St. Laurence's Cory Les takes on Marist's Aidan Flinn, an Illinois recruit. And his friend. ‘Love the challenge.'

Chicago Tribune

04-04-2025

St. Laurence's Cory Les goes way back with Marist pitcher Aidan Flinn. The two were teammates growing up.
Les was excited for the chance to face his old friend Thursday. Flinn is an Illinois recruit who is attracting the attention of MLB scouts.
Les, who is committed to Louisville, welcomed the showdown.
'I love it,' he said. 'For me, I actually get more calm when I see someone like that. We talk about it all the time. We say, 'Bring it on.' I love the challenge. I want to face guys like that.
'I want to prove that I can do my thing.'
Les proved plenty. The junior outfielder homered, doubled, drove in three runs and scored three times as host St. Laurence rolled to a 13-3 six-inning win over Marist in Burbank.
Adrian Perez went 2-for-4 with four RBIs and a run for the Vikings (5-3). Wisconsin-Stout recruit Connor Marino finished 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, Danny Donovan was 2-for-4 with two RBIS and a run and Lake Land commit Jonathan Medina Jr. added two hits, two runs and an RBI.
Samuel Chin pitched five innings, allowing two earned runs while striking out eight to earn the win.
North Central College recruit Evan Smith and Tommy Hosty each contributed an RBI double to lead Marist (4-4).
Les, who hit a solo home run on the first pitch he saw from Flinn in the first inning, delivered a bigger blow in the fifth. Down 3-1, St. Laurence rallied for five runs. Les drove in two with a double down the left-field line.
It's exactly the type of production St. Laurence coach Pete Lotus expects from Les.
'I thought those were two great examples of different at-bats,' Lotus said. 'The home run on the first pitch and then the hit with the bases loaded where he gets down two strikes, kind of hangs around and then puts a good swing on the ball to the opposite field.
'Any time a hitter can use both sides of the field, they have a really good chance to be successful. I love what Cory is doing at the plate.'
Les said he's known Flinn since he was 7 years old.
'When I was young and played up in age, I played on a travel team with him,' Les said. 'When I switched to playing at my age level, we kind of separated. But I've known him for almost 10 years.
'I faced him last year. I knew what to expect.'
Perez, who hit in the cleanup spot Thursday with Les ahead of him as the No. 3 hitter, knows what to expect any time Les comes to the plate.
'It's a pleasure to hit behind someone like Cory,' Perez said. 'I know he's going to get the job done. It's hard to come up after him and try to do what he can do, but it's fun.
'I feel like maybe the other teams don't see me as much, so hitting behind him, maybe I'll see some good pitches and I can do what I do.'
Perez came through with a pair of two-run singles as the Vikings broke things open, scoring seven times in the sixth inning following the five-run fifth.
Les hit in the middle of the lineup for the Vikings last season, but as a sophomore on a team with a ton of senior leaders — including his brother, Evan — there was less pressure on him.
Now, he knows it's his time to guide the team.
'Those were some big role models for our team that we lost, but this is something I was looking forward to,' Les said. 'I know it's going to be my turn to step up and I've got to fill those shoes the way that I fill them.
'I'm not going to be the same as those guys, but I'm going to do my thing and we're going to win.'