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38 | April 19, 2018 | The Lockport Legend SPORTS lockportlegend.com Weather doesn’t dampen spirit of Strike Out Cancer event Softball team wins twice, baseball game called early Randy Whalen Freelance Reporter The weather may not have been nice, but the reason the event was held certainly was. The Lockport Township baseball and softball programs held their annual Make Your Mark Strike Out Cancer Games for the benefit of the Make Your Mark Pediatric Cancer Foundation on Saturday, April 14, at the Lockport Athletic Field Complex. Unfortunately, temperatures that struggled to reach 40 degrees, coupled with wet and windy weather, put a physical damper on the day. But it couldn’t dampen the spirit that was behind it. “Just to see all the families and friends of families supporting this on a day like this was something great,” Lockport baseball coach Andy Satunas said. “We knew the weather wasn’t going to be great, but if we made $1, it was $1 more than we would have made if the event wasn’t held.” All the proceeds are donated to the Make Your Mark Pediatric Cancer Foundation. The Strike Out Cancer Games are held in honor of Mark Staehely. He died in March 2006 after a six-year battle with neuroblastoma cancer. His uncle, Kent Irvin, is the former longtime athletic director at Lockport. Plus, Mark attended Minooka for about six months as a freshman. So, it’s natural that the annual event, in its seventh year, has involved the Minooka baseball and softball teams for the past six seasons. While the weather prevented the teams from matching last year’s record of $11,500 donated, they were still happy with the $7,700 raised, and that the event was held. “This day has really become special to us,” said Minooka baseball coach Jeff Petrovic, who had Staehely in class. “Lockport does a fantastic job. We feel honored to be a part of it, and our parents pitch in where they can. This is one of my favorite days of the year. [With the weather, last Saturday] was tough, for sure, but it’s a great thing to do, and that showed in the amount of people that were still here. It turned out to be another great event in bad conditions.” After many lower level baseball games were played earlier in the day, the varsity game went off at about 5 p.m. It, however, was called with two outs in the top of the third inning and Minooka leading 3-0. The two teams hope to either pick up the game or play it again in its entirety later this season. Once again, they are among the best baseball teams in the southwest suburbs as the Indians (7-3) and Lockport (10-1) have already combined for 17 wins in a bad weather spring. But none of the games would have even happened without the hard work of a great crew that got out early to get the baseball field and two softball fields in shape. “It was all the event workers, our staff, all the parents that made it happen,” Satunas said. “Our grounds crew was here at 6:30 in the morning, getting fields ready, letting everyone know this was going to happen. We wanted the teams to arrive and know the games were on. This entire day helped inspire people.” As the teams have done for every Strike Out Cancer event, each player wore the name of someone special who had been affected by cancer on the back of their special shirt/jersey for the day. Lockport senior Steven Salvino transcended the baseball and softball programs with his jersey, which had “John” on the back to honor the late brother of softball senior first baseman, Tara McElligott. “I’m wearing John on the back for John McElligott,” Salvino said. “He was the brother of my girlfriend, Tara McElligott, and he was 5 when he passed away. So, this really puts things in perspective. It’s just much more than a game. It’s a special day when so many people come in to watch you play. It brings families together.” Salvino hopes the Porters season keeps coming together. “It’s been a great season so far,” he said. “We just want to keep it going.” While the baseball team was unable to complete its games, the Lockport softball team got in both of its games. When the event first started, it was a baseball-only one. But the softball team soon joined in, and the allday event helps raise awareness and money through both programs. “It’s just a spectacular day to have all the communities come together,” Lockport softball coach Marissa Chovanec said. “It’s great that Andy [Satunas] invited us to be a part of it. It’s all about tradition.” Downers Grove South has participated on the softball side since the start. But it’s even more special for the Mustangs to be there now as Lockport’s Tara McElligott takes a swing at a pitch during her team’s game Saturday, April 14, that was part of the Strike Out Cancer event hosted by LTHS softball and baseball. Photos by Adam Jomant/22nd Century Media they are coached by former Porters player Lauren Berg, who is in her second season as coach. “It makes it super special, since she’s a former Porter,” Chovanec said of Berg, a 2005 Lockport graduate whose maiden name was Morita. “We had a great crowd here, even with the weather.” It was a couple of great results for the Porters on the field, too. In the second game, which finished just before another downpour of rain, they rallied for an 11-7 win over Downers Grove South. The Mustangs (4-2), who beat Minooka 8-2 earlier in the day, led 7-4 after scoring four runs in the top of the fifth. Lockport got two runs back in the bottom of the fifth and scored five in the sixth to go ahead for good. McElligott (3-for-4, 3 R, 3 RBI) had the big hit in the sixth, a two-run homer to left. Junior outfielder Lauren Johnson (3-for-3, R, 3 RBI) and senior outfielder Taylor Shingler (2-for-3, R, RBI) were also big for the Porters, Taylor Herschbach prepares to make a throw for the Porters during the varsity softball team’s Strike Out Cancer game. who had 12 hits in the game. Lockport (8-2) also rallied in the first game. Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth, the Porters scored four runs to take the lead. Then, Johnson (2-for-4, 2 R, 5 RBI) blasted a grand slam to left to drive in all four runs in the sixth. Senior shortstop Courtney Schoolcraft (4-for-4, 2 R, 2B), senior third baseman Taylor Herschbach (2-for-3, 3 R, 2B) and senior catcher Gracie Voulgaris (2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, HR) had multi-hit games, as Lockport laced 13 hits. “It was great to see the guys help us out with the support,” said Johnson, who went 3-for-3 in a tough 2-1 loss the day before to Lincoln-Way East. “We love everything about this day. I’m wearing the names of old family friends, Pearl and Emil Balzano, on the back of my shirt. It’s nice that we can choose who we want on our shirts. It’s my favorite time of the year, and all for the Strike Out Cancer cause.” For more information on the Make Your Mark Pediatric Cancer Foundation, visit www.makeyourmark7.org.
lockportlegend.com SPORTS the Lockport Legend | April 19, 2018 | 39 fastbreak Softball Lockport drops hard-fought game to East Adam Jomant/22nd Century Media 1st and 3 LTHS boys water polo slips past Lincoln- Way Central with 10-9 victory 1. Staying unbeaten The Lockport boys water polo team moved its record to 8-0 overall and 2-0 in the SouthWest Suburban Conference following a 10-9 victory April 10 at LTHS. 2. Defense tightens in crunch time The Knights didn’t score a goal for the final 8:18 of the match, allowing the Porters to rally from a 9-7 deficit to come away with the win. 3. Proficient scorer Lockport’s Tyler Thompson, a junior, led all scorers with four goals in the contest. With his team trailing 9-7, Thompson scored two-straight goals to even the score up for the Porters. Randy Whalen Freelance Reporter This has not been a normal spring season weather-wise. But Lincoln-Way East and Lockport Township is not a normal softball matchup. It’s a matchup of two of the top teams in the state. Because of the weather, there was some doubt that that matchup would happen last week. A good sized downpour pushed the start of the game back by 51 minutes, but once it got underway it was another classic between the two programs, which have never had a losing season and both won 30 games last year. In the end, however, there was a familiar result as East edged the Porters 2-1 in an intense early season South- West Suburban Conference Blue Division showdown on Friday, April 13 at Lockport. It was the 10th win in a row for the Griffins (8-1, 2-0) over Lockport (6-2, 1-1). That includes a trio of postseason games, including the start of the streak — an 11-5 win in the semifinals of the 2014 Class 4A Andrew Sectional — and a 5-0 victory in the title game of the Class 4A Minooka Sectional last spring. “We always know it’s going to be a great game when we play Lockport,” East coach Elizabeth Pawlicki said. “They’re a very competitive team. We have to be in these types of games to get better for the postseason.” The teams could meet in the postseason again this year as both will be competing in the Joliet West Sectional. But right now East has the upper hand in aiming for its fourth straight SWSC Blue title. If that happens it will be largely because of the pitching of Alex Storako. The senior right-hander, who pitched the Griffins to a Class 4A state title game appearance last spring and will play at the University of Michigan next year, had eight strikeouts and allowed five hits in last week’s big victory. “This was a very intense game,” Storako said. “Lockport is a great team to play and when we play them so much heart and effort goes into it.” Clinging to the 2-1 lead, Storako came up huge in the bottom of the seventh. Senior center fielder Taylor Shingler fell behind 0-2 before fouling off a pair of pitches. Then, with the count 1-2, she poked a lead-off single to center. Shingler scampered to second on a wild pitch with no outs and, with the top of the order up, the Porters looked in business to at least tie it. Storako had other plans, though, as she retired two dangerous hitters on a pair of popups. A three-pitch called strikeout ended it. “At this point, I really trust my defense,” Storako said of pitching in the seventh inning situation. “It makes life a whole lot easier when we can get outs like that. I’m really proud of it.” The Porters made sure there was no shutout by scoring a run in the bottom of the second inning. Gracie Voulgaris led off the inning by putting down a bunt that went under Storako’s glove for East’s only error of the game. Voulgaris, a senior catcher, then moved to second and third on two ground outs. Junior right fielder Lauren Johnson then lined an 0-1 pitch to center for an RBI single. That lead lasted until the fifth. With one out, junior second baseman Lindsay LaDere (1-for-3) hit a single and was forced at second by sophomore right fielder Paige Geraghty (2-for-4, R). Then, senior shortstop Alli Jaquith jacked a two-out triple to deep center to tie the game. “I was just thinking, try to make contact and help get a rally going for the team,” said Jaquith of her big hit. “We faced them [Lockport] three times last year, and we knew this would be a hard game. It’s always hard to beat a good team three times. “These [Lockport] games are always great ones. But these games are what we need to make us better. [A key] for us is that we have a really good bond and connection.” The Griffins took the lead in the sixth. Junior third baseman Lexi Krause led off by reaching when senior left fielder Lindsey Bangert misplayed a deep fly ball for a three-base error. One out later, senior first baseman Lauren Hunter hit a sacrifice fly to left as Krause came home to make it 2-1. Both teams had other opportunities to score. East left five on base and junior left fielder Delaney Jacobson (2- for-3) had two hits. But the Griffins also had a pair of runners thrown out on the bases. One of those was Geraghty, who was out trying to steal second in the top of the third inning on a nice throw to second by Voulgaris. The Porters left eight on base and had other chances as well. After Johnson knocked in the run in the second, Lockport sophomore pitcher Gianna Bauer was hit by a pitch on the first pitch. But a ground out ended the inning. Johnson (3-for-3), who bats seventh in the lineup, also had two-out singles in the fourth and sixth innings, but pop-ups ended the innings. Senior third baseman Taylor Herschbach led off the third for Lockport by ripping a ball down the right field line. It had home run distance by about 20 feet, but was foul by maybe a foot. In the fifth, senior second baseman Nikki Visvardis (1-for-4) had a twoout single to center and Salutric walked on five pitches. Both runners moved up to second and third on a wild pitch. Voulgaris roped a ball down the left field line that hit the top of the left field fence, but was foul by a foot or so. Then with a full count, she was punched out for a strikeout on a close inside pitch. Bauer, who was knocked out of the game early in the sectional final last season, threw a quality game. The right-hander went the distance, allowing one earned run on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts. She bats left-handed and after being hit by the pitch, she wasn’t sure if she could continue. But she did. “Gianna threw a good game,” Lockport coach Marissa Chovanec said. “This is what we expect from her. She was composed and our defense was pretty good most of the game. There weren’t too many gappers. We have three pitchers on our staff [Elly Hagen and junior Erin Kleffman are the others] and not many teams can say they have a pitching staff like that. “[Overall against East] I was pleased with how we hit the ball, pleased with how we played.” The two teams will meet again on May 7 in Frankfort. The Porters, who lost 5-4 in extra innings last year at East, hope to break through then or if the teams meet again in the postseason. “We are two teams that have to see each other probably two more times,” Chovanec said. “Each time we inch closer. If an inch is what it takes, I’ll take that inch.” LISTEN UP “We’re definitely a defensive team this year after being all about offense last year. We’re stepping up and trying new things, and it’s working out. In the end, we always put a smile on our face and fix what we do wrong.” Simon Harmata — Lockport boys water polo player Tune In Boys Water Polo Engaging the Eagles — 5 p.m. Thursday, April 19, at Sandburg • The Porters take on their rival in Orland Park in what will be a large SouthWest Suburban Conference showdown. Index 36 - This Week In 36- Athlete of the Week FASTBREAK is compiled by Contributing Editor Thomas Czaja, tom@homerhorizon.com.
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