Baseball: JCA offense shows up big in regional win over Wilmington

BRAIDWOOD – The Joliet Catholic Academy baseball team showed why it is going to be a tough out in the Class 2A playoffs Thursday during a 9-3 Reed-Custer Regional semifinal win over Wilmington.

Power? Check.

Luka Radicevich and Trey Swederski hit back-to-back homers in the bottom of the first inning to give JCA (20-10) a 3-0 lead. Radicevich’s homer scored Jackson Cullen, who reached on a bunt single with two outs.

“I was just trying to be simple,” Radicevich said. “He threw me a curve on the first pitch and I took it. Then he came with a fastball. He left it up, and I tried to just hit it up the middle.

“It was a great bunt by Jackson to get on base. The No. 3 hitter laying down a bunt with two outs was huge. Then me and Trey went back-to-back. It was a good way to start.”

Speed? Check.

The Hilltoppers stole three bases in a five-run third inning and had runners in motion nearly the entire game.

Clutch hitting? Check.

Michael Ascencio and Tommy Kemp, the No. 7 and 9 hitters in the JCA lineup, respectively, each had two-run, two-out singles in the five-run third.

Pitching and defense? Check.

Sophomore Jake Gimbel threw six strong innings, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out two. Gimbel did not walk a batter, but he did hit four Wildcats, including Jacob Friddle twice. Jake Spotofora came on in relief in the seventh, allowing a run on a hit. The Hilltoppers defense was guilty of two errors, both on tough plays. Also, catcher Ryan Louthan picked a runner off of second base to end a Wilmington threat.

“Jake Gimbel has been great for us all year,” JCA coach Jared Voss said. “He is one of our most consistent pitchers. He did good things for us last year as a freshman, so there are high expectations for him.

“In a single-elimination tournament like this, there are bound to be nerves, but we banged a couple out early to give him a cushion. He did do a great job of getting out of the first inning, though.”

In the top of the first, Wilmington’s Ryan Banas led off the game with a double to center. An out later, Dom Dingillo was hit by a pitch, but Gimbel got out of the inning by inducing a popup to second and fielder’s choice to short to end the threat and set up the fireworks in the bottom half by Radicevich and Swiderski.

In the bottom of the third, Radicevich walked with one out and stole second. It looked like he was picked off second, but the throw to third was wide and Radicevich slid in safely. An out later, Ryan Louthan walked, and courtesy runner Dom Coda stole second. Ascencio then slapped a 1-2 pitch up the middle to score both Radicevich and Coda. A single by Brennan Luz with Ascencio running moved Ascencio to third, and Luz promptly stole second. Kemp followed with a single through the middle to score both runners for a 7-0 lead. Danny O’Brien followed with a bunt single, and Aiden Voss singled to left to score Kemp for an 8-0 advantage.

“We got some big two-out hits by Ascencio and Kemp,” Jared Voss said. “They were both with two strikes, too. We got our bunts down, we made the defensive plays. We did all the little things that add up.”

Wilmington got on the board in the fourth with a two-out rally of its own. Lucas Rink and Friddle were each hit by a pitch, and courtesy runner Ryder Meents came around to score on a single by Tim Mills, who had two of the Wildcats’ four hits. Mills led off the top of the seventh with a double, and scored ahead of Banas, who had reached on an error, on a two-run double by Nolan Rickmon.

“Our guys didn’t quit,” Wilmington coach Mike Bushnell said. “It’s been like that all year. Our first two games of the year, we were down big to both Pontiac and Morris and came back to win those games. I can’t thank our seniors enough. They have had a [crummy] career, really. They had their freshman season, then the COVID year, then the accelerated season of last year, so this was really their only varsity season. But they laid the foundation of what is going to be an exciting few years for us coming up.

“We threw two freshmen [Kyle Farrell and Rink] today, and they did a good job. And our shortstop [Cade McCubbins] is a sophomore. We had some juniors that got some good playing time this year, too. The future is bright.”

JCA is scheduled to play the winner of Friday’s Seneca versus Reed-Custer game in the regional championship Saturday.