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the mokena messenger | June 6, 2019 | 39
fastbreak
Baseball
Providence rally falls short in sectional final loss to Marist
STEVE MILLAR
Sports Editor
steve millar/22nd Century
Media
1st and 3
THREE STARS OF THE
SPRING
1. Amanda Weyh
Weyh (above), a
Mokena resident,
was a two-way star
for the LW Central
softball team. The
Lindenwood recruit
allowed just five
earned runs all year
and also contributed
greatly with her bat.
2. Nicolette Gossage
Gossage, a Mokena
resident, concluded
a brilliant LW Central
soccer career with
an All-State season.
She scored 26
goals and added 18
assists.
3. Cole Kirchsieper
Kirschsieper, an
Illinois recruit, was
nearly untouchable
on the mound for
the LW East baseball
team. He went 10-1
with a 0.42 ERA,
striking out 70 in 66
innings.
Even down to its final
out with a six-run deficit,
Providence wasn’t going
to go down easily to Marist
in the Class 4A Lockport
Sectional championship
game Saturday, June 1.
In typical Celtics fashion,
they made things interesting
in the seventh
inning, scoring a pair of
two-out runs and nearly
getting the tying run to the
plate before falling 9-5.
“I’m proud of our boys,”
Providence coach Mark
Smith said. “They battled
back. I don’t think a lot of
people gave us a chance
and we showed we’re a
better club than our record
indicated.
“Even right there at the
end, they fought, we were
a hair away from getting
the tying run to the plate.
That’s what this program
does. It’s built on heart.
These kids fought to the
end and I’m really proud
of them.”
Providence (23-16)
pulled within four on RBI
singles from Josh Mrozek
and Homer Glen resident
Jake Mucha.
“We fight until the end,”
Mucha said. “Just keep
working harder, keep seeing
pitches, do what you
can to give your team a
chance to win.”
The Celtics had two runners
on and the tying run
in the on-deck circle after
Tyler Struck (right) consoles Aidan Goggins following
Providence’s 9-5 loss to Marist in the Class 4A Lockport
Sectional final on June 1.
Mucha’s single, but Justin
Janas induced Brennan
Geers to ground out to second
to seal the sectional
title for Marist (26-10).
“[Providence’s belief]
showed in that last inning,”
Smith said. “They
weren’t quitting. If that
ball gets through, we get
the tying run to the plate.”
Ultimately, it was two
big two-out swings that
cost Providence a spot in
the Elite Eight.
Jason Hodges and Kendal
Ewell hit three-run
home runs for Marist in
the third and fourth innings,
respectively. Both
came with two outs.
“That’s the difference in
the game,” Smith said. “Ben
[Vitas] was an out away
from getting out of that,
left it up. Good hitters do
damage to mistake pitches.
It was just a bad pitch and
[Hodges] made us pay with
three-run homer.
“Then again, the next
inning, two outs, another
three-run home run. That
made the difference.”
After Marist took a 2-0
lead in the first inning,
Providence answered with
three runs in the third.
After Homer Glen resident
Ryan O’Neil scored
on a wild pitch, Orland
Park resident Jake Hesselmann
put the Celtics
on top with a two-run
single.
Marist pitcher Jack
Brannigan, a Notre Dame
recruit, kept the Celtics in
check from then until the
seventh.
“At least we can walk
away with our heads
up knowing we at least
fought,” said Providence
senior Alex Helmin, an
Arizona State recruit. “It’s
better than laying down.
That’s something we can
be proud of.”
Helmin had a double
Jake Mucha connects for a single for Providence during
the Celtics’ 9-5 loss to Marist in the Class 4A Lockport
Sectional final on June 1. PHOTOS BY STEVE MILLAR/22ND
CENTURY MEDIA
and a triple in a 6-2 win
over Stagg in the sectional
semifinal on May
29. Mrozek hit a two-run
homer.
Lockport resident and
Arizona State recruit
Bryce Barnett, after giving
up two runs in the first inning,
dominated the rest of
the way. He struck out 15
in a complete-game victory.
For the Celtics, reaching
the sectional final after an
up-and-down regular season
was a meaningful accomplishment.
Providence struggled
with consistency all year.
The low point was a sixgame
losing streak from
April 28 to May 8 that included
a 16-6 defeat at the
hands of crosstown rival
Lincoln-Way Central.
The Celtics responded
by winning 10 of their final
12 games, including
the postseason. They captured
their eighth regional
title in the last nine years.
“It means a lot that
through all the bad things
we went through, we
pulled through and became
a team,” Helmin said. “We
played hard for each other.
It was fun to know that
every single guy on this
team cared and wanted to
be there.”
Smith praised his team
for its perseverance.
“It’s a great group of
kids,” he said. “They
bought into everything
this year, through the ups
and downs of the season,
they never quit. They kept
their heads up and they
battled.
“It’s a team I was extremely
proud to coach.”
LISTEN UP
“It’s a team I was extremely proud to coach.”
Mark Smith - Providence basbeall coach, on the Celtics’ team that reached the Class 4A
Lockport Sectional final before falling to Marist 9-5 on Saturday, June 1
Tune In
Baseball, Friday, June 7 and Saturday, June 8
IHSA State Finals at Route 66 Stadium, Joliet
• Marist’s Max Malley, a former player for the
Mokena-based Lincoln-Way Blue Demons, is among
the local products who could be playing at state.
Index
35 - Athlete of the Month
34 - Athlete of the Week
FASTBREAK is compiled by Sports Editor
Steve Millar, s.millar@22ndcm.com.