Crystal Lake Central celebrates 1st baseball state title in school history

CRYSTAL LAKE – Crystal Lake Central first baseman-pitcher Tommy Korn was late for his own graduation party, although he had the best excused tardy ever.

Korn was at the Central Fieldhouse with his teammates and coaches doing some celebrating of another kind, as the Tigers got together with their fans Sunday to recognize the first baseball state championship in school history.

The Tigers defeated Lemont 3-2 on Saturday at Joliet’s Duly Health and Care Field to win the Class 3A Baseball State Tournament crown. The team was honored at noon Sunday, as fans cheered and took pictures of the monumental achievement.

Central fans just got done celebrating the girls soccer team’s Class 2A state championship last weekend.

“My dad [Chuck] is over there,” Korn said when he got to the microphone. “My mom’s setting up for my graduation party that started a half hour ago.”

The Tigers’ magical state run was unexpected. They were 9-14 when they started a 13-game winning streak May 6 with a 3-2 walk-off win over Prairie Ridge.

Although Central players believed they had it in them, it was still a surprise. Center fielder Drew Welder had senior trip to Arizona planned with 15 seniors. He left Saturday night, a few days later, after the Tigers won the championship.

Central Principal Eric Ernd, athletic director Dave Shutters, Tigers coach Cal Aldridge and five senior players spoke at the celebration. Welder sent a video he made at 3 a.m. Sunday after arriving in Arizona with his friends.

Aldridge, 27, called his team “the most insane group of guys” he has ever been around.

“It was around April 22. We were 7-14 or something like that, and I was not sure where we were headed,” Aldridge said. “I sent a message out to our seniors and some juniors and our coaching staff asking them what they thought our legacy was for Crystal Lake Central baseball. Where we were headed. Where we knew we could get.

“The feedback I got was outstanding. From that moment, we just took off. We’re gritty, we’re tough, we never give up. We just had fun playing the game.”

The Tigers were seeded 10th in the Grayslake Central Sectional after tying for fifth place in the Fox Valley Conference at 9-9. None of that mattered Saturday as they hoisted the trophy for being the best in the state.

Aldridge shared a funny moment from late March when his son, Cal Jr., was born. Outfielder Carter Kelley asked if he could hold the coach’s baby, and Aldridge answered, “If we win the state title.”

There are pictures from Saturday of Kelley holding Cal Jr., who is wearing his dad’s state medal.

Shortstop Jaden Obaldo said the Tigers never lost faith in what was possible.

“At the beginning of the season, we had the mindset that we were going to get to Joliet,” he said. “We hit a little bit of a rough patch in the middle, but we never got away from that mentality that we were going to take this to Joliet.”

Aldridge’s favorite word to describe his team is gritty. Korn and right fielder/pitcher Connor Gibour personified that.

Gibour suffered a dislocated left shoulder in Friday’s 5-2 win over Morris, but was back in the lineup at DH on Saturday, when he hit a triple from his cleanup spot.

Korn, who last pitched May 11 because of shoulder soreness, rebounded just in time to step in as closer when Gibour got hurt. He got saves in both the semifinal and championship, his first appearances in almost a month.

Aldridge also got to take the ride with his father, Jeff, who retired as Central’s AD in December, and who coached the Tigers from 2000 though 2008. Gary Aldridge, Jeff’s father, coached Central in 1999.

Welder, Korn, Obaldo, Sean Kempf and Joey Marco often refer to Cal and Jeff Aldridge as “Little Aldridge” and “Big Aldridge.” Jeff’s role on his son’s team was to provide positivity, at which he thrived.

“Big Aldridge knows how to hype us up,” Korn said. “He knows what to say and when to say it.”

Ernd, who retires in two weeks, was thrilled last year when Cal Aldridge applied for the baseball coaching job. Aldridge played on Prairie Ridge’s Class 4A fourth-place team in 2014 and was an NCAA Division III All-American at Wisconsin-Whitewater.

“When we hired him, we knew he was a winner who would bring a winning culture,” Ernd said. “We just didn’t know he’d bring us a state title in his first year as head coach.”