5 weeks later, JCA rolls to tournament title

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SCHAUMBURG -- It was worth the wait.

Nearly five weeks after the original scheduled date, the Joliet Catholic Academy baseball team captured the title in The 8th Annual Schaumburg Flyers High School Baseball Classic with a 13-2 shellacking of Schaumburg in five innings Thursday at Alexian Field.

The Hilltoppers (22-4) scored early and often in winning the title in their first-ever tournament appearance. The game originally was scheduled for April 5, but was rained out.

"This is one of those tournaments that you always hope for an invite and we got it this year," JCA coach Jared Voss said. "(Tournament director) John Sarna got in contact with us and we jumped at the opportunity.

"We came out ready to go. The kids were really excited to play here and didn't need much motivation."

That was evident from the get-go as the Hilltoppers put a 4-spot on the board in the top of the first. Junior second baseman Nick Ratajczak had a two-run double to left center, senior catcher Mike Nelson had an RBI single up the middle and senior third baseman Nate Minarich added an RBI groundout.

Schaumburg (16-6) got a pair of runs back in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly by Dominick D'Agata and an RBI single by Kyle Pusateri. But they would be the only runs allowed by JCA senior Steve Kazak.

The lefty improved to 4-2 by going the distance, allowing one earned run on 4 hits while walking 2 and striking out 3.

The Hilltoppers were back on the attack in the second. John Ruettiger, who was 2-for-3 with 4 runs scored, doubled for the second straight inning and later stole home as part of a double steal.

Ratajczak, who was 3-for-3 with 4 runs scored and 3 RBIs, lined an RBI single to center and Nelson added an RBI double down the third base line.

"I'm starting to hit my stride now," said Nelson, who was 3-for-4 with a season high 4 RBIs. "It's nice to come up with guys on base in front of you and it felt good to come out here and beat a real good team."

Four more JCA runs crossed the plate in the fourth.

Junior designated hitter Steve Cservenyak walked and later scored on a wild pitch. Nelson banged a 2-run single to left and Minarich added a sacrifice fly.

Cservenyak, who along with Ruettiger was named to the all-tournament team, capped the scoring with a 2-run single to right in the fifth. The Hilltoppers finished with 12 hits.

"John (Ruettiger) and Nick (Ratajczak) have been on fire in the second and third positions," Voss said. "We're playing extremely well now."