Baseball: Lyons Twp. beats Downers North to stay in WSC Silver race

For a rookie pitching in a pennant race, Lyons Twp.’s Tommy Cavaliere showed the mettle of a veteran.

The freshman kept his team in contention for the West Suburban Conference Silver Division championship by hurling five strong innings as the Lions edged visiting Downers Grove North 2-1 on Monday in Western Springs.

Cavaliere improved to 5-1 on the season by allowing one run on three hits while walking four and striking out six in a gritty, 92-pitch outing. If the Lions (21-9, 12-5) beat the Trojans (19-11, 11-6) again on Tuesday in the Silver finale for both clubs, they will earn at least a share of the title.

“It’s very fun,” Cavaliere said. “There’s some pressure to it, for sure, but I know I’ve got an infield behind me and an outfield that’s going to help me put it away.”

By now, LT coach Kevin Diete knows he can rely on Cavaliere.

“He’s been doing well for us all season,” Diete said. “Really his worst game was probably last week against Hinsdale.

“He just didn’t look right last week and even today he wasn’t himself. But he battled better today, so I’m proud of him for that.”

Cavaliere started strong against Downers North, striking out the side in the first inning. But he got into a jam in the second, giving up a one-out double to Rhys Dominow followed by a walk to Jack Romsey.

Dominow advanced to third on a balk and Romsey stole second. Grant Fordonski then hit a slow roller to shortstop.

LT junior shortstop Blake Ragsdale charged in, made a barehanded pickup and threw out Dominow at the plate. Cavaliere walked Owen Galas but struck out Emilio Gandarilla looking to end the 32-pitch inning.

“Tommy’s one of our guys,” said Ragsdale, a TCU commit who also made a great catch on a line drive to end the fourth inning. “He’s a dog, obviously a young cat.

“I always try to tell the young guys, just take it for what it is because he’s got three more years of this. We’ve been relying on him all year and we just hope the best for him that he keeps balling.”

Cavaliere got out of a two-on, two-out situation in the third inning when Dominow flied out to right.

“I realized these guys were good hitters,” Cavaliere said. “They foul the ball off a lot, so I just kept attacking the zone and made them put the ball in play and we got some good defensive plays.”

Indeed, the Lions played error-free ball in the tricky conditions with the wind blowing in a gale.

The Trojans only made one error but it led to two unearned runs in the bottom of the third.

Ragsdale drew a leadoff walk, stole second and went to third on a single by Lon Roberts, who had both of LT’s hits. Downers North starting pitcher Angelo Chiarelli tried to pick Ragsdale off third base, but the throw got away, allowing Ragsdale to score. Nick Hines then was hit by a pitch and Roberts later scored on a wild pitch.

The Trojans got their run in the fifth. Gandarilla drew a leadoff walk, was bunted to second by Drake Cosenza and scored on Sam Marshall’s RBI single.

But Cavaliere retired the next two hitters before giving way to Aidan Webster, who pitched two perfect innings to get the save.

“Cavaliere did a great job,” Downers North coach Kyle Briscoe said. “With the wind blowing in, it was a tough day to get any extra-base hits from both sides.

“We kind of induced our own pain there in the third and kudos to them. They took advantage and got a couple runs there. That’s all you needed today and then the reliever did a good job for LT pitching to contact.”

While Cavaliere isn’t yet the ace of LT’s staff, he’s got the makeup to eventually become one.

“He’s a got an even-keeled attitude and I would say most of our pitchers are like that,” Diete said. “You can’t tell if they’re having a good game. You can’t tell if they’re having a bad one.

“He’s pretty even-keeled, especially for how young he is. He doesn’t get worked up that much, so it’s fun to watch.”