Prospect can't match Providence

JOLIET — Prospect ran into a Providence team on top of all phases of its game in Friday afternoon's Class 4A state baseball semifinals.

The combination of power, pitching, precision and defense ended the Knights' hopes of making a run at a state title as they fell 9-1 to vaunted Celtics before 1,799 at Silver Cross Field.

“We've been playing all season from behind and I have a ton of confidence in our team,” said senior center fielder Peter Bonahoom after he had 2 of Prospect's 4 hits. “We never get down because that's pretty much what we've been doing all year.

“But against a team like Providence it is tough to do that.”

And that's why one of the preseason title favorites will be playing for the biggest prize at 5 p.m. today when the Celtics (37-3) face Lyons (36-4), a 4-1 winner over Mt. Carmel in the other semifinal. Prospect (26-9) will play the Caravan (34-8) for third place at 3 p.m.

Providence won its 19th straight game as Indiana-bound Sam Travis hit his 16th homer in the first and it played small ball to set up a 5-run third. Central Michigan-bound left-hander Matt Trowbridge (9-0) needed only 79 pitches to throw a complete game with 4 strikeouts and 1 walk and was backed by errorless defense.

“Providence is a good club, no doubt about it,” said Prospect coach Ross Giusti.

“He's definitely one of the best pitchers we've faced,” said Prospect shortstop Luke Bergman, who singled to right on Trowbridge's first pitch of the game. “We've seen pitchers like him before like (Fremd's Sean) Stutzman, but for the most part he had us off-balance.

“They're a sound defensive team and they got the best of us today.”

The homer to Travis was the only blemish on Prospect senior right-hander Ben Menich (7-2) in the first two innings. But a walk to Trowbridge and sacrifice bunts that turned into hits for Brady Wilkin and Kevin DeFilippis set up Providence for the heart of its order in the third.

“All year long we've won games whether we swing the bats and go up hacking or play small-ball,” said Providence coach Mark Smith.

“That third inning was difficult, especially knowing how they can hit,” Giusti said. “Not being able to execute our bunt defense was hard to rebound from.”

Especially after a wild pitch and the first of 2 sacrifice flies to right by Joe Houlihan. After Travis was intentionally walked, Dan Potempa had an RBI single and Dominic Olszta's two-out, 2-run single to right made it 6-0.

“They just hit my stuff,” Menich said. “Once they got those bunts down it went downhill.”

Brian Bauer pitched the final 4 innings and allowed 2 earned runs. Prospect got its run in the fourth on Bonahoom's one-out double, a wild pitch and Jack Landwehr's groundout to second.

Shane Joyce had a two-out single in the fifth but Trowbridge left runners at second and third.

“My first-pitch changeup was really big for me,” Trowbridge said. “They're an aggressive team so I pounded the zone right away and it paid dividends for me.”

But even though the result wasn't what Prospect wanted the experience of the program's first state finals appearance was memorable.

“It was great and I enjoyed it a lot even though we lost,” Menich said. “It was an amazing time.”

Now the Knights will try to make sure their first state baseball trophy is for third place.

“We're excited about playing (today),” Giusti said. “These kids have been so special. For them to get the opportunity to play one more game together is something they really deserve.”