Lockport wins third consecutive Don Ladas Tournament

JOLIET – If you would have told Lockport baseball coach Andy Satunas that his team would ramble through the three games of the Don Ladas Memorial Tournament, outscoring opponents, 31-5, he would not have believed you.

But that’s what his Porters did, capping the tournament with a 9-1 victory over Minooka in the title game Thursday night at DuPage Medical Group Field.

The win gave the Porters their third consecutive tournament title, having previously won the event in 2018 and 2019 (there was no tournament in 2020). It is the first time in the tournament’s 14-year history that one of the teams in the field had captured three consecutive titles.

“This is a quality tournament with very quality opponents and just shows the work that our guys have put in, whether it is this season or the last COVID year when they weren’t with us,” Satunas said. “That doesn’t get done with us in three weeks, that gets done on their own. We’re very proud of how hard they work.”

The game looked as if it was shaping up into a pitcher’s duel between Lockport’s Michael Hughes and Minooka freshman Ryan Anderson, as both breezed through the first two innings.

Lockport drew first blood with an RBI single from Victor Izquerdo in the bottom of the third. Izquerdo was 2 for 4 in the game and would later pick up tournament MVP honors, as he collected five hits in the three tournament games to pace the Porter offense.

“Once we get going, we don’t stop,” Izquerdo said. “I go up there, thinking situational every time. And if no one is on, I just try to get on base.”

Minooka pieced together a run of its own in the top of the fourth to tie the score at one, but Lockport took the lead back in its half of the fourth on the first of three doubles by Anthony Martinez. Martinez later scored on an RBI groundout by Kyle Kevish.

Lockport’s offense then flexed the muscle that it showed in the previous two games against Lincoln-Way West and Providence in which it scored 12 runs in each game. In its half of the fifth, Lockport had the first seven batters it sent to the plate reach base, and the Porters scored six runs in the inning and seized control of the game with an 8-1 lead.

“We talk a lot about waves. Sometimes the waves are small, but when you kick those waves up, they get bigger and they keep crashing on the opponent,” Satunas said. “The guys are really buying into it, and they are feeding on each other’s success. They are really selfless, and they are willing to pass the at-bat to the next guy.”

The third double of Martinez’s night drove home the final run of the game for Lockport.

Minooka’s Ivan Dahlberg reached base three times, and Caleb Parker collected two hits, but the Indians (2-3) couldn’t string much together against Hughes and reliever David Zaragoza, who picked up his second win of the tournament in relief.

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