Prep Baseball Report

Papierski leads No. 8 Lemont past No. 32 Lockport



By Sean Duncan
Executive Director

ELMHURST, IL – Catcher Mike Papierski showed why he’s one of the top prospects in the Midwest on Sunday, when he blasted a run-scoring triple that propelled No. 8 Lemont to a 3-1 victory over No. 32 Lockport at Immaculate Conception’s Plunkett Field.

With the game tied 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Papierski sat back on a 78-mph curveball by junior RHP Cole Bellair and hammered it to the deepest part of the park in right-center field, scoring Matt Monaco, who led off the inning with a single. Papierski, an LSU recruit, scored on Mike Wisz’s bloop single to make it 3-1.

The switch-hitting Papierski also had an RBI groundout to the second baseman in the first inning and walked in the fourth, finishing the game 1-for-2 with two RBI. With a crowd of pro scouts in attendance, he also gunned down a runner attempting to steal to end the sixth inning.

Lemont (3-0) also received solid pitching performances by sophomore RHP Garrett Acton and senior LHP Charlie Wright. The 6-foot-, 190-pound Acton, who’s ranked No. 27 in Illinois’ 2016 class, allowed a run in the first inning but settled down to pitch three scoreless innings following. Acton allowed three hits – two in the first inning – struck out three and walked two.  Wright, who’s committed to Joliet JC, pitched three hitless innings of relief to earn the victory. Wright struck out three and walked one.

Lockport (2-3) got off to a hot start when junior CF Jeremy Quade led off the game with a walk, and Rusty Hoh followed with a bunt single. Senior C Jake Stanton smoked a one-out, run-scoring double, putting runners on second and third. But Acton got out of the jam without further damage.

Lockport’s strength this season is its pitching staff, and the Porters rolled out two quality arms against Lemont. Senior RHP Noah Masa was impressive in his four-inning stint, yielding no hits and no earned runs behind a steady diet of sliders and curveballs. He struck out four and walked one. Cole Bellair, who’s one of the top 2015 prospects in the state, also showed well.

More in-depth scouting reports from this game can be found in the Illinois Scout Blog.

Related Content

2014 IL Top Prospect Slide