Lemont Rolls to Second IHSA Class 3A Baseball State Championship

JOLIET, IL — For the second time in as many days, Lemont High School’s baseball team took advantage of standout pitching and a late offensive explosion. Those ingredients led to the program’s second state championship in three seasons. Senior righthander Garrett Acton tossed a complete game shutout, and the Indians were opportunistic offensively in a 10-0, six-inning win over Springfield in the 2016 IHSA Class 3A State Championship at Joliet’s Silver Cross Field

Lemont (30-9) collected nine hits on the day, but took advantage of five Springfield errors and 11 bases on balls from five Springfield pitchers. For the fifth time in seven playoff games, the Indians posted a lopsided victory. They outscored its foes by a combined 66-10 margin in seven postseason victories. 

Lemont pushed across its first run in the bottom of the third. Junior right fielder Christian Krakar drew a leadoff walk, and demanded the attention of Springfield starter Vishakh Patel, forcing several throws to first base. Patel eventually balked Krakar to second, and threw a pickoff attempt at second base into center field to move Krakar to third. Krakar scored on a sacrifice fly from junior second baseman Angel Salinas.

The Indians extended their lead with a run in the fourth inning when junior designated hitter Ryan Sublette plated a run with a long single to center field that scored junior courtesy runner Marcus Ambroziak.

Lemont broke it open with a seven-run fifth inning, mounting a rally with two outs and no one on base. Senior catcher Casey O’Brien walked, senior first baseman Nick Wisz followed with a double, and Acton was intentionally walked. Senior third baseman Austin Tittle and Sublette each drew bases-loaded walks, and junior center fielder Joe Kelley grounded a single through the right side to score a run. A throwing error on Kelley’s single scored another run, and two more runs came home on when Krakar reached on an error. O’Brien later drew another bases-loaded walk to force in a run.

Salinas ended the game in the sixth with a two-out, bases-loaded single.

Acton (7-2) needed just 88 pitches in his shutout effort. He scattered three hits and walked three while striking out four, and lowered his ERA this season to 0.91. Springfield (34-6) mounted a threat in the first inning, but Acton stranded two runners with a strikeout to end the inning.  A fine play by junior shortstop Dom Connolly ended the third inning, and in the fifth, the Senators put two men on with two out before Acton forced Springfield’s top hitter, Damian Pierce, to hit into a fielder’s choice.

Sublette reached base in all four plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with two walks, two RBIs and a run scored. Wisz added two hits, and Ambroziak, Krakar and Tittle all scored twice.

Head coach Brian Storako’s team reached the 30-win mark for the second time in three seasons. The Indians racked up a school record 35 wins in their way 2014 IHSA Class 3A State Championship campaign. The program’s first state crown was the school’s first team state championship in a boys’ sport.

Lemont reached the title game by virtue of is 10-2 victory over St. Viator in the semifinal round. Sublette went the distance, striking out a career-high and IHSA Class 3A State Finals record 14 batters in the process. O’Brien’s three-run homer highlighted a six-run sixth inning that put the game out of reach.

The Indians won their seventh South Suburban Conference-Blue Division crown in eight seasons in 2016, captured their third straight IHSA Regional crown, and picked up the program’s second IHSA Sectional and IHSA Super-Sectional titles.

Baseball is the 10th Lemont High School sport to be represented in IHSA State Finals competition this year. The cheerleading squad was the runner-up at the IHSA Medium Division State Finals; the girls’ cross country team competed at the IHSA Class 2A State Finals; the dance team competed at the IHSA Class 2A State Finals; the boys’ golf team qualified for the IHSA Class 2A State Finals; Maggie Micetich competed in the IHSA Class AA Girls’ Golf State Finals; Grace Horky, Ashley Mathews and Gabby Rabianski all competed in the IHSA Girls’ Tennis State Finals; the doubles tandems of Faraz Longi and Peter Rogers and Charles Balisalisa and Arjun Reddigari competed at the IHSA Boys’ Tennis State Finals; Chris Thompson finished as the state runner-up in the 400-meter dash at the IHSA Class 3A State Finals, while the 4x400-meter relay team also competed; and wrestlers Egan Berta (state runner-up), Damyen Gothard, Jake Kirkman and John Polk all competed at the IHSA Class 2A State Finals.