NEW LENOX – Before Friday afternoon’s Providence Catholic baseball home opener, the Celtics and their fans paid tribute to their late team member and classmate Ryan Jefferson. The ceremony ended with a fireworks display over Tom Dedin Field.

It took the Celtics’ offense a little while, but they provided their own fireworks in a 14-6 victory over defending Class 4A state champion Plainfield East. After being held scoreless the first two innings, Providence erupted for five runs in both the third and fourth innings, erasing an early 3-0 Bengals lead.

Ryan Mrozek and Brayden Garrigan were the big guns in the Providence lineup, as Mrozek finished with three hits, including a double and a triple, and three RBIs, while Garrigan slugged a three-run homer. Both players scored three times.

“It was an emotional day,” Mrozek said. “And, we got a win over the defending state champ. The balls were flying around all over in the wind.”

Plainfield East took advantage of some wildness on the part of Providence starter Alex Alberico. In the top of the second, Nathan Rudd led off with a single and Sebastian Pape walked. Alberico struck out Michael Morgan, but Bryce Atkin walked to load the bases. After Alberico struck out Logan Wilson, he walked Kevin Smith to force Rudd in with the first run of the game. East’s Brady Louck then doubled to left-center to bring home Pape and Atkin for a 3-0 Bengals lead. Reliever Jack Wajda got the third out for the Celtics.

Meanwhile, Louck, who was a key factor in the Bengals’ state title run last year, held Providence scoreless through two innings, striking out four.

In the bottom of the third, however, the Celtics broke through.

Pierre Danet led off with a walk, and Will Withers was hit by a pitch. Garrigan bunted back to Louck, who threw out Withers at second. Mrozek then launched a pitch to center that got into the strong wind and blew to the base of the fence. Danet and Garrigan scored, and Mrozek hustled into third with a triple.

Louck was relieved by Joshua Keller, who was greeted by an RBI single by Tyler Young to score Mrozek and tie the game. After a pop-out, Jude Allen was hit by a pitch. After a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, Ryan Hussey hit a grounder to third that was gloved, but the throw went wide of first, allowing both runners to score for a 5-3 Providence lead.

Plainfield East got back in it in the top of the fourth. With two outs, Wilson blooped a single to left, which was followed by a single to right by Smith. Louck then singled to right to score Wilson, and a single to left by Christian Mitchelle plated Smith to tie it at 5.

The Providence bats continued to boom in the bottom of the fourth. Danet led off with a single, and Withers followed suit. Garrigan then slammed a three-run homer to center for an 8-5 lead. Mrozek then singled and stole second and went to third on a single by Gavin Gomez. A double by Allen brought home Mrozek, and, two batters later, Danek singled home Gomez for a 10-5 lead.

“We knew Louck was a good pitcher, but we were able to stay in it,” Garrigan said. “It felt like there was something bigger than our team out there today.

“A lot of people were a little down on our hitting coming into the year, but we have put up 13 and 14 runs in our first two games. And it’s coming from up and down the lineup.”

The onslaught continued in the fifth as Providence threatened to end it. Garrigan led off with a walk and scored on a double to deep center by Mrozek. A single to center to Young scored Mrozek, and after a walk by Gomez, pinch-hitter Alberto Moreno doubled to left, scoring Young and Gomez for a 14-5 lead with no outs. But Plainfield East’s Nate Mole struck out the next three hitters.

Plainfield East got a solo homer from Mitchelle in the top of the sixth to cap the scoring, and the game was called after six innings because of darkness.

“Early on, I think we were a little too pepped up,” Providence coach Mark Smith said. “It was an emotional day, and these kids were so excited to play.

“We fell behind early, but we were able to get a couple of runs across against one of the best pitchers we will face this year [Louck]. It’s only our second game, and we haven’t seen a lot of live pitching, so it was nice to see production from everybody.”

For East coach Adam O’Reel, a 1998 Providence Catholic graduate, it was a case of the season being a marathon rather than a sprint.

“We started well,” he said. “We weren’t going to throw Brady very long this early in the season. We wanted to give some other guys a chance. Before this season, the guys who came in after Brady hadn’t ever been in a varsity game. Against this type of competition, it’s a good chance to see what they’ve got.

“We are trying to see what kind of depth we have. It may cost us some games early, but it will help us be ready for the long haul.”