Baseball notes: UIC recruit Lucas Smith, deep Nazareth roster motivated to win repeat title

Roadrunners have added Hall of Famer Jim Thome to coaching staff, off to 9-0 start

Nazareth's Lucas Smith (18) swings away during the Class 3A Crestwood Supersectional game between St. Ignatius at Nazareth.  June 6, 2022.

Nazareth senior outfielder Lucas Smith is focused on ending his journey with a memorable finish.

A four-year varsity player, Smith burst upon the scene with a breakout sophomore season. Nazareth coach Lee Milano repeatedly mentions that Smith would have been a starter in his freshman season if not for the pandemic.

Smith committed to play Division I baseball for UIC in October 2021. Since then, Smith has been mashing balls all over the field, helping to lead the Roadrunners to a Class 3A state championship last season. He batted .444 with 26 RBIs and 44 runs scored.

Smith is motivated for a repeat title to cap his decorated career. He’s belted five triples in nine games, one short of the single-season program record.

“I have a goal of being able to play in Joliet at the end of the year,” Smith said. “It would be awesome to finish my Nazareth baseball career that way. As a team, we have to just trust the course and believe in our abilities to play our game and focus on the journey ahead.

“I feel great about this year’s team. The more we play together, the better we will get. I think we just have to focus on ourselves and control the controllable. Since last year, we have had high expectations and have learned to play to our abilities and everything will take care of itself.”

The Roadrunners (9-0) have endured minor injuries to remain undefeated. Milano said the Roadrunners’ depth is paying off early in the season.

“We talked a lot in the offseason about focusing on the journey ahead,” Milano said. “What we did in the past was great. We’re focused on the next game. I like where we are at. We’ve had some little injuries that have forced some to sit out and that has given opportunities to other players. I like the depth on this team. We have some depth that we haven’t had in a while, which is a positive. That was an unknown going into the year. It’s nice to see our depth this year. The depth allows us to really split games on the mound and not really lose anything.”

Smith agreed with Milano on the Roadrunners’ deep collection of talented players. The Roadrunners have five players hitting at least .400, while star junior pitcher Nick Drtina has pitched only 10 1/3 innings four weeks into the season. Junior pitcher John Hughes has yet to play because of a hamstring injury but is slated to return this week. The Roadrunners are batting .370 through nine games.

“This team has a crazy amount of depth,” Smith said. “It’s probably the most I have ever seen for a high school baseball team. The depth will show throughout the year and everyone will have a time to make an impact.”

The Roadrunners’ depth also extends to the coaching staff. Milano said he added Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Thome and former big leaguer Michael Bowden to his staff. Thome slugged 612 home runs during his prolific 22-year career and was a five-time All-Star.

Bowden, a Waubonsie Valley graduate, was a first-round selection by the Boston Red Sox in the 2005 MLB Draff. He pitched for several MLB organizations, including the Chicago Cubs.

“We’re always looking to improve, even on the coaching staff,” Milano said. “I don’t know how many high schools in the country have a Hall of Famer as their hitting coach. Bowden has a ton of experience. Those two guys have been around and are really special. I remind our players how fortunate they are to have them, along with the rest of the staff. We added some coaches because we had availability.”

The Roadrunners have a late spring break compared with many Chicago-area teams and are heading to Orlando next week for a series of games against out-of-state teams.

Wheaton Academy back from break

Wheaton Academy returned from its spring break tour with some momentum. The Warriors won all four of their games, coach Justin Swider said.

“It was a great week,” Swider said. “We had our last game of the week cancelled against Westminster Academy, which was probably the game that we were most looking forward to for several reasons. However, if you would’ve told me before the trip that we would play four games, win all of them, and also get three outside practices in, we would have taken it. It’s all about perspective. It was a great trip, we got better as baseball players, but more importantly, we became a better program both on and off the field.”

Through nine games, the Warriors (6-2-1) have been putting up solid numbers. Grant Rojek is batting .600 with two doubles, four RBIs and eight runs scored. Eric De Costa is hitting .533 with nine RBIs and five runs scored. Alex Bagley tossed a complete game on the trip and fanned eight against Brookfield (Georgia).

Extras

Lyons opened the season with three wins in four games, including a 14-2 triumph over West Suburban Silver opponent Glenbard West. The Lions slugged four home runs, including two from Troy Stukenberg. … Hinsdale Central senior Ben Oosterbaan, a Michigan recruit who was named the 2022-23 Suburban Life Boys Basketball Player of the Year, had three hits and drove in two runs in a win over Proviso West. He had two hits in a win over Palatine earlier this season.