Bremen has some goals to go

Folks are still talking about the big blast off the bat of Bremen's Andy Fitzpatrick against Homewood-Flossmoor.

Fitzpatrick's dinger landed on the back of the roof of the adjacent H-F Ice Arena, more than 400 feet from home plate.

"It was an absolute bomb," coach Mike Cline said. "H-F pitching coach Marvin Freeman told me Fitzpatrick's ball was the second longest he's ever seen hit and that he's seen many no-doubters at H-F."

There's no doubt it's been a tough season for Bremen, which returned its entire starting lineup from a year ago.

However, with an 11-11 mark heading into the week, the Braves have not lived up to expectations on the field.

In the classroom, it's been a different story.

The Braves, with a 3.17 cumulative grade-point average, are in position to be the first squad to finish academic All-State, which requires a 3.0 GPA.

Senior captain Joe Hruban registered a 33 on the ACT.

Cline is proud of his team's accomplishments in the classroom, but hopes the Braves, who host a regional, can make a little run in the playoffs.

"Our goal for the rest of this year is to make it to the regional championship game here at home, where we hope to bring the fourth regional title to our school," Cline said.

Titans coming around

With an 9-15-2 mark after Monday's action, Tinley Park has experienced more downs than ups this spring.

But coach Brian Gibbons is pleased with how his young Titans are developing and likes the future of the program.

"It has been an up-and-down season," he said. "We kind of expected to make some mistakes this year with a large number of juniors and two sophomores getting substantial playing time. It has taken some time, but I think the boys are starting to understand how we like to play the game here. We push our kids to lay it all on the line and give what they have on a daily basis. We also want them to understand why we do what we do with the game of baseball and they are starting to grasp those concepts.

"While at times we have really struggled, I think it has been a great learning year and we have great things to look forward to in the years to come."

Gibbons doesn't want that to be interpreted as if he's giving up on this season. He's confident his Titans can finish strong.

"We don't feel as though we are packing it in for the year," he said. "We have Oak Forest this week and Bremen next week and we would like to prove that we are better than our (playoff) seeding (9) in the sectional. Both Bremen and Oak Forest are seeded ahead of us. We also are looking forward to getting the opportunity to play (first-round playoff opponent) Richards again. While they are a great team, we are hoping to be competitive, give it our all, and see what happens."

Lost amid the rebuilding has been the play of senior Ryan McMahon. The catcher/pitcher was hitting .449 with eight doubles and 23 RBI heading into the week, and was also 3-4 with 48 strikeouts on the mound.

"Ryan is having a great year at the plate and behind it," Gibbons said. "He's also picked up some pitching duties for us."

One of the biggest surprises has been the play of sophomore leadoff man Andrew Sebastian. The shortstop was hitting .329 and boasted an on-base percentage of.484. He's also contributed on the mound with a 1-3 record and 2.43 ERA.

"He's been a pleasant surprise," Gibbons said. "He has stepped in at short and as our leadoff hitter and done a fantastic job. We are looking forward to having him in the program the next two years."

Astros tied for first place

Shepard was sitting in a first-place tie in the South Suburban Blue with a 9-3 record after Monday's win against Lemont.

A major reason why is the 1-2 pitching punch of Brendan Spongberg and Eddie Jones, who are a combined 9-1 on the season. The Astros defense, which was shaky at best early on, has improved significantly with center fielder Sean Ferguson, shortstop Justin Smykowski, catcher Dan Brott and second baseman Gerard Maslanka.

"Those guys are doing the job and making some game-saving plays," coach Frank DiFoggio said.

At the plate, Jones, Justin Madrigal and Steve Boersma have been hot.

Pat Disabato can be reached at pdisabato@southtownstar.com or (708) 802-8837.