Stevenson seniors get quite a sendoff

It's like coming full circle.

A long-standing tradition for the baseball team at Stevenson could bring a tear to any parent's eye. After the last home game each season, the seniors on the team get to do what might have been the highlight of their young careers back when they were in T-ball.

They get to run the bases.

Only this time, it's perhaps for the very last time ever at Stevenson.

As they circle around one by one, the seniors' career highlights are read over the loudspeaker. When they get to home plate, they are greeted by their parents with hugs and smiles.

"I asked (former longtime Stevenson coach) Bob (Mackey) if he would mind if I kept that tradition going and he said, 'Absolutely not,'" Stevenson coach Paul Mazzuca said. "It's a really nice day and it means a lot to the kids."

There are 13 seniors on the Stevenson roster who were honored with a trot around the bases on Tuesday afternoon.

Considering that, not to mention what happened in the final home game just prior to the salute, Stevenson's home plate sure did get a workout.

The Patriots sent the seniors off on quite a high, crossing home plate a whopping 17 times in a 17-1, 5-inning slaughter rule drubbing of Warren in the North Suburban Conference Lake Division title game.

The victory moves Stevenson to 27-3 on the season, with a 10-2 final record in Lake Division play. The Patriots will visit Prairie Division champion Lakes on Thursday to settle the North Suburban Conference championship.

"This was unbelievable," said Stevenson designated hitter Kory Cutler, a senior who crossed home plate four times on Tuesday, once during the senior salute and three times during the game, including on his own two-run homer in the first inning that set the tone. "I think everyone in the lineup had a hit. It's the most fun I ever had."

Stevenson and Warren entered their home-and-home series on Monday tied with identical 8-2 Lake Division records. After Stevenson earned a hard-fought, 4-0 victory in Gurnee in the first game, Warren could have gotten at least a co-championship out of the deal by bouncing back with a win in Lincolnshire 24 hours later.

But the Patriots quickly squashed any hopes of that.

Stevenson scored 12 runs over the first two innings, including 8 in a monstrous second, to put the game out of reach before it really even got started.

"Hats off to them, they deserve to win the division. They're one of the best teams we've faced all year," said Warren coach Clint Smothers, whose team drops to 25-8 (8-4 Lake), but recently set a school record with its 25th win. "They've got the pitching and the hitting, and everything.

"They're No. 1 (in some web polls) for a reason. They've got some great athletes and all nine guys on that lineup can hit."

And, in fact, they did against Warren.

Every Stevenson player in the lineup got at least one hit and most got multiple hits.

Cutler led the way with a 3-for-3 day that included a double in addition to his home run.

Patrick Wilson had 2 doubles for Stevenson while Kyle Ruchim and Erick King also smacked doubles.

"(Stevenson) just came out ready to play, one through nine in that lineup," said Warren catcher Scott Heelan, who worked with four different pitchers to try to find a way to stop the Patriots. "It was gut-wrenching today. We just have to remember this feeling and hope that we never feel this way again."

Meanwhile, Stevenson starting pitcher Tyler Radtke felt pretty good en route to yet another victory. He is now 7-0 on the mound this season, despite not even having his best stuff for Warren to chew on.

"When I first got out there, I was a little nervous, so the nerves were pitching a little bit," said Radtke, who allowed just 2 hits in four innings of work. "My curve ball wasn't as sharp-breaking as usual and I wasn't throwing as hard. But once we started scoring runs, I settled down and started throwing strikes and getting people out.

"It's huge to be able to still control the game and get the victory when you don't have your best stuff."

Not that the Patriots necessarily needed Radtke's absolute best.

It seemed that they got that from plenty of others on Senior Day.