Lincoln-Way East has set a high enough standard over the years to always expect greatness. With that being said, coming into the year, there were some questions.

Losing Jack Bauer and others to graduation was tough, and this is a small senior class compared to previous years. The talent is there; however, to expect success.

And they’ve had success.

The Griffins are 25-4 this season. A 23-2 start was followed by a 2-2 stretch, but Friday saw the Griffins win their biggest game of the season thus far.

Up 4-1 early and down 8-6 with two innings to go, Lincoln-Way East came back to earn a 9-8 walk-off win against Lockport on Friday in the second game of their two-game series with the Porters. It was the first time Lockport had lost in 15 games.

Bigger than earning the win, however, was the resiliency the Griffins showed. Coming from behind to win after blowing a lead showed an ability to overcome adversity that coach John McCarthy believes will be critical to the Griffins’ success in the postseason.

“We needed a game like that,” McCarthy said. “We needed to show some fight and toughness late. I’m proud of the at-bats late in the game, the innings late in the game, just a great game for us.”

Lincoln-Way East is the No. 1 seed in its sectional. The Griffins will host the winner of Bloom and Thornwood in the Lincoln-Way Central Regional semifinals at 4:30 p.m. May 27.

Lockport still loaded

The Porters made a strong effort Friday, as they have all season. Lockport was down 4-1 after one inning and managed to take an 8-6 lead, showing resiliency of their own.

While the Porters were unable to hold on Friday, they beat the Griffins 6-0 two days prior and are still 22-9 on the season. Almost all of those losses were early in the season against a brutal schedule as the Porters won 15-consecutive games entering Friday.

The outstanding play of Adam Kozak (.383, 29 RBIs), Jack Schiek (.385, 23 RBIs) and Kaden O’Leary (.375 with 30 hits) has helped elevate the offense. The pitching has had solid production as well, but they’ll want to bounce back from Friday’s performance.

Coach Scott Malinowski believes they’ll do just that, and said it’s important to take a glass-half-full approach.

“This is only going to help us accomplish our ultimate goal,” Malinowski said. “We’re getting down here near the end of the season and into the postseason, so we just have to learn from it.”

Lockport will be the No. 1 seed in the sectional it hosts. The Porters play the winner of Metea Valley and Neuqua Valley in the Plainfield North Regional semifinals at 4:30 p.m. May 27.

Plainfield playing powerful

Speaking of Plainfield, it’s the Central campus that’s feeling a lot of excitement right now.

Plainfield Central is sitting at 19-8-1 and just completed its biggest series win of the season. The Wildcats entered last week’s series with Joliet West tied for first in the Southwest Prairie Conference, but after beating the Tigers twice in three games, they now hold a half-game lead on them.

Like Lincoln-Way East, the Wildcats won the first game of the series in comeback fashion and managed to squeeze out a close win in Game 2. They dropped the third game 11-0.

Still, the Wildcats are poised for playoff success. They’ve earned the No. 3 seed in the Normal Community Sectional and will play sixth-seeded Richwoods in the Bradley-Bourbonnais Regional semifinals at 4:30 p.m. May 28.

They believed they’ve proven that they’re capable of playing well in the postseason, and now they’ll have a chance to show it.

“Nothing brings me greater joy than watching our kids come together and pick up success,” Wildcats coach Robert Keane said. “We’ve said all year we think they’re capable of the world. We’re excited for more opportunities to keep on playing.”

New territory for Providence

The standard that Providence Catholic has set in baseball is higher than most. The Celtics won state two years ago and made a deep playoff run last year before saying goodbye to almost every contributor from those two teams.

As such, it’s been an up-and-down season. The Celtics are 17-14 heading into the final week of the regular season with a 7-7 mark in the Chicago Catholic League Blue.

Still, coach Mark Smith knows how to win in the playoffs as well as anyone in Illinois. The team has grown a lot throughout the year, and the future should be bright with a small senior class.

The Celtics will have an opportunity to make a run starting at 4:30 p.m. May 28. That’s when they’ll visit Andrew in the Andrew Regional semifinals. Andrew is the ninth seed, and Providence is the sixth seed.