Steelmen's first game in 18 years a win

Updated: March 23, 2011 3:48PM

Joliet Central played its first varsity baseball game in 18 years on Friday sporting bright uniforms and a hopeful 2011 motto of "Tradition Starts Today.''

A 4-0 deficit in the first inning wasn't the start Joliet Central had in mind, but the Steelmen made the day worth remembering by rallying for a 9-5 victory over Southwest Suburban Blue rival Bloom.

"It was a little bit of a rough first inning, but the seniors kept on battling through,'' Joliet Central coach Tony Juarez said.

Namely, starting pitcher Steve Cernak and reliever Jeremy Hughes. Cernak struggled on the mound, yielding four runs on four hits, with a walk and a hit-by-pitch all in the first inning.

"I think I was just nervous, my nerves got to me,'' Cernak said. "I couldn't get the ball over the strike zone. Hopefully my next outing I'll do a better job.''

Cernak didn't wait to redeem himself. With two outs and the bases loaded in the fourth inning, Cernak doubled into right-center to clear the bases and put Joliet Central ahead 5-4, a lead it didn't relinquish.

"I had the feeling I had to do something to make up for my mistakes,'' Cernak said. "One of my buddies said it's a first-pitch fastball all the time. So I looked for it and ripped it.''

Hughes, meanwhile, pitched the second and third innings and faced only six batters, inducing double plays to end both innings.

"Hughes was huge for us, to come in being down 4-0 and keep it there until we had a chance to chip away,'' Juarez said. "The seniors did a great job for us.'' Junior Josh Wojnarowski pitched the last three innings, giving up a run in the sixth.

The game ended with catcher John Johnson tagging a runner out at the plate on a throw from Cernak in left field.

"We've got good team chemistry. I think we'll be pretty good this year,'' Cernak said.

The Steelmen will get a better idea on Tuesday when they play at Providence.

"It will be a great opportunity for us to see one of the better teams in the state, and maybe see how much more work we have to do,'' Juarez said.

With only two seniors, Bloom coach Job Gunderson knows the Trojans are a work in progress.

"We're pretty young,'' Gunderson said. "We're using the first part of the year to teach and evaluate. We think we can be a good team by the end of the year.''

Tony Siriani had a two-run single for Bloom (0-3) in the first inning while Tieler Neumann and Nick Egan each finished with two hits.

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