OP_062118

42 | June 21, 2018 | The orland park prairie sports
opprairie.com
BASEBALL
Do it again: McCormick
wins another state
Player of Year award
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
10 Questions
with Tommy Windt
JEFF VORVA, Sports Editor
For the second time in the postseason, Orland
Park’s Matt McCormick was named the
top high school baseball player in Illinois.
Prep Baseball Report Illinois named the
St. Laurence junior its 2018 Player of the
Year on June 11. PBR ranked him as the top
catcher in Illinois and eighth-best in the nation.
McCormick hit .510 with a .657 on-base
percentage and slugged 1.094. He had nine
homers, 17 doubles and six triples while
driving in 48 runs. He has two strikeouts in
143 plate appearances.
Past winners of the award included Sam
Travis (2011), and Orland Park native who
played for Providence Catholic and made it
to the major leagues with Boston last year.
McCormick has a verbal commitment
with Vest Virginia.
Two weeks prior to the PBR honor, Mc-
Local celebs highlight Gridiron Golf Classic
STAFF REPORT
The 11th annual Orland
Park Gridiron Golf Classic
takes place at 9:30 a.m.
Thursday, June 28 at Silver
Lake Country Club, 4700 S.
82nd Ave.
It will be packed with local
celebrities and dignitaries
including NFL player
Michael Schofield, Olympic
hockey star Kendall Coyne,
Orland Park Police Chief
Tim McCarthy and Mayor
Keith Pekau.
Money raised for the
event will benefit the Pioneer
and Sandburg football
programs, Miseracordia and
Erin’s AAIM.
There will be dinner and
cocktails at 4:30 p.m.
Other events include the
longest drive, closest to the
pin, a hole-in-one challenge,
prizes and silent auction
items.
A foursome is $550. Individuals
pay $150 per person.
And dinner only is $55 per
person.
For more information,
Matt McCormick, a junior at St. Laurence,
won his second state Player of the Year
award. JEFF VORVA/22ND CENTURY MEDIA
Cormick was named the Gatorade Illinois
Player of the Year.
McCormick helped lead the Vikings to a
third-place finish in the Illinois High School
Association Class 4A state tournament as
a sophomore. This year, the Vikings were
knocked off by Mt. Carmel, 18-5, in sectional
semifinal action. McCormick drove in two
runs as St. Laurence finished 30-8.
Olympic star Kendall Coyne and Orland Park Mayor Keith
Pekau will be guests at the 11th Orland Park Gridiron Golf
Classic on Thursday, June 28. JEFF VORVA/22ND CENTURY
MEDIA
visit gridirongolfclassic.com
or contact Dan McMillan at
dmcmillan@rizzacars.com,
Scott Peters at speters@
d230.org or John Scumaci at
scumach@gmail.com.
Tommy Windt wrapped up
his junior season with Sandburg’s
baseball team, which
finished fourth in the state in
Class 4A.
Describe the 2018
season for Sandburg
and yourself.
The 2018 season was a
truly unforgettable one. We
were the most accomplished
team in Sandburg history by
beating some very stacked
teams in Indianapolis to winning
conference to winning
the Stevie’s Way tournament
and taking fourth place in
state. We treated each other
like family and won’t forget
each other for a very long
time.
If you could pitch to any
major league hitter, who
would you like to face?
I would want to pitch to
Bryce Harper since he is my
favorite player in MLB and
I’m always down for a good
challenge.
If you could hit against
any major league
pitcher, who would you
like to face and why?
I would want to hit against
Max Scherzer since he is my
favorite pitcher in MLB and
is so dominant in the league.
What is your proudest
moment in the sport?
It would probably be the
playoff run this year and
me pitching in the regional
and sectional championship
game and the state semifinals
and the coaches having confidence
in me to give me the
ball in those big-time games.
Are there any
embarrassing moments
you had in the sport?
Last year we were playing
Glenbard South and the field
was pretty wet from the rain
the night before and I hit a
ball into the outfield and
went to stretch it into a double
and as I dove into second
base I pretty much stopped
and face planted and did the
scorpion. As I got up I had
a bloody nose and I never
heard the end of it from my
teammates for the last two
years.
Do you have a hero, or
someone you look up
to?
Definitely my parents
[Tim and Caryn] for sacrificing
so much of their time
and money for me so I can
play the game that I love.
Is there something
people don’t know
JEFF VORVA/22ND CENTURY MEDIA
about you?
My overall GPA is 4.31, I
take a lot of pride in changing
the stereotype of athletes.
If you could have dinner
with anyone — living
or dead — who would
it be with? Why?
Michael Jordan because
I would love to talk about
the road to how he got to be
such an elite player and to
talk about how he competed
and pushed everyone around
him to be the best they could
possibly be.
If they made a movie
about your life, who
should play you?
Chris Evans from “Captain
America.”
What would that movie
be called?
“The Utility Man”.
Interview conducted by Sports
Editor Jeff Vorva