By Drake Skleba

 

JOLIET  – Let us venture back to almost one year ago to the day at Silver Cross Field in Joliet. It is June 13, 2009 and the St. Rita Mustangs are battling New Trier for the Class 4A state championship. St. Rita first baseman Shane Conlon rips a clutch two-run double to give the Mustangs an early 2-0 lead. The night before, the junior lefty fires a four-hit shutout at hard-hitting O’Fallon, leading the Mustangs to a 4-0 semifinal victory. The Mustangs would eventually fall 4-3 in a heart-breaking defeat at the hands of New Trier.

 

Let’s move ahead to July 30, 2009 and St. Rita is on its way to the 2009 IHSBCA Phil Lawler State Tournament Championship. Conlon fires six shutout innings in leading his Mustangs to a 9-0 championship victory over Sandburg. Conlon fanned 10 in his championship game masterpiece.

 

Move ahead to August. Shane Conlon decides to leave St. Rita and transfer to Naperville Central for the 2009-2010 school year.

 

As we move foreword in time we stop in February 2010. The PBR Season Preview Issue has just been released and Shane Conlon and his new Naperville Central teammates grace the cover as the preseason No.1 team in Illinois baseball. Guess who No.2 is? That’s right. The St. Rita Mustangs.

 

Now, as if written by a Hollywood screenwriter, Conlon’s Redhawks and his old pals from St. Rita will meet in the Class 4A State Championship Game at Silver Cross tonight around 5 o’clock. The Kansas State-bound left-hander Conlon (11-0) will be on the mound for the Redhawks.

 

Both Naperville Central and St. Rita had to survive furious challenges from Stevenson and Huntley in the semifinals. Naperville Central survived with a thrilling 6-4 win over the mighty Patriots. St. Rita, on sophomore Zach Soria’s game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh eased past the battling Red Raiders 7-6 to set up the dream matchup.

 

“Shane was a great teammate and we are really looking forward to facing him and Naperville Central tomorrow,” said St. Rita left-hander Anthony Andres (10-3), who will oppose Conlon on the mound. “Shane is a great competitor and we always give 110 percent whenever we play. I am sure Shane knows we will come after him with an all-out effort.” 

 

We talked with Conlon after the Redhawks win over Stevenson.

 

“I am going to go and sit with my friends from over there and watch the Rita-Huntley game,” said Conlon. “I will be pulling for them because I have a lot of friends over there. I look upon St. Rita in the state championship game tomorrow as I would look at any team that we are facing. We are playing for a state championship. That is all that I am focusing on. It doesn’t matter who we are playing.”

 

 The dialogue continued between old friends.

 

“Naperville Central is a great team,” said Mustang junior left-hander Joe Filomeno. “Shane Conlon is one of the best pitchers in the state. We want to play the very best to show that we are the best team in the Illinois. By beating Shane and Naperville Central we will prove that we are the very best.”

 

St. Rita head coach Mike Zunica said, “We moved forward very quickly. We move ahead with those who want to be with us in the trenches, as we drive for a state championship.” 

 

So the battle lines are drawn. Who will emerge? The storyline should serve as one of the most memorable ones in IHSA state baseball history. Get there early for I have a feeling the home of the Joliet Jackhammers will be packed.