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the New Lenox Patriot | June 1, 2017 | 51
Baseball
Provi routs top-seeded Andrew to win regional
Frank Gogola
Freelance Reporter
Providence Catholic
pitcher Bryce Barnett said
he had been looking forward
to making his first career
postseason start for over a
week before the game.
The first inning, though,
was not what the sophomore
had in mind when he gave
up a 2-run home run that put
the Celtics in an early hole
against Andrew.
“I came back into the dugout
and tried to stay positive
because we’ve got a long
game to go,” Barnett said.
“We were just up, talking,
staying loose. We knew we
had to fight. It was our season
on the line.”
Barnett, an Arizona State
recruit, shut down the topseeded
Thunderbolts the rest
of the afternoon as Providence
won 8-2 at the Andrew
Regional championship
game on Saturday, May
27 to continue its quest for
a fourth consecutive state
title.
The seventh-seeded Celtics
(20-16) advance to a
Homewood-Flossmoor
Sectional semifinal game
against fourth-seeded Sandburg
at 4 p.m. on Wednesday,
May 31.
Barnett gave up just the
two runs in 6 1/3 innings. He
allowed four hits and struck
out eight as he attacked the
strike zone with multiple
pitches.
“It’s been nice to watch
his maturation during the
course of the season,” Providence
coach Mark Smith
said. “We have a lot confidence
in him. He’s got that
confidence and belief in
himself. When he does get
in those tough situations, he
doesn’t panic. He says, ‘Alright,
give me the ball. I got
to find a way to get an out.’
And he can pitch his way out
of that.”
Providence’s Dylan Gorski
and Kevin O’Boyle supplied
two RBIs apiece. Ryan
Kaup added three hits.
Andrew starting pitcher
Scott Youngbrandt (8-1)
suffered his first loss of the
season. He gave up five runs
– four earned – on five hits
and six walks while striking
out four.
“They got Scott deep into
counts, laid off borderline
pitches to draw walks and
stole [seven] bases,” Andrew
coach Dave DeHaan
said. “But I’ll take Scott on
the mound any day of the
week.”
The victory upped Providence’s
postseason winning
streak to 23 games. They
have won three consecutive
Class 4A state titles and
haven’t lost a postseason
game since 2013.
Providence had opened
the postseason by pulling off
a 4-3 comeback victory over
Stagg on Thursday, May 25.
Andrew (26-8) had advanced
to the regional final
with a 9-1 win over ninthseed
Eisenhower in a regional
semifinal on May 24.
Nick Torres earned the win
with 5 1/3 innings of nohit
baseball. Kevin Bushnell
drove in three runs and
scored twice to pace the offense.
Against Andrew, Providence
struck first with a run
in the top of the first inning.
In the bottom of the frame,
Andrew senior Joe Oswald
connected for a two-run
home run. Barnett said he
was trying to pitch Oswald
low in the zone but left the
pitch up.
With Barnett dealing on
the mound after the home
run, Providence reclaimed
the lead with four runs in the
fourth inning. Mike Massaro,
Alex Helmin, O’Boyle
The Providence baseball team poses for a photo with the regional championship plaque Saturday, May 27, after the Celtics
won 8-2 in Tinley Park. Photos by Bob Klein/22nd Century Media
Pitcher Bryce Barnett kept the Thunderbolts scoreless the
rest of the way after giving up a two-run home run in the
first inning.
and Kaup drove in one run
each on a quartet of singles
to give Providence a 5-2
lead.
The Celtics blew the game
open in the fifth inning with
three more runs. Gorski
had a two-run double, and
Dylan Gorski (right) slides into third base before the throw
comes in.
O’Boyle had an RBI sacrifice
fly.
“They’re a three-time
state champ for a reason,”
DeHaan said. “We knew it
wasn’t going to be easy. I
just wish we would have
played our best.”
Andrew hasn’t won a regional
title since 2010.