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the Lockport Legend | July 19, 2018 | 37
Baseball
Porters summer season
cut short with regional loss
Randy Whalen
Freelance Reporter
For the Lockport Township
baseball team, the
summer schedule isn’t just
about playing offseason
games - it’s a time to travel,
bond and sharpen their
skills for the next season.
The Porters traveled to
Omaha, Nebraska in mid-
June, a time that usually
corresponds with the NCAA
College Baseball World Series.
There, they played in
the Battle of Omaha, a tournament
that draws teams
from throughout the nation.
Even though the Porters
only played one game there
this summer because of rain,
they won that game and had
a fulfilling experience.
In the final week of June,
they hosted the Lockport
Porter Wood Bat Summer
Classic. Six schools participate
in the tournament,
which is held over the
course of three days. The
Porters won it this season.
When it comes playoff
time in the summer, Lockport
always hosts a regional.
The only thing was the
Porters, who lost in the regional
title game last summer,
weren’t there playing
in it last week.
They were one-and-done
after an opening round 7-2
loss to Stagg on July 9 in a
regional game as part of the
Illinois High School Baseball
Coaches Association
Summer Baseball Tournament
at Plainfield South.
Stagg immediately played
the host Cougars in a quarterfinal
game directly afterward
and lost 15-1 in five
innings.
“We like to create a map of what
everyone’s journey in our program
is going to be. That all starts in the
summer.”
Andy Satunas — Lockport baseball coach, on what
his team takes out of summer competition
“We have to tip our cap to
their pitcher — he’s a young
sophomore that had good
command of two pitches,”
Lockport coach Andy Satunas
said of George Evangelopoulos.
“We hit some
balls early, but right at
them. Our pitcher [senior
Jack Vrba] did well for the
first couple of innings, but
we were chasing them the
rest of the game.”
Stagg scored four runs in
the top of the third to take
a 4-1 lead. The Chargers
added two runs in the fourth
and one in the seventh. Senior
Danny Russo (3-for-4,
RBI) and junior Mike Orozco
(2-for-4, RBI) led the
Chargers nine-hit attack.
Lockport (6-4 final summer
record) could only
muster four hits. Senior
Collin Woulfe (2-for-3, R,
RBI, 2B, HR) had a home
run in the bottom of the
sixth. Senior Alex Martinez
(1-for-2, HBP) knocked in
the first run on a single to
left in the second inning.
Jack Mladic had the Porters
other hit with a single in the
second inning.
“One of the most important
things about winning
that first game is that we get
to see more of our players
in other games,” Satunas
said. “That was the thing
that hurts, you don’t get to
see them for another two or
three games.”
Satunas was happy to
see some of his returning
pitchers in action, including
Vrba, along with fellow
seniors John Gallet, Joe Tor
and twins John and Nolan
Weis.
“The thing I enjoyed most
is that we had some juniors
that were limited to two or
three games this past spring,
and they got to show off their
skills and skillsets,” he said.
“It was great to see some of
the sophomores, too.
“We like to create a map
of what everyone’s journey
in our program is going
to be. That all starts in the
summer.”
In the regional semifinals,
which were held the
next day, July 10, at Lockport,
Plainfield South defeated
Lemont 8-2, and
Joliet Catholic Academy
beat Plainfield Central 4-0.
Later that afternoon, Plainfield
South, which won the
IHSBCA Phil Lawler Summer
Classic State Tournament
title in 2016, defeated
JCA 2-1 to win the regional
championship and advance
back to the summer state finals
this week.