Lemont, Ferry knock off Hilltoppers

Updated: March 23, 2011 3:52PM

The first four in the lineup all swing from the left side and can hit.

Lemont coach Joe Rodeghero says this is his fastest team ever.

In senior right-hander Josh Ferry, he has one of the area's best pitchers, and he was backed by a defense Rodeghero said "did a great job."

Add that all together, and the Indians' 9-2 victory over Joliet Catholic in the season opener for both teams Saturday afternoon at Gillespie Field may portend good things to come.

Ferry worked the first five innings and was backed by a 13-hit attack. Every Lemont starter had at least one hit, with four of the first five in the lineup getting two.

Especially impressive were juniors Kyle Milinowisch and Mike Hall.

Hitting in the 2-hole, Milinowisch doubled in his first two at-bats, had two of Lemont's six stolen bases, scored three runs and drove in three.

"Kyle's stance is nothing I would want to teach, but he has a lot of potential," Rodeghero said. "He hit .400 for us last summer. He and Kevin Goergen (the 3-hitter) both can hit lefties real well, too."

Hall, hitting fifth, delivered two huge two-run singles.

"Mike Hall had two humongous hits," Rodeghero said. "We thought we were good in the first four spots in the lineup, but we were a little worried from 5 on down. Hall and the kids below him came through."

"I want to be there (in the 5-hole)," said Hall, who started as the designated hitter before moving in to play third base in the late innings. "I want to help the team. Our bats were loud today, and we all worked together defensively."

Of course, there is a certain comfort level knowing Ferry is on the mound.

"We are extremely confident when Josh is out there," Hall said.

Joliet Catholic was without coach Jared Voss, who will miss the first three games for a reason he chose not to disclose. In his absence, assistant Tony Giese ran the team.

Lemont jumped on JCA starter Chris Blatti, a junior right-hander, for seven runs in the first four innings. But Giese said he thought Blatti "did a tremendous job. They just went out and hammered the ball off the start.

"But you watch, he is going to be tough. We didn't really play that bad, but their 1-2-3-4 hitters are tough."

The Hilltoppers, who will host St. Rita at noon Sunday with ace left-hander Kevin Duchene on the hill, started three sophomores - shortstop Chris Tschida, catcher Alex Voitik and first baseman Ryan Peter. Senior third baseman Kyle Cunningham, also one of the staff's top three pitchers, is the only returning regular.

So as Giese said, there are aspects of the game that will improve. The thing that bothered him most, perhaps, was 13 Hilltoppers striking out.

"Josh (Ferry) did what you would expect him to do," Giese said. "But I don't care who we face, we expect to at least put the ball in play. In no situation is 13 strikeouts acceptable, even if we do have a lot of young guys."

Ferry allowed four hits and two runs in five innings, including junior Zach Melone's RBI single in the fourth. He recorded 11 of the 13 strikeouts and left-handed reliever Tyler Jay fanned two over the final two innings.

"Going into the first game, you don't know a lot," Rodeghero said. "We knew what we had with Josh (Ferry) on the mound, but otherwise, I was anxious to see what we could do."

For Day 1, what the Indians showed Saturday could not have been much better.

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