Lincoln-Way East upends No. 13 St. Laurence; No. 5 Mount Carmel and No. 6 St. Rita roll

By Drake Skleba

CRESTWOOD - Lincoln-Way East scored four times in the top of the seventh and went on to stun No. 13 St. Laurence; and No. 7 St. Rita and No. 6 Mount Carmel rolled to easy victories during the Do it Stevie?s Way 219 Challenge at Standard Bank Stadium on Sunday.

A recap of the final three games of the four-game event:

Lincoln-Way East 10, St. Laurence 9
In the second game, No. 13 St. Laurence (13-3) looked to be heading for its 14th win of the year. Leading 9-6 and bringing to the mound senior RHP Mike Chimera in the seventh to close out the game, things looked good for the Vikings.

Not so fast. Led by L-W East senior leaders Alec Ornelas and Matt Rosenberger, the Griffins (10-4) struck for four runs to grab a 10-9 lead.

Ornelas came to the plate with the bases juiced and two outs. The Griffin third baseman ripped a booming three-run triple to tie the game at nine. Rosenberger followed with a line single and the Griffins had come all way back.

?I was down 0-2 and he gave  me a curve ball and I was able to drive in the winning run,? said Rosenberger. ?I had a great day at the plate in this special win for us.?

Steven Bajenski, for whom the event commemorated, grew up in Frankfort, the home of the Griffins. Many of the Griffins had the privilege of playing with Stevie at the lower levels in Frankfort.

Ornelas came in and knocked down the Vikings in the seventh, to pick up his third save in three save opportunities in 2011.

?Stevie was with us today,? said Ornelas, a very good friend of Bajenski. ?I am so excited to have accomplished this today in this classic that honors the memory of my friend Steve.?

Ornelas would win the Steve Bajenski MVP Award for the game.

Griffin senior Zach Jones chipped in with two hits, including a bases-clearing double in the first inning.

?This is not the most talented group we have had but this was a prime example of the tremendous heart and character this group possesses,? said L-W East head coach Paul Babcock. ?The number of clutch two-out hits we had today was very impressive. This was great to get this victory in this tremendous event.?

St. Laurence was led by Chimera (3-2), who had three doubles and drove in two runs.

St. Rita 9, Lincoln-Way West 1
No. 6 St. Rita struck early and often as the Mustangs crushed Lincoln-Way West 9-1 behind senior RHP Dane Kempke (1-1). Kempke  fired 5 ? innings of five-hit ball and allowed only one run. Kempke induced L-W West  to hit into four double-plays as the Mustang defense shined.

?I threw strikes and relied on my defense,? said Kempke. ?Four double-plays were great.  My offense gave me a lot of runs which really helped me out.?

St. Rita (15-1) jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first, highlighted by the first of three hits and three RBI by Mustang 3B Stefano Belmonte.

?I felt really confident today and everything went well for me,? said Belmonte. ?We really played well and give total props to Dane (Kempke), who is a great teammate and pitched a great game for us.?

The Mustangs added four runs in the third led by an RBI triple from junior TJ Verdun (2-for 3, 3R, 3B, RBI) and the red-hot Mustang junior SS Zach Soria, who drove Verdun in with the first of his two singles on the game. Soria won the MVP for the game.

?We came out strong,? said Verdun. ?It was an emotional game for having known Stevie and played the way he would have played. This was a great win for us. My triple came at a good time for us and I had the day any player would love to have.?

?I do whatever I have to do to help us win,? said Soria. ?A couple of my teammates and I went out and had some batting practice and it really helped out. It was a real honor that I will cherish forever in winning the MVP award.?

Lincoln-Way West (7-3) was led by senior Dan Fifer (2-for-3, 2B), who won the MVP
from the Warrior side, and senior Mike Lagger, had two hits and drove in the lone Warrior run.

?It was our kind of day,? said St. Rita head coach Mike Zunica. ?The defense was solid with the four double-plays and we had a lot of people step up and play good baseball.?

Mt. Carmel 10, Lincoln-Way Central 0 (6 innings)
No. 6 Mt. Carmel (15-1) defeated Lincoln-Way Central 10-0 in six innings behind University of Illinois-bound RHP John Kravetz (5-0). Kravetz fired a three-hitter and struck out nine.

?Guys behind me made the plays and I received a quick lead which help me throw strikes,? said Kravetz. ? This was a a special day for honoring Stevie and I just threw strikes.?

Caravan offensive heroes were aplenty, led by Bajenski MVP Tyler Laurisch, who had a triple and a double, driving in the 10th Caravan run of the game.

?Just a great honor to win the award,? said Laurish. ?Stevie was all about team. I had a solid night at the plate in a good win on a great night.?

University of Indiana-bound CF Chris Sujka hit the only homer of the Challenge, a two-run shot in the sixth. It was the sixth homer of the year for the future Hoosier.

?It all starts with John (Kravetz),? said Sujka. ?Our defense was great and one through nine we have a really solid lineup. I hit the ball well and it went out on the homer.?

Sophomores Jerry Houston and Tom Hayes plated a pair of runs each and junior 1B Sam Kint singled home a Caravan run in the first inning.

?It was a special day for honoring Stevie today, with a very fine performance,? said Mount Carmel head coach Brian Hurry. ?John (Kravetz) was outstanding and we played excellent defense. We have a chance to be a very good offensive team. Tonight we received contributions throughout the lineup.?

Lincoln-Way Central (8-7) received a quality start from 6-foot-5 freshman Brad Bass. The Knights, whose starting lineup consists of two seniors, three juniors, three sophomores and three freshman, were led by MVP junior Greg Wymer.

To learn more about the Do It Stevie?s Way Foundation, Click Here.