By Matt Yarber

No. 34 Lemont HS took the field against No. 1 Providence Catholic HS hoping to rebound from their loss to No. 5 Joliet Catholic Academy.  To try and stop the number one team in the state, Lemont rolled out their Senior LHP, Tyler Jay, an Illinois commit who came out throwing hard.  In the first two innings, Jay was sitting 87-89, hitting 90 a couple times.  He mixed in his breaking ball nicely and was able to keep the hitters of balance after he started to settle in.

The first inning Providence got on the board early, scoring three runs, two coming off a double by Notre Dame bound, Zak Kutsulis, who finished the day going 2-4 with 4 RBI’s.  Lemont tried to answer in the first with runners in scoring position but only managed to bring in one run making it a 3-1 ballgame. 

After three strong innings from Jay, Lemont rolled out their Sophomore LHP Jake Latz, whose name you will most likely continue to hear for the next few years.  Latz came in the game and though he gave up three runs in the fourth, he looked sharp on the mound, throwing from a High 3/4 arm slot with a fastball that touched 87.  Latz, was sitting 84-86 and was consistently hitting his spots around the plate.  His off-speed pitches impressed the most, as he threw a 71-73 mph curveball that had tight, sharp break and will only continue to get better as this is his first year throwing the pitch.  Latz also features a 72-74 mph changeup that displayed good arm side run.

Lemont looked to be making a run in the bottom of the 6^th inning with two runners on and 2 outs, when Junior C, Bill Hayes, hit a shot up the middle that was sure to score one run, but Bradley commit, Brady Wilkin, came up firing from centerfield and gunned the runner out at home to cut the rally short.

No. 1 Providence Catholic stayed perfect on the season as they pulled out the win, 6-1, and will be tested next on Friday as they face No. 29 Plainfield North HS.