By Randy Whalen

It's easy to look at the results of the last week of the regular season and say the Joliet West baseball team is on a roll heading into the postseason.

The Tigers are playing good ball and look to keep it up as the Illinois High School Association playoffs open.

But don't count out Joliet Central. The Steelmen have nearly doubled their win total from last year. 

"Joliet Central is well coached," Joliet West coach John Karczewski said. "Miguel (Silva) does a nice job. Anytime you come here, you have to be ready to play."

When Joliet West traveled to face the Steelmen on Tuesday, May 19, in the middle of the three-game series between the two, the Tigers were ready. That showed when senior Daniel Lukancic led off the game with a home run to left field, his first round tripper of the season.

That was a great start to the Southwest Prairie Conference game, which the Tigers went on to win 14-1 in five innings. 

"It was a change-up," Lukancic said. "He had thrown me a fastball and then came high and inside with a change-up, and I knew it was gone when I hit it. It was my first-ever leadoff homerun. It set the tone, especially in a game against the crosstown rival."

It sure did as the Tigers scored six runs in the first inning. They added two in the second and also in the third, before capping it off with four more in the fourth. Lukancic had a great game at the plate, going 2-for-2, with 2 BB, 3 runs scored, and 3 RBI. He also added a double, something he's done a lot this season.

"Daniel is one of the best hitters in the game," said Karczewski of Lukancic, who finished the regular season with a .421 batting average, including 17 extra-base hits with 13 doubles. "He's got a lot of them, but this was his first home run. He's a gapper guy."

Junior Andrew Markun and senior Brayden Myers (2 hits, 2 runs) each had 2 RBI. Seniors Maddux Chiquito (4 ING, Win, 1 ER, 4 H) and Isaac Harris (1 ING, 3K) combined on the mound. 

Joliet Central received deep hit doubles from senior Gilberto Garcia (R) and junior Cam Rande. Adam Sanchez (RBI in the 3rd) and fellow senior Liam Ganzer added singles for the Steelmen, who celebrated Senior Night before the game. 

The six Steelmen seniors are David Calderon, Ganzer, Garcia, Christian Hernandez, Tyler Long, and Sanchez. 

"We are very thankful for the commitment that they have given over the last two years," Silva said of his seniors. "They have done a great job of setting the table and putting us in position to win."

Silva, in his second season, has the Steelmen much improved. After six victories a year ago, they finished the regular season at 10-25 and had a trio of SPC wins. The 10 wins, with an opportunity for more, are the most overall since they had 11 in 2019. The three conference wins are the most since they registered four in 2017. 

"We just have to start better," Silva said of the Senior Night loss. "We gave up too many free bases on balls (8). But we plan to go get our regional quarterfinal game. We're capable. We've done a good job with our approach at the plate. We're building something, and day by day we're learning how to win."

The series started on Monday, May 18, at Joliet West. There, the Tigers won 11-0in six innings. Junior Adrian Chavira with a complete game 1-hit shutout with 7 strikeouts. Lukancic had 3 hits and scored twice. Harris had 2 hits and 2 RBI; Brayden Myers and junior Keegan Schwarting each had 2 RBI. Garcia got a double for Joliet Central.

The finale happened on Thursday, May 21, at Joliet West. There, the Tigers beat Joliet Central 8-1, scoring three runs in the first and also in the fifth inning. Schwarting got the win with a complete game performance, allowing one earned run on 5 hits with a walk and 10 strikeouts. Harris led the 9-hit attack by going 4-4, with 4 runs and a pair of stolen bases. Myers managed 2 hits and 2 RBI. Senior Sean Hogan had 2 hits and an RBI. Senior Henry Young and junior Michael Murphy each added an RBI.

Garcia had an RBI double for Joliet Central to make it 4-1 in the top of the third.

The Tigers (23-10-1, 12-4) lost two of three games to Plainfield Central (19-8-1, 12-3) in a first-place SPC East showdown the week before. That prevented them from a 3-peat as conference champs. But, starting with an 11-0 win at Plainfield Central on Thursday, May 14, they won their final four games of the regular season by a combined score of 44-2.

"In our losses against Plainfield Central, we hit the ball hard, but just at someone," Karczewski said. "But our guys are close and united as a brotherhood. Heading into the postseason, it's just natural for them. They show up and leave it all on the field."

Joliet Central is the No. 15 seed in its sectional and hosts a regional quarterfinal game on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27, at 11 AM against No. 18-seeded Eishower. If the Steelmen win, they play No. 2-seeded Lincoln-Way West at 4:30 PM in the first semifinal of the Class 4A Homewood-Flossmoor Regional. The second game, under the lights at approximately 7 PM, is No. 12 Rich Township against the host Vikings.

Joliet West is the No. 4 seed in the same sectional. The Tigers open on Wednesday, May 27, at 4:00 PM against No. 13-seeded Thornton Fractional South. The second semifinal game is on Thursday, May 28, at 4:00 pm with No. 5-seeded Marist against No. 11-seeded Stagg. The regional title game is on Saturday, May 30, at 10:00 AM.

"We just have to have fun, stay relaxed, and get after it," Lukancic said. "We're a really tight-knit group of guys. We just have to get after it and go as far as we can."