Stay Connected with YourSeason
Balanced attack lifts Celtics over Prospect
Updated: June 10, 2011 10:12PM
It took only about 10 minutes into the Class 4A semifinal game for Prospect to learn the offensive prowess of Sam Travis.
Travis crushed a home run to left-center field in the top of the first inning, and senior left-hander Matt Trowbridge took care of the rest, as top-ranked Providence cruised to a 9-1 victory Friday at Silver Cross Field in Joliet.
“I just tried to hit the ball hard, put it into play and get some momentum for us,” said Travis, the Sun-Times Player of the Year who now has 16 home runs and 73 RBI. “It worked out pretty well.”
But it was far from the Sam Travis show. Seven Providence starters collected hits, five of which drove in at least one run, all of which added up to the Celtics (37-3) advancing to the Class 4A championship against the winner of No. 2 Lyons and No. 6 Mount Carmel on Saturday night.
The offense was more than enough for Trowbridge (9-0), a Central Michigan recruit who threw a crisp 78-pitch complete game. Trowbridge yielded only four hits, struck out four and walked one behind a mid-to-upper-80s fastball.
“It was almost like the game was in fast forward,” said Trowbridge, who at one point retired 10 consecutive batters. “I knew they were an aggressive, first-pitch hitting team. … I was just pounding the zone early.”
The Celtics put the game away for good in the third inning when they scored five runs on four hits and three walks. After Trowbridge opened the inning with a walk, junior outfielder Brady Wilkin and Kevin DeFilippis laid down bunt hits to load the bases. Senior shortstop Joe Houlihan lofted his first of two sacrifice flies to right field, Travis was intentionally walked before catcher Dan Potempa ripped a run-scoring single.
Senior outfielder Dominic Olszta then dealt the big blow with a two-run single, giving Providence a 6-0 advantage.
Wilkin finished with two hits, including a triple, and scored two runs, and Potempa added two hits.
“We played extremely well today,” said Providence coach Mark Smith. “I’m very proud of the boys. We played great defense and Matt pounded the zone.”
Prospect (26-9), the Mid-Suburban League champion, was paced by senior centerfielder Peter Bonahoom, who went 2-for-3 with a double and scored on Jack Landwehr’s groundout in the fourth inning.
© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.
Cell Phone Alerts
Comments Click here to view or make a comment