By Sean Duncan
JOLIET - Steve Cservenyak struggled to begin the season, so the power-hitting outfielder was relegated to the bottom of Joliet Catholic Academy’s lineup. Midway through the season, he tweaked his swing, figured a few things out, and the next thing he knew he was on his way of breaking the Hilltoppers’ single-season home run record.
But Cservenyak never moved back up in the order.
“As soon as he started flourishing, I didn’t want to mess with it,” said Joliet Catholic coach Jared Voss.
It’s a good thing Voss kept Cservenyak in the No. 8 hole, because the left-handed hitter found himself walking to the plate with the bases loaded, score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning - a perfect spot for the Hilltoppers’ hottest hitter during the course of the state tournament.
And once again, Cservenyak delivered, this time a two-run single that propelled Joliet Catholic to the Class 3A state championship Saturday afternoon at Silver Cross Field.
"The last at-bat of my senior season getting the game-winning hit, it doesn't get much better than that," said Cservenyak, who hit three home runs during JCA's playoff run, including his record-breaking 12th Friday in the state semifinals. "At Joliet Catholic, we come here to win, and that's what we did."
But the win was anything but easy. The Hilltoppers (32-5) struggled mightily against Glenwood starter Tristan Molumby (11-1), mustering only one hit through the first five innings. JCA managed to advance to second base only once through five.
Trailing 1-0 heading into the sixth, junior third baseman Andrew Cecchi, who had three of JCA's four hits in the game, singled with one out.
"I was getting scared," said Cecchi. "We hadn't been shutout all year. But we just came together as a team."
Molumby, who had been baffling JCA hitters with his pinpoint control of his curveball, began to show signs of fatigue, and walked three of the next four batters, including Kevin Hulbert with the bases loaded to make it 1-1.
Then up stepped Cservenyak, who grounded a fastball between the first and second baseman.
“Tristan just ran out of gas,” said venerable Glenwood coach Pat Moomey, who guided the Titans to the school’s fourth state-placing trophy. “I just couldn’t pull the trigger. He had gotten us to where we were. Even their hits weren’t hit very hard.”
Cservenyak’s day wasn’t finished. The St. Joseph’s College recruit then came in relief of senior right-hander Brock Liston (9-0), who allowed four hits and one second-inning run in five innings work.
Glenwood (32-6) pushed a run across in the sixth to make it 3-2 on Molumby’s sacrifice fly that carried to the warning track in left field. Cservenyak retired the seventh in order, the final out coming on a ground out to Cecchi, igniting a wild celebration before their hometown fans.
"The dog-pile hurt a little bit, but it felt great," said Cservenyak.
"It's unreal," said Liston. "What an unbelievable way to finish my senior season with a state championship."
For JCA head coach, the championship marked his first state crown - the school's second - after finishing second twice (2000 and 2004) and third last year.
"I'm just trying to keep everything in perspective right now," Voss said. "I guess we got to go back-to-back next year."
While the Hilltoppers very well may be back again in 2010, you should also expect Glenwood to be right back competing for a state title. The Titans were loaded with talented juniors and sophomores. But on Saturday, the senior Molumby had the team on his back. Molumby allowed only three hits, struck out three, walked five and had an run-scoring single in the second and finished with two RBI. Tim Sullivan, the offensive hero of Friday’s semifinal win, went 2-for-3 with a double.