Stevenson understands that winning takes sacrifice
LOVES PARK - Corey Lasky came up in the top of the seventh inning with a chance to do something memorable for himself Monday.
Stevenson already had a 2-run cushion that appeared insurmountable the way Kyle Ruchim was pitching. Michael Martin had just reached second base on a Maine South error in the Rockford RiverHawks Class 4A baseball supersectional.
And here came a sign of why Stevenson is going to claim a state trophy for the first time this weekend in Joliet.
Lasky dropped down a sacrifice bunt.
On his own.
"Everybody is selfless," senior Kory Cutler said of the bunt that led to his RBI double and Ruchim's RBI double to seal Stevenson's 5-1 victory. "It's the best team I've ever been a part of."
Easy to understand for those who haven't seen a team that has shattered the school record for victories with 34 and is headed to the 4A final four.
Easier to comprehend for those who have seen this team execute in a fundamentally sound manner time after time.
"I've been playing with these guys for awhile and we're all peaking at our high school careers right now," said the Northwestern-bound Ruchim after firing a 4-hitter.
"These guys set aside their egos and they know the goal for this team is to win," said third-year head coach Paul Mazzuca, who joined the program as an assistant in 1999. "I'm so proud of them for that fact. They understand it's a team."
One that lost three Division I pitchers - including ace Scott Firth to Clemson - from a 29-win team that lost in the sectional finals. Then the Patriots lost their projected top three starters - including hard-throwing junior Jeremy Scheck to a season-ending arm injury.
But they never stopped believing they could make history.
"This senior group had the ability to hit and play defense through four years of high school," said Ruchim, who is going to Northwestern as a shortstop. "We didn't know what our pitching was going to be."
It turned out to be pretty darn good with junior Tyler Radtke going 9-0 and Ruchim now 7-2. Junior Blake Fiedelman and seniors Merrick McGrady and Greg Kingery also helped make up for the losses by helping the Patriots pile up wins in a year where Lake County was loaded with quality teams.
"Most of the guys started last year as juniors so I knew we'd be a good team," said senior right fielder Erick King. "We had Radtke and Kyle to pick us up and the rest of the pitchers, I knew they'd be stepping up.
"A lot of people said we'd take a step down -"
But this is a program that rarely has down years where 20 and even 30 wins are the norm.
Breaking through to state had been the exception. There always seemed to be some type of heartbreaking ending against state powers such as New Trier, Barrington, Schaumburg, Oak Park-River Forest or North Suburban rival Libertyville.
But these Patriots have made routine something exceptional. Jeff Ferstein threw out a runner trying to steal and Lasky followed with a diving catch in center.
Cutler made a heads-up baserunning play when he scored from second with the first run after seeing Maine South's second baseman still sprawled on the ground on Patrick Wilson's two-out infield single.
And second baseman Teddy Heiser, left fielder Alex Daar, Ferstein and Martin have done big things all year defensively and at the bottom of the order.
It's why a special team is having a special year unlike any other at Stevenson.
"It's big," King said. "My dad (former Bull Stacey) talked to me (Sunday) night and said you're about to make history at Stevenson.
"We're the first team to get downstate and we're going to be the first team to win it. That's our goal."
With the emphasis on 'our' and 'team.'
mmaciaszek@dailyherald.com