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38 | April 25, 2019 | the orland Park Prairie sports OPPrairie.com RedHawks from Orland swing for the fences at Wrigley JEFF VORVA, Sports Editor Orland Park’s Jack Brannigan said he had never before been to Wrigley Field. His first trip to historic park that houses the Chicago Cubs, however, will be one he will never forget. He was not in the stands watching an exciting MLB game involving the Cubs. He was not watching a highpaid baseball star hit for the cycle or throw a no-hitter. The stands were filled with hundreds, not thousands. But the infielder/pitcher who is heading to Notre Dame to play baseball next year and his Marist teammates had the rare opportunity to play at the park in a 12-2 loss to Nazareth in an East Suburban Catholic Conference battle on April 17. Conor Kelly, Brian Ward and Tristan Stefanos are other Orland Park players on the roster who had the opportunity to take batting practice at the park. And coach Kevin Sefcik, who also lives in Orland Park, was a major league player who returned to the park and had some memories of the place. “You come down those stairs [from the locker room] and you wind through that tunnel, that maze they have, to the dugout,” he said. “Then you go into the dugout, and then it’s pretty cool when you are on the field. You can feel the whole atmosphere of the place. Batting practice is awesome, because there is so many people there. “There are some cool parks around the country, but that one is pretty special, since I grew up here.” But to Brannigan, it was something he would only see on TV. He grew up a White Sox fan and has seen home games on the South Side, but never ventured to Wrigley. He hit three balls into the Wrigley bleachers during his batting practice session. “The first one was awesome being able to watch it go out,” he said. “It clanked off the bleachers. It’s something I’ll never forget. “I grew up knowing this place was pretty old. But I’m just amazed at how amazing it still looks. It might be a little bit better than the one on the South Side. That’s tough to admit.” Ward scored some lower-level left field seats for Game 5 of the World Series in 2016 and can brag that it was the only World Series game the Cubs won since the ballpark was named Wrigley Field. He also can brag that he took some hacks at the plate at the place. “This is a big deal, thinking about all of the players who have played on this field,” he said minutes after he had his photo taken in an empty left field bleacher area. Stefanos is a Sox fan who was making his second visit to Wrigley. “I came to game when I was younger,” he said. “It’s cool being on the field and being able to take BP.” Kelly, who recently moved from Oak Forest to Orland Park, also enjoyed the experience. “It was really great to see the ball fly in a major league park,” he said. “It was something different. It’s something I will never forget. I was close to hitting one out.” It has been an eventful season for the RedHawks. In the preseason, they were ranked No. 1 in the state by Prep Baseball Report. They played a couple of games at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina. They had nine of their first 20 games cancelled because of the weather. They won by scores of 13-0 and 11-1 and lost by scores of 10-4, 10-5 and the 12-2 league setback to Nazareth and left-handed pitcher Marist pitcher and Orland Park resident Jack Brannigan fires a pitch against Nazareth Academy on April 17 at Wrigley Field. PHOTOS BY JEFF VORVA/22ND CENTURY MEDIA Marist players line up for the national anthem at Wrigley Field before taking Nazareth Academy in an East Suburban Catholic Conference contest. Michael Prosecky, a Louisville recruit who had a small army of pro scouts sitting in seats behind home plate. A 6-5 record to start the season was not what they were expecting. “It’s been pretty much a whirlwind,” Brannigan said. “We made a lot of memories. We had a lot of experiences that were really cool. And for the rest of the year, we’re going to just enjoy it.” Kelly said that this is still a close-knit team, and the team needs to play its best in May and June during the playoffs. “All it takes is putting seven games together at the end of the season,” Kelly said.
OPPrairie.com sports the orland park prairie | April 25, 2019 | 39 fastbreak THURSDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK Son honors OP’s Cortez at Legacy Hall ceremony JEFF VORVA/ 22ND CENTURY MEDIA 1st and 3 A FEW FACTS ABOUT ORLAND PARK’S KEVIN SEFCIK (ABOVE), WHO COACHES MARIST BASEBALL 1. Number, please Sefcik had his number, 5, retired at Andrew High School. He is also a Hall of Famer at St. Xavier University. 2. The draft He was selected by Philadelphia in the 33rd round of the MLB Draft, and despite starting his career buried in the Phillies’ system, he made his major league debut two years later. 3. Great ’98 The year of Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire banging out homers at a record pace also saw Sefcik have his best season, as he hit .314 in 104 games in 1998. Jeff Vorva Sports Editor There were 11 people inducted into District 230’s Legacy Hall on April 12. Two of them were honored posthumously. The first of the 11 honored was 1972 Stagg grad Brian Baldea, who had an impressive baseball coaching resume at the University of Chicago and died in December 2017. His son Anthony bravely got up to the microphone for a speech in front of a few family members and hundreds of strangers, and the pain of losing his father hit him several times, as he broke down crying and composed himself before continuing. A few tables to the right of the stage in the banquet room at Silver Lake Country Club sat Jordan Cortez. If anyone in the room could understand what Anthony was going through, it was the junior from Andrew High School. Cortez also was set to give a speech about his father, Jerome, an Orland Park native who died of a heart attack on June 2 at age 47. “I saw that, and I knew that when I talked I would have to push through it,” Jordan said. “At first I thought I was OK and I could do this. Then, the first guy went up there, and that heightened up my nerves a little bit.” That is a tough task for a high school student. For some, it is terrifying enough to give a speech in class in front of 25 or 30 students. This was a whole new game. But Cortez — who plays football, lacrosse and is on the chess team at Andrew — got through his 2-minute, 46-second tribute in fine fashion, as he had some in the crowd laughing and brought some tears to the 20 friends and family members who were there for Jerome’s induction into the Hall. Jerome grew up in Orland Park and graduated from Andrew in 1990. He was known around the area for helping start the Tinley Park Bulldogs lacrosse program with Ron Hallman and the program is 170 strong right now, according to Jordan. Jerome’s main job was a chief engineer at Navistar, and he is Jordan Cortez (middle, with tie) and some of the other 20 members of his group pose after the Legacy Hall dinner at Silver Lake Country Club, where his father, Jerome, was posthumously honored. JEFF VORVA/22ND CENTURY MEDIA credited with designing military vehicles that protect military personnel from roadside bombs and attacks. Jordan had a few funnies for the crowd to start the speech. “He never did anything for the praise, and the extra attention that came with it except for screaming at the refs for calls in my games,” he joked. “He earned the nickname ‘T-Bolt Terror’ for football. It was a mostly self-proclaimed nickname, and it got picked up in a news article and it just kind of stuck.” But Jordan also got down to the business of praising his father and concluded on a strong note. “My sisters [Lauren and Hayden] and I will strive to follow his amazing examples, seeking higher education, career success and giving back to our community,” Jordan said. This was the second time Jordan spoke publicly about his father. Jordan gave Jerome’s eulogy last year. This was a little different, because it was not all family and friends. “It was tough to relate it to everybody, because when you are talking to people you know, you can get a little more personal,” Cortez said. It has been a rough year for Jerome’s wife, Cathy, and the three children. Jordan said there was one thing Jerome taught everyone that has helped them try to get through all of this. “This whole year has been about perseverance,” Jordan said after the speech. “That’s what he taught me. Keep pushing through. Not giving up on anything. That’s pretty much the word that’s been in the back of my head all year.” LISTEN UP “There are some cool parks around the country, but that one is pretty special, since I grew up here.” Kevin Sefcik — Orland Park resident and Marist baseball coach whose team played at Wrigley Field Tune In Boys gymnastics TBA, starting Monday, April 29 • The IHSA hosts its first spring postseason event with sectional competition all week. Index 35 - Athlete of the Week 35 - This Week In Compiled by Sports Editor Jeff Vorva, J.VORVA@22ndcm.com
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