Spartans' hit parade too much for Joliet

He is a quarterback and a kicker in football, so Romeoville’s Matt Gillis understands a thing or two, or even three, about field goals. The sophomore catcher also split the uprights in the top of the second inning Saturday morning.

After senior outfielder Matt Porter and senior third baseman Matt Heizer helped Joliet force a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the first, Gillis launched the first of four Spartan home runs — a no-out, two-run blast that sailed through the goal posts past the center-field fence.

And it had room to spare.

“I came into the dugout and the guys told me that’s what it did,” Gillis said, cracking a sly-yet-unassuming smile. “I was like, ‘Wow.’ I thought it was just a home run, and the wind really helped it. Other than that, it might have been another routine out.”

There was very little from the realm of routine in regards to Romeoville’s Gillis-led performance at Joliet West. He finished a gargantuan 4-for-4 with three runs scored, two doubles and two RBI as the Spartans smacked five doubles among 16 hits en route to a 21-3, five-inning nonconference blitz.

Following Gillis’ groove, senior shortstop Joe Cecchi parked a grand slam and went 2-for-2 with a double, three runs, a walk, two hit-by-pitches and five RBI to recharge Romeoville (13-4-1). That was plenty for senior pitcher T.J. Esquivel (4-1), who relinquished five hits and two walks in the easy win.

While Esquivel singled and scored twice, he did receive more runs than the Chicago Bears’ offense averaged in touchdowns last year. Junior first baseman Paul Johnson (3-for-5, two doubles, four RBI) and senior second baseman Brandon Basek (three runs, walk, RBI) also hit home runs.

Mama said there would be days like this: sophomore third baseman Kyle Lenihan (2-for-3, three runs, three RBI), sophomore outfielder Jordan Pemble (single, walk, sacrifice, two runs, two RBI) and senior outfielder Jesse Valles (2-for-2, three runs, two walks, two RBI) added spice to the Spartan mix.

Besides Porter walking twice and scoring two runs and Heizer highlighting a 2-for-3 effort with a two-run line-drive homer, senior outfielder Dan Eichholzer, sophomore catcher Matt Ronchetti and junior second baseman Eric Sowa delivered the only other hits for JT (13-6) — this despite the wind.

Meanwhile, Romeoville reacted to the gusts with gusto. Gillis and Basek homered back-to-back to ignite a six-run second inning, Cecchi’s granny to center jacked up a five-run third for a 12-1 romp, and Johnson’s three-run shot during a huge nine-run fifth piled on the pounds like Mickey Rourke’s starring role in “The Wrestler.”

And they had room to roam.

“We’ve been struggling at the plate, no doubt about it,” Romeoville coach Tony Smith said. “Mechanically, we don’t have issues, but it was nice to see our approach get better. We were better mentally. Really, it’s getting the pitch you’re looking for and driving it. Instead of being too picky, today it was if you see a fastball in the area, hit it and take a hack.”

“We definitely came out and swung the bats,” Cecchi said. “Obviously, we knew that the wind was blowing out. We were looking for some fastballs and that’s what we got, and it’s a great feeling to get contributions from everybody on the team.”

Everybody else, however, took a back seat in the Spartans’ Pontiac G6 to Gillis. After homering in the second, he blooped a pair of leadoff doubles in the third and fourth innings, respectively. He completed the jaw-dropping, on-fire affair in the fifth by lacing a single to center.

“He’s a strong kid,” Smith said of Gillis. “We’re a young team, and you get kind of excited about stuff like that. With a lot of our guys, it’s either a senior or a sophomore, and then we have our group of juniors, too.”

Atop that list of Romeoville juniors stands Johnson, whose homer to right-center and double down the third-base line — both in the fifth — boosted an agonizing inning that featured a pair of walks and three hit-batsmen. Four JT pitchers struggled with six walks and five hit batsmen.

Call it loading up for bear.

“Coach said to stay back on it and drive it to center, and I was trying for center,” Johnson said. “We usually have one aspect of the game and we don’t put them all together, but we put it all together today and it felt good. After Gillis hit the first one, we all got hyped and started hitting.”

Actually, JT started out hitting in the same stratosphere with Romeoville as Porter walked in the bottom of the first on a full count, junior outfielder Tyler Brown executed the sacrifice bunt and Heizer dropped a single into center. Porter scored on a wild pitch for the 1-1 deadlock.

Thereafter, though, the Steelmen faced deficits of 7-1 after two innings and 12-1 entering the bottom of the third. Porter’s walk and Heizer’s homer slipped the rally within 12-3 in that third before the Spartans struck back for nine runs like skyrockets in flight.

“We knew coming in we were going to have to hit the ball and score some runs,” JT coach Terry Piazza said. “Give Romeoville credit. They swung the bats well. It’s not like we played bad defensively. Our pitchers fell behind on a lot of counts, they had a lot of good hitter counts, and they just took advantage.

“We had a couple of guys hit the ball hard, but it was one of those days where nothing went right. You shouldn’t have to manufacture runs on a day like this.”

Not unless you are manufacturing runs like GM built cars in its heyday. Cecchi driving in five runs and homering has become an expectation for Romeoville. Smith pointed to Gillis, Basek, Johnson, Lenihan and Co. as a nice road map for future games.

Call it having peas in a pod.

“Lately, Cecchi has been our only consistent hitter,” Smith said. “It’s great to see other guys step up and show their potential. There are going to be times that Cecchi could go into a slump, and we’re going to have to have other guys do the job for us.”

Gillis was that guy Saturday.