Baseball: Joliet Catholic poised to make 2A title defense this weekend

An attempted defense of a state title is a complicated affair at the high school level.

There’s often an extreme amount of roster turnover from year to year, leaving teams to ask for big-time step-ups from players who may have had little or nothing to do with previous title runs.

Aside from a few notable exceptions, that’s very much the scenario for Joliet Catholic (24-8-1) as it sets aim on defending its Class 2A baseball state title from a year ago, a quest that begins at 5 p.m. Friday at Dozer Park in Peoria in a semifinal matchup with Quincy Notre Dame (35-1).

The Hilltoppers steamrolled their way to a state title last season, capped by a 12-3 victory over Richmond-Burton in the title game.

And although several current Joliet Catholic players were on that roster, only four of them played a significant role in that championship run.

Tommy Kemp and Trey Swiderski are the only regular starters back from the title squad. There are several pitchers who return from last year, but only two – T.J. Schlageter and Jake Gimbel – were heavily involved in the team’s last run to Peoria. Gimbel hasn’t factored into this postseason run, however, as a injury has prevented him from throwing in the postseason after making 11 regular-season appearances.

With all that considered, the current Joliet Catholic roster, while certainly consumed with trying to bring home another big trophy, feels like it has blazed its own trail in making a return trip.

“It was something that we could hope make happen,” Kemp said of Joliet Catholic’s return trip. “Last year is in the past, and we just have to take it one game at a time.”

That one-game-at-a-time philosophy has served the Hilltoppers well and has led to an eruption of offense, as it has scored 35 runs over its past three postseason games.

Kemp has excelled since being implemented into the leadoff slot and is hitting .375 on the season, but the overall depth of the lineup has started to show. Six JCA players have scored at least 26 runs this season, with Swiderski pacing the team with 34 RBIs.

But once again, he’s not alone, as seven players have driven in at least 17 runs.

They’ve provided plenty of offensive support for a pitching staff that has been constructed differently than might have been expected at the beginning of the season. Schlageter, who has been all one would expect from a returning all-state Louisville commit, has gone 6-0 with a 1.24 ERA and 61 strikeouts.

The No. 2 spot in the rotation has been more than adequately filled by Michael Tuman in Gimbel’s absence. Tuman hit a hiccup in Monday’s win over Spring Valley Hall in the Supersectional, but Nate Ciemny turned in a spectacular effort in relief.

Schlageter will get the call against Quincy Notre Dame, but should the Hilltoppers reach the title game Saturday, Joliet Catholic coach Jared Voss knows the path to another title likely is going to be a bit different than a year ago.

“We’ll need arms, and we’ll need guys ready to go,” Voss said. “We need to be smart and put the right guys in. Last year was different. Everything was lined up the whole entire time. There wasn’t even any question. We knew exactly what we were doing. And this time, it might not be quite as smooth.”

Joliet Catholic’s semifinal opponent, Quincy Notre Dame, enters the state tournament with heavy hearts.

Shortly after the Raiders’ 5-0 victory over Gillespie in the Pleasant Plains Sectional title game, the team’s center fielder, Tucker Tollerton, was killed in a car accident. With barely any time to grieve the loss of a teammate, Quincy Notre Dame claimed a 13-1 victory over Bloomington Central Catholic to send them to state.

The Raiders enter the state finals on a 32-game winning streak, having lost only to Hersey 12-4 in Quincy Notre Dame’s fourth game of the season March 27.

They’ve outscored their five postseason opponents 31-3.

Even if the Hilltoppers do manage to defend the Class 2A state championship, they will not have a chance to make it a three-peat, at least at the Class 2A level. By qualifying for the state tournament, the IHSA’s success formula will be applied to Joliet Catholic for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, and it will compete in the Class 3A postseason for at least those two seasons.