JCA Baseball Wins State Championship

Touching All the Bases: Nick Dalesandro was throwing smoke. The defense behind him was spectacular. And he used his bat to play a little small-ball in Joliet Catholic Academy’s 5-0 victory over Wheaton St. Francis in the championship game of the Class 3A state baseball tournament Saturday at Silver Cross Field.

Dalesandro dropped a bunt down in front of home plate in the bottom of the fourth inning with runners on first and second and nobody out. He eluded the tag of Wheaton St. Francis’ Brett Jungles as he raced out of the batter’s box and up the first base line. Jungles’ harried throw sailed down the right field line.

And the error opened the floodgates for JCA.

The Hilltoppers sent 10 batters to the plate and scored all five of their runs in the inning, taking advantage of two Wheaton St. Francis errors and while also turning a tough-luck call into a run-scoring triple off the bat of designated hitter John Kalisik.

He tossed his bat behind him and headed toward first base after taking a fastball on a 3-1 count. The pitch was called a strike. He picked up his bat and struck right bat as JCA won its first IHSA baseball state championship since 2009.

Patch’s MVP: Nick Dalesandro, sophomore, pitcher, Joliet Catholic Academy. He threw a seven-hit shutout and struck out nine, including the last three batters he faced to finish in style. His fastball was clocked at 87-mph in the early going.

Did You Know? JCA’s Zach Jackovich made a diving catch in shallow center field in the top of the third to end a Wheaton St. Francis threat and prevent the Spartans from jumping on top.

And Did You Know? JCA’s Chris Tschida made a running, over-the-shoulder grab of a ball that looked like it might drop down near the foul in shallow left field. His catch kept Wheaton St. Francis from moving a runner up following a leadoff double in the top of the fourth.

And Did You Know? Wheaton St. Francis finished with 10 runners left on base.

JCA Leaders: Aaron Markley (2-for-3, 1 run scored), John Kalisik (1-for-3, triple, 1 RBI), Mitch Boe (1-for-4), Alex Voitik (0-for-3, 1 RBI).

Wheaton St. Francis Leaders: Brett Jungles (2-for-3, 2 doubles), Tim Zettinger (2-for-3).

Quotable I: “I knew I had to move the runners over,” JCA’s Nick Dalesandro said of fourth-inning at-bat. “He (JCA coach Jared Voss) told me to get to the first base side. The guy (Jungles) missed me. I ran as hard as I could. And, like they always say, when you’re running hard, you never know what could happen.”

Quotable II: “Look at Nick even in that seventh inning,” JCA coach Jared Voss said. “It was nice to have a five-run lead. But he was going to finish that game and some pretty cool fashion, too, striking out some guys.”

Quotable III: “We practice those all the time,” JCA shortstop Chris Tschida said of his over-the-shoulder grab in the fourth. “Honestly, it felt like it was football. I’ve got to play wide receiver. Drop the shoulder and run for the ball. And that’s what I did.”

Quotable IV: “It was a high fastball, a little above my letters,” said JCA designated hitter of the 3-1 pitch he took in the bottom of the fourth. “I thought it was a ball. It was called a strike. So, I got back in there and he paid the price. He probably would have wished it was a ball. I hit a fastball on the outside corner. I just did what we work on in practice all the time—I went the other way with the pitch. And I hit it hard.”

Team Records: JCA finishes 25-14. Wheaton St. Francis finishes 25-12.

History Lesson: JCA has made six IHSA state tournament appearances under coach Jared Voss. He boosted his 15-year career coaching record to 385-166-1. The Hilltoppers last won an IHSA baseball state championship in 2009.

Home Cooking: “I was saying to my coaches, ‘This is our home field, our home stands with all the supporters from Joliet who came out here,” JCA coach Jared Voss said. “It was awesome. It was loud.”

Turnaround: JCA started 1-3 and went 8-8 in East Suburban Catholic Conference play. The Hilltoppers heated up down the stretch, winning nine of 10 and seven in a row in postseason play. They outscored their opponents 45-4 during the scintillating stretch.