Lemont Tops St. Viator to Reach IHSA Baseball Class 3A Title Game

• Photo Credit: Lisa Eaton Wright

JOLIET, IL — Lemont High School rode an outstanding pitching performance from junior righthander Ryan Sublette and a late offensive outburst to a 10-2 victory over St. Viator in the first semifinal game of the 2016 IHSA Baseball Class 3A State Finals at Joliet’s Silver Cross Field on June 10. Sublette struck out a career-high 14 batters to lift the Indians to their second state title game appearance in three seasons. Lemont (29-9) will face the winner of the Limestone-Springfield state semifinal on Saturday, June 11, in the IHSA Class 3A State Championship. That game will begin immediately after the conclusion of the third-place game, but no later than 11 a.m. due to expected high temperatures.

Sublette (9-1) was dominant after enduring a shaky first inning. A walk, a hit batter, a passed ball, an error and a single gave St. Viator (25-16) a 2-0 lead with no outs. Sublette took control of the situation, however, striking out the side without allowing any further damage. He retired 18 of the next 21 batters he faced, and ended up going the distance, allowing just two runs (one earned) on two hits while walking four and fanning 13.

Lemont finally broke through offensively in the third inning, plating three runs to take a lead it would not relinquish. Senior first baseman Nick Wiszgot the Indians on the board with an RBI single, and senior third baseman Austin Tittle followed with a two-run single. Lemont added a run in the run in the fifth when junior shortstop Dom Connolly tripled and came home on a wild pitch.

Lemont put the game out of reach with a six-run sixth inning. Junior second baseman Angel Salinas had an RBI single, senior Casey O’Brienclubbed a three-run homer, senior designated hitter Garrett Acton added a solo shot, and Sublette helped his own cause with an RBI double.

Head coach Brian Storako’s Indians racked up 13 hits. Connolly and Salinas each had two hits and scored twice, while Tittle and junior center fielderJoe Kelley each added two hits as well.

Lemont has outscored its foes by a combined 56-10 margin in six playoff victories. 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.

The Indians won the 2014 IHSA Class 3A State Championship, topping Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin, 2-1, in walk-off fashion. It was the school’s first team state championship in a boys’ sport.

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.