Fortified by its 4-1 win over Fenwick in a regional final of the IHSBCA Summer State Tournament last Thursday at the Priory, it’s apparent that the OPRF baseball team has had the Friars’ number in big games this year. During the spring, the Huskies captured a regular season victory at UIC and knocked off Fenwick again 8-4 at the Mount Carmel Sectional final.
Perhaps, it was only fitting then that Fenwick starter George Kinsella pitched against the Huskies with no number on the back of his uniform last week. While Kinsella threw 5 1/3 solid innings, a few pitches up in the zone cost him dearly when OPRF hitters Will Polley and Joe Gerace both slugged solo home runs over the right field fence to spark the Huskies’ 4-1 victory.
OPRF pitcher Luke McLeese earned the postseason win, tossing a complete game, four-hitter with four strikeouts, holding the Friars’ powerful lineup (Fenwick hit .400 over the summer) in check.
“I just tried to keep their hitters off-balance and it worked pretty well,” McLeese said. “Last summer, we lost to RB [3-1] and I also pitched that game. We have a lot of new guys this year, so we need to show them how to play ball. Hopefully, it’s a good start to going back downstate next year.”
The Huskies (20-6) scored a run in the first inning and tallied two more in the second to seize an early 3-0 lead. After a single by Mike Locasto and a double by Sam Picchiotti put runners on second and third, Jo Jo Maldanado hit a sacrifice fly that scored Locasto to give OPRF a 1-0 advantage. Polley’s solo homer and an RBI single from Frank Picchiotti plated the Huskies a pair of runs in the second.
Conversely, Fenwick (16-5) struggled all afternoon against McLeese. The Friars’ top six hitters, batting in the .350-.400 range, scraped only one hit off the crafty right-hander.
The Friars’ Matt Gallo smashed a triple to lead off the third. The speedy centerfielder crossed home plate on a fielder’s choice groundout by Dave Lutz to whittle the Friars’ deficit to 3-1.
The following frame, Fenwick staged their final serious scoring threat by loading the bases with two outs but failed to score.
Aided by stellar glove work from infielders Evan Andrasek, Maldanado and Sam Picchiotti, McLeese retired six of the final seven Friars he faced.
OPRF, a Class 4A state runner-up last spring, advances to its third IHSBCA Summer State Tournament under coach Chris Ledbetter. The Huskies have won six summer state tournament championships, the most by any team in the state.
“Every summer is different,” Ledbetter said. “Anytime you go out and you’re in a playoff, you want to do well. This summer, I’m fortunate I’m getting another week of baseball with these guys because I need to see our pitchers against good competition.”