By Drake Skleba

NEW LENOX – No. 4 Joliet Catholic Academy and No. 6 Providence Catholic were looking forward to having a rematch of the 2011 WJOL Area Invite Tournament championship game. The problem for the highly ranked Hilltoppers and Celtics was that unranked Lemont and Minooka had other ideas.

In the Providence Catholic Bracket semifinal, Lemont (4-2) roughed up Providence’s University of Notre Dame-bound LHP Zak Kutsulis (2-1) for six runs in the second inning and cruised past the Celtics 10-4.

In the Lockport Bracket semifinal at Ed Flink Field, Minooka (5-3) jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead and held on to stun Joliet Catholic Academy 4-2.

So after Saturday afternoon’s results, the much-anticipated No. 4 Providence vs. No. 6

Joliet Catholic showdown will be for third place at 5:15 at Silver Cross Field. Lemont and Minooka will play for all the marbles at 7:30 at Silver Cross Field.

You can watch both games live on the link below.

http://prepbaseballreport.highschoolcube.com/

Lemont 10, Providence 4

Providence (4-2) jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on a two-run single by red-hot Celtic RF Kenny King in the bottom of the first inning. Lemont (4-2) scored the next 10 runs and rolled to a 10-4 victory.

The Indians roughed up Providence’s LHP Zak Kutsulis (2-1) for six runs and five hits in the second inning. The big hit in the Indians second was a two-out, two-run single by Indian DH Jeff Worsech, which extended the Indian lead to 5-2. University of Illinois-bound Tyler Jay singled home Worsech to finish the six-run explosion.

“I played with Zak (Kutsulis) and wanted to get even with him,” said Worsech. “He beat us opening day (a 6-1 Providence win). We played very well today. I am really looking forward to the championship game. We beat them last year with Josh Ferry’s perfect game. They are probably looking for some revenge. It should be a great game.”

In the fifth and sixth, the Indians added a pair of runs in each inning to extend their lead to 10-2. Indian No. 9 hitter Charlie Wright drove home his second run of the game with his second single. Wright will start the Championship Game for Lemont.

“We finally hit well today and scored some runs,” said Wright. “I hit the ball well today.”

In the sixth, Jay ripped his third hit of the day, driving home his second RBI of the

game. Indian junior C Bill Hayes plated Jay with a sac-fly for the 10^th and final Lemont run. Hayes doubled to lead of the big six-run second inning.

“We beat one of the best pitchers in the state,” said Jay. “I have been struggling lately at the plate and I was very happy to hit the ball so well today.”

Lemont received a superb starting performance from senior LHP Fred Schuett (2-0). After allowing the two-run single to King in the first inning, Schuett shut out the hard-hitting Celtics overt the next four innings. Schuett allowed just three singles over that span.

“I kept them off-balance today,” said Schuett. “I changed speeds very well and my best pitch was my curve-ball. The win was huge for us since we have never beaten them.”

Lemont junior LHP Cody Caballero closed out the game for Lemont, allowing a pair of runs in his two innings of relief.

“Fred Schuett really pitched a great game for us,” said Lemont head coach Joe Rodgeghero. “This was the first time we really hit the ball and scored some runs.

We are really thin for pitching tonight in the championship game. I’m sure Minooka is too. Advancing to the championship game is a great achievement for our program.”  

King had two hits and two RBI to lead the Celtics. Celtic senior C Sam Tidaback chipped in with a pair of hits.

“We are not a very good team right now,” said Providence head coach Mark Smith. “Maybe we are not hungry enough and we still have a lot of work to do to be a good team.”

Minooka 4, Joliet Catholic Academy 2

Minooka (5-3) jumped out to a 4-0 lead on JCA and survived a late surge to win 4-2 and advance to the WJOL Area Invite championship game. All four of the Indians runs were of the clutch two-out varieties.
Indian senior RF Carson Neushwander gave the Indians a quick 2-0 lead after two innings. In the first, Neushwander’s two-out RBI single made it 1-0 Minooka. Neushwander came through again with a two-out triple to extend the Indian lead 2-0.

Senior Nick Fleischauer and Junior Max Brozovich extended the Indian lead to 4-0 with two-out RBI singles.

Indian senior Kevin Ruff slammed the door on JCA until the seventh. Ruff (2-1) allowed two runs and gave up eight hits to improve to 2-1 on the mound.

Ruff left with one out in the seventh with a 4-2 lead and the tying runs on base. Indian junior closer Steve Szymanski finished the game in style by striking out both Hilltopper hitters he faced to send surprising Minooka into the championship game.

Joliet Catholic Academy (4-1) was led by its junior C Alex Voitik, who had two hits, including a double.

Plainfield South 4, Joliet West 1 at Providence

Plainfield South (4-2) scored four times in the fifth and then survived a late Joliet West rally to advance to the fifth-place game against rival Plainfield Central (5-2). Cougar senior DH Jesse Small blasted a three-run double to close out the scoring in its four-run fifth.

Plainfield Central 10, Lockport 4 at Lockport

Plainfield Central (5-2) routed the hosts Porters 10-4 to advance to the fifth-place game with rival Plainfield South (4-2). Lockport falls to 4-3.