It never felt so good
CRETE -- Lemont High School senior right-hander Matt Green fired a fastball on a 1-0 pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning Wednesday afternoon.
Joliet Catholic Academy senior first baseman Kevin Hulbert was at the plate with the bases loaded and one out in a 2-2 game.
(Michael R. Schmidt/Staff Photographer)
(Michael R. Schmidt/Staff Photographer)
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• JCA beats Lemont
Hulbert saw where the pitch was going, and he smiled to himself. He turned his shoulder, and plunk -- hit by the pitch to drive in the decisive run as top-seeded JCA remained alive in the Class 3A Crete-Monee Sectional with a 3-2 semifinal victory.
"He (Green) was probably trying to ride it in on my hands and get the double-play ground ball," Hulbert said of the pitch that transformed him into the hero. "I saw it, smiled and turned and let it plunk me."
Not surprisingly, he added, "I didn't feel it a bit. I still don't."
The hit batsman ended a gutsy performance by Green and his Lemont teammates. The youthful Indians (17-10) were the No. 4 sectional seed and had a dropped a 14-0 decision to JCA very early in the season.
But JCA coach Jared Voss and his staff know all about a Joe Rodeghero-coached team, and the progress it can make during a season. Voss played at JCA when Rodeghero coached there, and these days, Rodeghero guides the fortunes at Lemont.
"I told the guys before the game about the tremendous respect we have for Joe and his team," said Voss, whose Hilltoppers will meet the winner of today's Illiana Christian-Oak Forest game at 10 a.m. Saturday for the sectional title. "This turned into one of those games where you just have to struggle to find a way to win."
"I am very proud of our kids," Rodeghero said. "This game showed the progress they have made from a 14-0 loss to them on the first day. This shows you will not be able to run over Lemont anymore, and all the credit for that goes to these kids and how hard they have worked."
The future certainly is bright for the Indians, but it was the senior, Green, who went the distance and very nearly eliminated JCA (28-5), the only one of last year's Final Four in 3A still playing.
"Matt Green was trying to make the perfect pitch (to Hulbert)," Rodeghero said. "He deserved to be out there to win or lose the game. He was very disappointed at the end, but he will be a success in life."
While runs were difficult to come by on a day when the wind was blowing in at around 20 mph, baserunners were plentiful. Almost invariably, though, the pitching and defense on both sides would step up and pull escapes that would make Houdini proud.
The final count showed Lemont leaving nine on base, at least one in every inning but the sixth, while JCA stranded someone in every inning and 12 total.
JCA went with its ace, senior right-hander A.J. Plese, but he threw 83 pitches and did not complete the fourth inning. Senior right-handers Vinnie Hughes and Brock Liston combined to work the final 3 1/3 innings without allowing a run. Liston (9-0) wound up with his biggest victory.
Lemont attempted to jump ahead in the top of the second inning with aggressive baserunning. Sophomore left fielder Josh Ferry was on second base with two outs and attempted to score on Nick Lawrence's slow-rolling infield single to shortstop Dave Cladis. Hulbert, though, snagged the low throw to first on a short hop and fired to catcher Nate Ruzich to nail Ferry.
The Hilltoppers went up 1-0 in the bottom of the inning when Ruzich singled, Mike Foley sacrificed courtesty runner Anthony Chignoli to second and Steve Cservenyak, who went 2-for-2 with a walk, belted a long RBI double to right field.
JCA was primed to widen the gap in the bottom of the third when Cladis and Nick Ratajczak opened the inning with clean singles, and Andrew Cecchi sacrificed. But the wind knocked down John Gerl's fly ball to Lawrence in center, and Lawrence's strong throw held Cladis at third. Green then got Ruzich to ground out to end the threat.
Gerl's spectacular catch over his head in left robbed Ryan Ferry and left Lemont with two outs and nobody on in the top of the fourth. The catch loomed even larger before the inning ended because the Indians rallied after two outs to score twice and take a 2-1 lead. A walk, error and walk loaded the bases, and sophomore shortstop Kevin Goergen, who had opened the game with a single, delivered a two-run single to knock out Plese.
Hughes relieved and retired Mike Dvorak on a high fly to right, with Cservenyak battling the tough wind to make the grab.
Kyle Cyr's hustling infield single got Lemont going in the fifth, and he reached third with one out. But a rundown after a ground ball to Cladis retired him. Ryan Ferry then singled to left. Gerl threw home, Greg Mrozek stopped at third and Ruzich gunned down Ferry attempting to take second to end that threat.
"Lemont tried to make things happen," Voss said. "That comes down to Joe's (Rodeghero's) teams knowing that on days when you're struggling to score runs, you have to be aggressive and put pressure on the defense."
"We made one baserunning mistake," Rodeghero said. "Otherwise we were trying to force them to make plays. They did, and that just shows you how good they are."
JCA tied it 2-2 in the bottom of the inning when Ratajczak singled with one out, Cecchi was hit by a pitch, Gerl walked and Ruzich lifted a sacrifice fly to center. The Hilltoppers had the first two men reach on walks in the sixth, but Green pitched out of trouble, with the wind holding up Ratajczak's long fly ball to right-center for the third out.
"This spring weather, you never know," Voss said. "Cservenyak's double, Rat's (Ratajczak's) ball looked like it was in the gap and Ruzich's potentially could have been gone on a different day."
After Liston retired Lemont in order in the sixth, the only three-batter inning on either side, the Indians threatened in the seventh. Goergan walked and Dvorak sacrificed him to second.
Cyr, the 3-hitter for the Indians, stepped up sporting a .473 batting average with 7 doubles, 6 triples, 5 home runs and 31 RBIs on the resume. Voss walked out to speak with Liston.
"He told me, 'Don't give him a juicy one'," Liston smiled. "I guess that meant, don't miss by too much."
Cyr lined a fly to left, and after Pat Driscoll was walked intentionally, Liston struck out the left-handed hitting Mrozek on a 3-2 pitch to end the inning.
That set the stage for the winning rally. Cecchi walked, Gerl sacrificed, Ruzich was walked intentionally and Foley walked on a 3-2 pitch.
Hulbert was more than happy to take one for the team.
"Our guys in front of me did the job getting on, and our pitchers kept us in it," Hulbert said. "He (Green) pitched great against us. He had good offspeed stuff. We knew this was a game where we had to play our kind of ball to win. We played a lot of good team baseball."
"They always say you need a little luck, and maybe they got a little luck today," Rodeghero said of JCA. "But Jared (Voss) has a team with a lot of great players and no superstars. It is hard to beat a team like that."
Lemont certainly took its best shot, and it made for one entertaining afternoon.
