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Chicago Tribune
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Injured pitcher Cooper Eggert solidifies lineup at first base as Providence routs Lincoln-Way East. ‘Juiced us up.'
For a short period of time, Providence's Cooper Eggert said he felt sorry for himself. The senior pitcher was told by three doctors — including an orthopedic surgeon for the Cincinnati Reds – that he needed Tommy John surgery after injuring his elbow April 24 against Marist. 'When I found out from the third doctor that I'm going to need surgery, I went through a point in my head where I was struggling with it,' Eggert said. 'I felt bad through it.' Eggert snapped out of his sullen mood when Scott Mensik, his former coach with the Mokena Blaze, gave him some inspirational words to live by. 'He said, 'You can't look in the past and you can't do anything about it — just go out there, win another ring.'' Eggert said. That won't happen with Eggert on the mound. But after a stint as the team's designated hitter, he's now manning first base and helping the Celtics defensively and at the plate. His performance Saturday featured a bases-loaded triple in the second inning that sparked Providence to a 12-0 rout of Lincoln-Way East in the Class 4A Lincoln-Way West Sectional championship game in New Lenox. Eggert drove in four runs for Providence (27-12), which will play at 7:30 p.m. Monday against Catholic League rival Brother Rice (36-3) in the Crestwood Supersectional at Ozinga Field. 'That hit by Cooper — that was huge,' Providence coach Mark Smith said of Eggert, who has committed to SIU Edwardsville. 'It gave us a little bit of a cushion.' Cincinnati commit Enzo Infelise, Declan Kane, Dominik Alberico and Blake Jenner each had two hits. Minnesota recruit Nate O'Donnell and Alberico combined for the shutout, striking out eight. Jake Newman led Lincoln-Way East (28-11) with two hits. Senior left-hander Jack Bauer, an MLB prospect who recently decommitted from Virginia, gave up six runs in an inning-plus of action. Bauer, who made national headlines for throwing 102 mph earlier in the spring, has been on a strict pitch count this season. He threw 35 pitches in the first inning and finished with 53. 'We spent an hour taking hacks off the machine at 100 mph,' Eggert said of Friday night's practice session. 'It was hard. But the plan was to make him throw strikes. We heard about his pitch count, and if we got it up in the first inning, he would be taken out soon.' 'Bauer is special — really special,' Smith said. 'But our kids had great, competitive at-bats.' It allowed Providence to earn the 13th sectional title in program history. Eggert, meanwhile, has surgery scheduled with Timothy Kremchek, a longtime doctor for the Reds, after the playoffs on June 17. He's also prepared for a redshirt season in college. Still, Eggert said he's been enjoying his time at first base. And Smith likes having him in the lineup. 'He's had kind of a rough senior year,' Smith said of Eggert. 'He started out with a hamstring injury and missed the first couple of games. But this injury really hit this team hard. 'This is a very close-knit team. There are 20 seniors on this team out of 24. When one goes down, they all felt it, and it took us a while to get over that. When he came back, it just juiced us up a bit.' Count O'Donnell as one of the Celtics who is happy to have Eggert around. And then some. 'He's had a lot of ups and downs, and an injury like that gets in your head and can hurt your mindset,' O'Donnell said of Eggert. 'For him to come back and play first base for us is huge.'
Chicago Tribune
01-06-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Minnesota commit Nate O'Donnell stays the course as Providence routs Homewood-Flossmoor. ‘You've just got to win.'
Returning most of the team that won the 2024 Class 4A state title, Providence has dealt with large expectations all season. And perhaps no one has had more to live up to than Nate O'Donnell. O'Donnell, a senior infielder/pitcher, had a monster junior season. The 2024 Daily Southtown Baseball Player of the Year was one of the state's top hitters and a clutch big-game pitcher. That's a high bar to set for yourself, but O'Donnell has faced it just fine. 'There's a little bit of that pressure, but you can't look at it that way,' O'Donnell said. 'Obviously, you'd like to repeat the stats, but it's not really about that. You're just going out there to have fun and to compete every at-bat and every time on the mound. 'You control what you can control.' O'Donnell, a Minnesota recruit, fought through a slump or two this spring but he's having another huge season with his arm and his bat. He stepped up on the mound Saturday, allowing just two hits over five shutout innings as the Celtics rolled to a 12-0 win over Homewood-Flossmoor in the Class 4A Sandburg Regional championship game, which was played at Andrew in Tinley Park. Cincinnati commit Enzo Infelise went 3-for-3 with a two-run homer, while Parkland recruit Blake Jenner also finished 3-for-3 and scored a run for third-seeded Providence (25-12), which will take on 12th-seeded Stagg (10-27) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in a Lincoln-Way West Sectional semifinal. SIU Edwardsville commit Cooper Eggert was 2-for-2 with two doubles, two runs and an RBI, while Eddie Olszta and Michael Noonan each added two RBIs. 'We were hungry coming into this game,' Infelise said, referencing last year's 2-1 regional championship win over H-F that went eight innings. 'We barely beat them last year. 'I know they wanted us. We came out and ended up stacking hits together.' Derrick Holmes and Arthur Stamps each had a hit for ninth-seeded H-F (14-21). Both of them followed their singles with stolen-base attempts and were thrown out at second by Infelise. That helped O'Donnell face the minimum 15 batters. 'I just wanted to pound the zone, trust the defense behind me and just throw a lot of strikes,' O'Donnell said. 'I knew guys would make plays behind me.' O'Donnell improved to 4-3 with a 2.39 ERA. He also singled and scored a run, adding to his impressive offensive numbers. Last season, O'Donnell hit .441 with 43 runs, 11 homers and 55 RBIs. He's not too far behind this spring, batting .424 with 45 runs, nine homers and 38 RBIs. Providence coach Mark Smith has been impressed with how O'Donnell handles the spotlight. 'Any player that has a great sophomore year or a junior year and then comes back, it's hard to repeat that,' Smith said. 'Baseball is a hard game and when you have those monster years, maybe everything went right for you and then it's going to even out a bit the next year. 'But Nate's had one heck of a year for us again. He's been great. He's a four-year varsity player. Those four years have gone fast, and we're really going to miss him.' Infelise caught O'Donnell's bullpen session earlier in the week and was confident Saturday would be a good day. 'He threw a great pen,' Infelise said. 'He came out (Saturday) and he had his stuff. When Nate has his stuff, he's hard to hit.' Providence, on the flip side, scored four runs in the first inning and never looked back. O'Donnell said the Celtics are ready to put a so-so regular season behind them and make their push for a repeat championship. 'We had some ups and downs and some injuries that we had to work through,' he said. 'Now, it's time to lock in and just get the job done. If you lose, you're done, so you just can't lose. 'You've just got to win.'
Chicago Tribune
31-05-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Xavier recruit Luke Mensik shows he's no longer little brother as Lincoln-Way Central outduels Andrew. ‘Deserves it.'
Luke Mensik has always been the little brother in a dynamic baseball duo he's formed with his brother, Landon. Landon, who graduated last year from Lincoln-Way Central, is now playing at Xavier. Luke is set to join him there next year. For now, however, Luke is enjoying the perspective that has developed in his one season without his sibling by his side. 'It's 100% a different feeling,' Mensik said. 'I always grew up playing on Landon's teams. I was always in his shadow a little bit. I was always with his friends and stuff like that. 'I love playing with him and that's why I'm going to play with him next year, but having this year without him, it's also cool to have the spotlight to myself a little bit.' That spotlight has never shined brighter on Luke than it did Saturday. The senior right-hander was brilliant, tossing a one-hitter and striking out eight to lift the Knights to a 1-0 win over the host Thunderbolts in the Class 4A Andrew Regional championship game in Tinley Park. Luke Tingley went 3-for-3 for fourth-seeded Lincoln-Way Central (21-10). Conor McCabe singled and scored the lone run, while Toledo recruit Liam Arsich added a single and a walk. The Knights, who won their second straight regional title, will take on top-seeded Lincoln-Way East (27-10) at 4 p.m. Wednesday in a Lincoln-Way West Sectional semifinal in New Lenox. Caden Kendall threw six strong innings for fifth-seeded Andrew (25-12), striking out five and allowing only an unearned run on six hits. 'I used to work out with him a little bit,' Mensik said of Kendall. 'I'm really just happy for him to be a junior and throw that great of a game at this time of the year. He's going places. 'It's fun being in a pitching battle like that. I'm always just trying to outduel the other guy, and in the end, that's what I did.' Caden Kendall's twin brother, Nolan, had the only hit for the Thunderbolts on a bunt single. Mensik faced the minimum 21 batters. Nolan Kendall's single was followed by a double play. Andrew's only other base runner came on an error and was erased by a caught stealing. Senior catcher Cade Andrews saw Mensik in total control all day. 'It was awesome,' Andrews said. 'Everything I called, he was able to put it in the zone. When you do that, you're going to give your defense opportunities or just strike them out. He was unreal.' The Knights got the only run they would need in the fourth inning. Tingley came up with runners at first and second and two outs and produced an infield single. An error on the play allowed McCabe to come home. 'I was just sticking with my approach and trying to drive it to the opposite field,' Tingley said. 'I was just trying to do whatever I can to get the run in, do my job and help the team.' Mensik did the rest, improving to 3-2 with a 0.66 ERA. He's allowed only four runs over 42 1/3 innings. Lincoln-Way Central coach Ryan Kutt always has faith in his ace. 'Luke's been a leader for us for quite some time now,' Kutt said. 'We leaned on him last year. We even leaned on him as a sophomore. But for him to have the ability to come out there in the seventh inning, up 1-0 in a game like this and be lights out says everything about him. 'He deserves it and I'm just happy for him.' Mensik has taken that leadership role more seriously this year. And he feels his biggest improvement has been in attitude. 'In past years, I let emotions get the best of me,' Mensik said. 'This year, I just hunkered down on throwing strikes, letting my defense help me and staying even keeled the whole time instead of riding the highs and lows.'
