By Sean Duncan

JOLIET ? There are two equally compelling storylines to Lyons Township?s thoroughly impressive 8-3 victory over No. 1 Providence in the Class 4A state championship game Saturday night at a packed Silver Cross Field.

First, there was Lyons? incredible offensive balance, one that consistently barreled up three frontline Providence pitchers.

Then there was Connor Cuff, Lyons? ace right-hander who refused to bend against Providence?s high-scoring offense; the winning pitcher who improved his record to 11-0 this spring and 19-0 in two varsity seasons.

In a classic battle between the two top teams in the state, the Lions (37-4) probably would?ve prevailed with only one of the two storylines clicking. But together, well, the final score didn?t properly indicate how convincing Lyons? victory was.

The end result was the LaGrange school?s third state championship, and the first since 2003.

?This is incredible,? said senior first baseman Brian Rodemoyer, who went 2-for-2 with a double, two intentional walks and an RBI. ?This has been our goal since the beginning of the season. It?s hard to put into words now.

?To be on this stage, we all had to be locked in. Providence was the No. 1 team. We were the No. 2 team. We wanted to show everyone who was really No. 1.?

OK, let?s start with the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Cuff, because he served as the lead in both storylines.

The game didn?t start off exactly how Cuff had imagined.  After getting the first two outs in the top of the first, Providence third baseman Sam Travis launched a mammoth home run to left field to give Providence a quick 1-0 advantage, which sent the large Celtic contingent into a frenzy. Travis, who finished with 17 homers and 75 RBI this season, hit a first-inning homer in the Celtics? semifinal victory over Prospect as well.

The distance of Travis? home run was enough to confetti the nerves of most teenagers.

Not Cuff.

?It was a bad pitch, a very bad pitch,? said Cuff, who allowed five hits, three runs, walked two and struck out six in his complete-game victory. ?He took advantage of it like all great hitters do. They have so much power on their team that I just had to forget about it.?

After the home run, Cuff shut out Providence the next four innings, allowing only one hit until the sixth. In the sixth inning, Providence?s bats finally came alive. Second baseman Kevin DeFilippis and shortstop Joe Houlihan led off with consecutive singles, bringing Travis up to the plate. After fouling off several good pitches, Travis laced a run-scoring double into the left field corner. Dan Potempa, Providence?s power-hitting catcher stepped to the plate, runners on second and third, with Lyons leading 6-2. Potempa launched a moon-shot that just curled foul. It was a bomb. Undaunted, Cuff came right back to strike him out with a curveball. Then Cuff, whose fastball sat at 85-87 mph, climbing as high as 88, got out of the inning with another strikeout.

Cuff retired the seventh in order, which ignited a wild celebration on the field as the fireworks blasted in the dimming Joliet sky.

?I pride myself on always trying to give the team a chance to win,? said Cuff.  ?It?s amazing. We pride ourselves in having quiet confidence. As the playoffs progressed, we got more and more confident.?

Said Lyons coach George Ushela, who won his second state championship in four state final appearances at the helm: ?Connor is a bulldog. He goes after guys. He?s got that bulldog mentality.?

Cuff also played a significant role in the offensive storyline, as he drove in four runs, including a two-run double in the third inning.

In all, Lyons pounded out 11 hits by seven different players. And the Lions? offense didn?t waste any time getting after Providence starter Brandon Magallones (8-3), a Northwestern recruit who was working an 86-90 mph fastball and an often sharp breaking ball and changeup. Lyons opened the game with three consecutive singles by Spencer Mahoney, Steve Heilenbach and Rodemoyer ? and all of them scored to give the Lions a 3-1 advantage after Travis? blast.

Lyons added two more in the third on Cuff?s two-run double, and another in the fourth to make it 6-1.

Mahoney, a Valparaiso recruit, went 2-for-2 with three runs scored as the team?s leadoff man. Heilenbach, a junior standout, went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored for the Lions, who would?ve scored more runs if not for some extremely questionable (OK, bad) calls by a struggling umpire crew.

?Today we were seeing the ball really well,? said Mahoney. ?We knew from Day 1 we had a shot to win. To beat Providence is an unbelievable feeling.?

Providence, which was our preseason No. 1 team and remained at the top for most of the year, received another stellar performance from the top of the order. Leadoff man DeFilippis (two hits), Houlihan (one hit) and of course Travis (two hits) accounted for all of the Celtics? offense.

Another strong performance was turned in by senior left-hander Matt Trowbridge. After pitching a snappy 76-pitch complete-game in the semifinals, Trowbridge pitched three innings of relief, using an 86-88 mph fastball to limit the Lions to two hits in three innings.

Providence, which had doled out more lopsided punishments than any team in the state this year, had the tables turned on Saturday.

?It was the first time all year a team hit [Magallones] they way they did,? said Providence coach Mark Smith. ?They beat us; we didn?t beat ourselves. Their pitcher shut us down better than anyone did all year. It?s no wonder that kid didn?t lose a game this year.?