Joyce jumps at opportunity, Lisle advances
Lisle pitcher Ryan Joyce picked the right time to have the game of his life.
The No. 2-seeded Lions took on the No. 3 IC Catholic Prep in the Class 2A Timothy Christian regional on Thursday, and the senior lefty was dealing.
On Thursday Lisle got redemption with a 2-0 baseball victory that will set up a regional championship matchup with Westmont on Saturday, thanks in large part to Joyce.
Last season Lisle dropped a regional semifinal to ICCP in heartbreaking fashion, 2-1.
"He was outstanding. He located about every pitch he was supposed to just like coach was calling them and he did everything he was asked," Lisle coach Pete Meyer said. "We told him he was going to pitch the first regional game quite awhile ago, and he's really been working on his mental game the past week and a half.
"In practice every day he was just focused and he knew what we needed from him and he delivered."
Joyce struck out seven of the first nine batters he faced, striking out the side in the second inning. For two innings ICCP sophomore Brandon Russ matched him, striking out four of his own in the first two innings.
However, Lisle (12-16) got on the board in third inning when designated hitter Drew English hammered a fastball over the center fielder's head for a triple, scoring leadoff hitter Christian Grego. With the advantage of a lead, Joyce continued his masterful performance.
He struck out two more in the fourth inning and fifth innings, stranding a runner at third after giving up a double to ICCP No. 5 hitter Connor Youngman. It was the best scoring chance the Knights (12-22) could get.
"When we face a left-hander who can spot a fastball and can work on the outer corner of the plate, we work on going away a lot," ICCP coach Zach Rodeghero said. "The second time through the order we had a couple solid hits to right-center and they made a couple plays on them."
In the fifth inning Lisle added some insurance on another RBI from Drew English, this time on a single. English finished his day 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI.
"Drew's been hitting the ball really well and for him to come up in those big spots is great," Meyer said.
Joyce closed out the shutout by striking out a pair in the seventh. He finished with 13 strikeouts.