HH_042717

44 | April 27, 2017 | The Homer Horizon sports
homerhorizon.com
Baseball
With lineup, rotation in flux, Celtics remain a threat
Frank Gogola
Freelance Reporter
Providence Catholic sophomore
Alex Helmin keyed in
on Dave Navarro’s curveball
early.
When Helmin came up
for his second at-bat, he correctly
guessed curveball and
roped a two-run single that
gave Providence the lead for
good against De La Salle.
“On his curveball, he’d
bring it out of his glove a
little bit different,” Helmin
said. “So, I knew when it
was coming a little bit. The
one for the single started a
little further in, so I was able
to take advantage of it.”
Helmin’s hit was the first
run-scoring hit of a five-run
inning that blew the game
open for the Celtics in their
9-7 win against conference
foe De La Salle on Thursday,
April 20, in New Lenox.
Basil Webber (1-1) earned
the win in his first start of the
season, and Providence (11-
6) played at least 13 fielders.
Eleventh-year head coach
Mark Smith said he is still
in the process of figuring out
his regular starters after preseason
pitching injuries and
new starters at every position
shook up the dynamic.
“I’ve preached patience to
this team,” Smith said. “I’m
not worried about our record
right now. What matters is
we continue to get better,
work hard and make sure
we’re in prime position for
the postseason.”
Helmin, a Frankfort resident,
broke the 2-2 tie with
his two-run, two-out single
in a five-run second inning.
Nick Jones followed with an
RBI double that bounced on
the left-field warning track.
Drew Hunniford, a Frankfort
resident, added a tworun
double to put Providence
up 7-2.
The Celtics’ five secondinning
runs came after there
were two outs and nobody
on base in the inning. All
five were unearned.
“It’s always great to see
us create those two-out rallies,
get things going,” Smith
said. “I always tell the kids,
‘You have three outs per inning.
Use them.’ It doesn’t
mean because there’s two
outs and nobody on that we
can’t put up a couple runs on
a couple hits.”
Matt Swanson opened the
inning with a triple but was
thrown out in a rundown
when he tried to score on a
Steven Meyer ground ball to
the shortstop. Meyer reached
first base but was picked off
during the next at-bat. Josh
Mrozek reached on a twoout
error when the second
baseman bobbled the ball,
and Gaosh Williams singled
to bring up Helmin.
Webber allowed three
runs, one earned, on three
hits and one walk while
striking out one in three innings.
The bullpen held the
lead, and Dakota Kotowski
earned his fifth save.
Providence flashed its
speed with eight steals in the
first two innings. Williams
scored the Celtics’ first run
on a double steal of home
and second in tandem with
Helmin.
Helmin found Navarro’s
curveball tell during his first
at-bat by working an 0-2
count into a walk.
“We have a lot of team
speed that we’re trying to
take advantage of,” said Helmin,
who pinch ran during
last year’s varsity playoffs
after playing on junior varsity
during the regular season.
“Our speed is one of the
things we’ll be strong in and
one of the things that will
bring us far in the playoffs.”
Smith has used the first half
Providence’s Josh Mrozek prepares to catch the ball to tag out the De La Salle runner at second base Thursday, April 20,
in New Lenox. Photos by Adam Jomant/22nd Century Media
of the season to figure out
what he has in his team, which
returned no starters from last
season’s Class 4A state championship
team. Williams, a
center fielder, and Jones, a
catcher, are the only position
players to have locked down
starting spots, he said.
Pitchers Tyler Zarembka,
Kurt Dankovich, Caden
Kalinowski and Jake Miller
suffered offseason injuries.
None have pitched this season,
and Smith expects only
one at most to return.
Junior Ethan Petric (3-1)
and sophomore Bryce Barnett
(2-1) have made a teamhigh
four starts each and are
the only pitchers with more
than one win.
Smith said he hopes to
have his starters set by early
May to begin the push for
the playoffs.
Earlier this season, Providence
finished second in
the WJOL tourney, losing
Celtics pitcher Caden Kalinowski winds up in his delivery.
to Plainfield Central in the
championship game.
“We have a lot of versatility
and depth,” Smith said.
“Some days, we might have
a lineup against righties and
then a lineup to face lefties.
At some point, a coach
wants to go to fill out his
lineup card and know who
he’s playing where.”
The Celtics are seeking
their fourth consecutive
Class 4A state title under
Smith. Last year, they became
the first program in
IHSA history to win three
state baseball titles in a row.