Mozwecz, Oak Lawn state their case

It’s not always easy living in the shadow of Catholic League Blue powers like St. Laurence, Mount Carmel and St. Rita, not to mention crosstown rival Richards.

But Oak Lawn is making a case to be counted as one of the big boys on the South Side prep baseball scene. The Spartans have signature victories over Oak Park-River Forest and St. Ignatius this summer and won the Richards/Reavis tournament.

On Tuesday, they showed their mettle once again by rallying to knock off visiting St. Laurence 6-5, avenging an IHSA regional championship loss to the Vikings last month.

Nick Mozwecz broke a 5-5 tie with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the sixth, driving in Chris Rafacz to cap a three-run rally.

It was sweet redemption for Mozwecz, a senior who pitched the first five innings for the Spartans (7-3) and left trailing 5-3.

“It’s a big momentum builder for us because we know we can play with them,” Mozwecz said. “I try to ignore all the (earlier) stuff that happens during the game, clear my mind.”

Mozwecz regrouped after giving up five runs on three hits, two hit batters, an error and a wild pitch in the third inning, shutting out the Vikings (6-3) over his final two innings. He finished with six strikeouts, two walks, three hit batters and three hits allowed.

“He probably pitched a little too much over the weekend (in travel ball),” Oak Lawn coach Brian Clifton said. “But he wanted the ball. He came in this morning and said he was OK.”

Junior Conor Niemac (1-1) worked the last two innings, allowing one hit, to earn the win.

Clifton likes Niemac in that role. “He can give you a lot of innings,” the Spartans coach said. “He can go high in the pitch count which is valuable to us if we need a guy in the middle of the week to give us some innings.”

Oak Lawn jumped ahead 3-0 in the bottom of the first, getting RBI singles from Bob Kametas (3-for-3, double, 2 runs, RBI) and Steve Childers (1-for-1, 2 walks, 2 RBI) along with a sacrifice fly from Rafacz.

St. Laurence took the lead with a big inning of its own in the third, which was keyed by Mike Kornacker’s two-run double. Brad Wood had an RBI single and Mike Solofra added a sac fly.

“Holding them to runs in one inning was pivotal, even though they got the 5-spot,” Clifton said.

The Spartans then won it in the bottom of the sixth. Kyle Smith scored on a wild pitch and Childers singled home the tying run before Mozwecz’s big hit.

“After winning the Richards tournament, we though we had a chance to accomplish something,” Mozwecz said.

After Tuesday, it still looks that way.

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