As American as Baseball and Homeschooling
Three of the kids from our homeschooling group (Anthony Pontarelli (#5 in this picture), Pete Lesniewski and (my nephew) Chris Suchomski) play on one of the local high school's baseball teams. This past weekend they won both the sectional and super-sectional tournaments and have advanced to the state championship tournament.
All three are great kids from great Catholic homeschooling families. It was a lot of fun this past weekend going out to watch them play. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there won't be any unpleasant surprises in the office and that I'll be able to see them play in the championship this coming weekend.
Here's the scoop from the local paper, the Northwest Herald:
Rockets rollin' to state
ROCKFORD – The way Richmond-Burton pitcher Steve Massoth has treated opposing hitters, the Rockets probably provided their senior ace enough offense before he even stepped on the mound.
R-B scored twice in the first inning, then kept tacking on more for good measure, each time making the lead look more insurmountable.
"He's been the anchor we needed him to be in the postseason," R-B coach Mike Giese said. "He's been the guy we've leaned on."
Massoth struck out eight and allowed one hit over six innings as the Rockets defeated Morrison, 7-2, on Monday in the IHSA Class A Rockford Supersectional at Marinelli Field. Massoth threw 96 pitches, letting only one runner past first base, before leaving after a 30-minute lightning delay with a stiff back.
At that point, the Rockets (26-8) practically had clinched their first trip in school history to the IHSA Class A State Tournament.
"I got in the dugout and caught a little chill, and I just couldn't throw," Massoth said. "It's awesome to get to state and be the first team [in R-B baseball history] to do that."
R-B faces Chillicothe IVC (37-2) at 7 p.m. Friday in the last quarterfinal game at Joliet's Silver Cross Field. Grey Ghosts' freshman pitcher Chris Razo threw a no-hitter to beat Coal City, 8-0, on Monday in the Illinois Wesleyan Supersectional.
The crucial runs for R-B came after the first two batters in the third inning were retired. Chris Suchomski, Jake Vetter and Anthony Pontarelli coaxed walks from Morrison starter Dustin Jones.
Designated hitter Ben Thomas, in the No. 2 hole because Suchomski strained his left hamstring Wednesday, singled to right field scoring Suchomski.
When Pontarelli was caught too far off second base, courtesy runner Johnny Canalle raced home.
Pontarelli got back to second safely when the ball was dropped.
"Coach wanted me to take a strike," Thomas said. "I got a 3-2 pitch, so I knew I'd get a fastball. I just choked up and got my bat on it and it fell. We had so much energy from the beginning. We're not letting up on people."
"Ben Thomas has been huge for us," Giese said. "We were struggling at the plate a little bit late in the season and he started hitting for us. He's the spark we really needed."
R-B scored in all but two innings, while Massoth (6-2) kept Morrison (19-12) in check.
"[Massoth] was very good today," Mustangs coach Scott Vance said. "I don't know if that's about how he normally throws, but he shut us down. He had a good fastball, then he'd throw it with the same motion and take a little off."
R-B has won three regional titles in four years, but never had won a sectional game in school history before Wednesday. The Rockets defeated Byron, 13-1, then beat Stillman Valley, 10-0, to reach the supersectional.
"I thought at the beginning of the season we had all the pieces," Giese said. "We're as healthy now as we've ever been. Everything came together for us.
"As a coach one of the most fun things is to see the kids playing their best when they really need to. I couldn't be more proud of these guys."
By JOE STEVENSON
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