) came up in the seventh and got that ball through the first baseman's legs for an error, I thought that maybe, just maybe something was in the air."

But, alas, the Celtics' magic touch had finally disappeared. They did manage to tie the game in that seventh inning but a walk-off home run by Naperville Central's Pat Kaminska in the bottom of the eighth gave the Redhawks (24-14) a 5-4 victory in the championship game of the 4A Lockport Sectional Saturday afternoon.

The young Celtics (21-17) -- who started just three seniors among their eight position players, designated hitter and starting pitcher -- were certainly not expected to be here on the sixth of June. They entered the tourney with a 17-16 record and were seeded 16th in the Lockport Sectional field.

"Nobody gave us a chance," said Smith. "We were so young, but as we went along and advanced through the tourney, we knew that we were pretty good.

"The kids fought so hard. They never quit. No matter what the situation or how good the opponent was. This was no fluke. We belonged here and I'm really proud of these young men."

And, as is usually the case in a one-run ballgame, any number of little things could have sent the Celtics to Monday's supersectional in Bloomington.

Providence actually started this game a little differently than what has been its postseason mode. The Celtics jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

"I thought, 'Holy Cow,' " said Smith, "we had a three-run lead in the first. This is the first time we had tasted something like all tournament long."

The Celtics got that quick start thanks to a walk to leadoff man Joe Houlihan, a pitch off the foot of Tim Hanrahan, a throwing error on a ground ball by Mike Morrissette, a run-scoring double by Kyle Thomas and an RBI single by Sam Travis.

But that three-run advantage was very short-lived.

Naperville Central countered with three tallies of its own in the bottom of the first. And by the time the Redhawks came to bat in the bottom of the third with the score still 3-3, Smith was already making a pitching change.

"Colin (McEnery) didn't have his best stuff today," said Smith, "but we had five fresh arms ready and I had confidence in all five of them."

Smith's confidence was borne out as the Celtic relievers -- John Ciolkosz and A.J. Woynerowski -- did not allow another Redhawk hit

until the walk-off blast in the eighth.

Providence did commit a couple of defensive miscues, though, that led to Naperville breaking the 3-3 deadlock with an unearned run in the third. Morrissette, the Celtics' second baseman, uncorked wild throws on back-to-back ground balls which put runners on the corners with nobody out. Morrissette then followed with a nifty throw as he anchored a double play on the very next batter but the runner from third scored to give the Redhawks a 4-3 edge.

That run stood until the top of the seventh when the Providence faithful rose to their feet in anticipation of another come-from-behind, late-innings rally.

McEnery started the inning when his sharply hit ground ball went through the legs of the Naperville first baseman. He then moved to second on a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by Brian Davis. A wild pitch got McEnery to third with just one out. Naperville Central elected to play the infield back and Providence capitalized when McEnery raced home on Matt Trowbridge's ground out to second base.

Woynerowski worked himself out of a second-and-third jam in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings.

The Celtics got a one-out walk to Morrissette in the top of the eighth and he got all the way to third base with two outs on an errant pickoff throw. Travis then drilled a drive to deep center field but a fine running catch by Naperville's Matt Cmiel ended the threat.

And the Redhawks then ended the game and Providence's season with one long drive of their own in the bottom of the eighth.

"It was a fun and very fulfilling year and it was hard to look at these young men without breaking down," said Smith shortly after delivering the heartfelt end-of-season hugs to his emotional players.

"We're certainly going to miss our seniors," continued Smith. "We will have six or seven starters back next year and have five of our top pitchers back. We have a lot of potential but we have to work at it and commit to that work during the off season.

"It's hard enough to get this far, but this success and just missing the next level has to be what drives you the next year."