Baseball: Lefty shortstop Collin Severson playing way into lineup for Sycamore’s state run

As Sycamore prepares for its first state tournament, the Spartans have been living a coach’s dream and an opposing pitcher’s nightmare – a lineup that is just as effective at the bottom as it is at the top.

It’s been on display all season, and in particular in the past two games for Sycamore – an 8-3 win against Burlington Central to win the Class 3A Kaneland Sectional and an 8-0 win over Rock Island in the Geneseo Supersectional.

“He did exactly what you should do when you’re a role player. Just go out there and be good enough that you can’t be overlooked. And that’s exactly what he did. He played so good and so hard every single time he had the chance to do that. And that’s how he got on the field and how he got to be an everyday player.”

—  Jason Cavanaugh, Sycmaore coach

In those two games, No. 8 hitter Collin Severson went a combined 3 for 5 with three runs scored and two RBIs. And that’s from a player who was just a courtesy runner at the start of the season.

“Being a part of this team is amazing,” Severson said. “I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else. It’s unreal. I’m so happy to be a part of it.”

Severson worked his way into the starting lineup, though it presented a challenge for head coach Jason Cavanaugh. The team’s three best hitters are all outfielders, and Jimmy Amptmann handles DH duties.

But with Severson producing at the clip he was – he was hitting about .550 at one point and is still hitting about .400 – Cavanaugh had to get his bat in the lineup. So he thought outside the box and put the left-handed fielder at shortstop.

“How can we get these four guys on the field?” Cavanaugh said. “We had some shortstop problems in the middle of the year so we decided to take a look at the left-handed shortstop. He’s probably one of our best athletes on the field.”

So Severson has found his way onto the field in an unlikely spot for a left-handed fielder, although he bats right-handed. Severson singled and scored the first run against the Rockets, then doubled in a run and later scored to extend the lead later in the game.

Against the Rocks, he had a single and scored in the Spartans’ six-run sixth that turned a two-run game into a blowout.

“He was a guy who we considered to be a part-time player,” Cavanaugh said. “When you looked at our team, every time you put him in there something positive happened. He ran the bases well, played defense, he would put together a good at-bat.”

It hasn’t been just him either. Joey Puleo, who’s recently been batting ninth, had just one hit in the past two games but has scored three times and driven in two runs. Owen Piazza hit seventh against the Rockets and had two hits.

The depth also provides flexibility. Conner Williar, who batted fifth against the Rockets and has been in the middle of the lineup most of the season, dipped to seventh against Rock Island and had a hit and an RBI.

But Severson has been a staple of late in the No. 8 hole as the team prepares to face Nazareth in a Class 3A semifinal at noon Friday in Joliet.

“He did exactly what you should do when you’re a role player,” Cavanaugh said. “Just go out there and be good enough that you can’t be overlooked. And that’s exactly what he did. He played so good and so hard every single time he had the chance to do that. And that’s how he got on the field and how he got to be an everyday player.”