LA SALLE – La Salle-Peru junior Gavin Kallis did not get called up to the varsity baseball team as a sophomore until the postseason.

Early on this spring, he’s shown he’s ready for the varsity level.

After allowing seven runs (four earned) in his first two appearances, Kallis has been dominant in his past two outings.

On Thursday, he threw five shutout innings, giving up three hits while striking out six batters and walking one to help the Cavaliers to a 9-0 victory over Mendota in a nonconference game at Huby Sarver Field.

“He establishes his fastball, and then he works off it,” L-P coach Matt Glupczynski said. “He’s got great tempo. He’s a competitor. He’s kind of amped up out there, so our guys feed off that energy.”

Kallis’ performance against Mendota followed a near no-hitter against Hall when he pitched 6 2/3 hitless, scoreless innings while striking out 15 batters and walking two.

“He’s got outstanding stuff,” Glupczynski said. “He pounds the zone, and he trusts the guys behind him. Right now he’s on a little bit of a roll, and hopefully we can keep it up.”

The defense played well behind him Thursday, committing only one error that didn’t cause any damage.

Kallis contributed on defense in multiple ways. He took a hard line drive off his body in the third inning but recovered to make the out at first base.

“I found the ball, got it and then worried about the injury,” said Kallis, who was looked at by the trainer and took warmup pitches after the play.

After the error in the fourth, Kallis picked a runner off first base.

“I noticed the kid was getting a big lead, so I was just waiting for my coach to signal, and he gave me it,” Kallis said. “He had a big lead, and I got him. It was a great feeling.”

Kallis also got plenty of support from the offense, as the Cavaliers scored five runs in the first inning.

“It just brings the mentality up like, we’re up, we have to blow it by them and stay up,” Kallis said.

Jett Hill, Braylin Bond and Griffin May each hit RBI singles, and L-P scored two more runs when Jackson Piecha hit a hard grounder that was misplayed at third base.

L-P added two in the third, including an RBI triple by May, and one each in the fifth and sixth innings.

“We have guys one through nine who can put the ball in play and do some different things like hit-and-run,” Glupczynski said. “We don’t have a ton of guys in the lineup that can hit home runs, so we’ve talked about being a complete offense and passing the baton on to the next guy and trusting the next guy to get it done.

“We pounded out eight hits, we had two hit batters, we had some walks, we had five stolen bases, so it’s complementary, and it’s complete. We’re not just sitting around stagnant waiting for somebody to hit a three-run home run.”

Hill pitched two perfect innings of relief with a strikeout to close out the game.

Evan McPheeters had two of Mendota’s three hits. Braiden Freeman took the loss on the mound.

“I think there were a few more plays defensively that, if we were able to make them, it keeps us in it a little bit more,” Mendota coach Cody Zinke said. “I wasn’t too upset with the bats. They have a good pitcher over there in Kallis, who is the first lefty we’ve seen this year.”

Mendota (4-3) has been shut out in back-to-back games after winning four straight.

“The last couple games haven’t gone our way,” Zinke said. “We got into a little bit of a rhythm and won four straight. The last two teams we played are quality teams. I think maybe we thought we were better than we were, and baseball is a very humbling game.

“We have to get back to it. We have to start doing the little things better.”

L-P (5-3) will host Streator on Saturday for youth baseball day, when about 250 youth baseball players will be in attendance and will be on the field for the national anthem.

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L-P's Griffin May reacts while standing on third base after hitting a triple as Mendota third baseman Osacar Castaneda backs away from the bag on Thursday, April 3, 2025 at Huby Sarver Field inside the L-P Athletic Complex in La Salle. (Scott Anderson)