Joliet Catholic’s Tommy Kemp is already the rare high school athlete.
He has gotten to experience winning state championships in two different sports, being a part of title-winning teams in both baseball and football for the Hilltoppers.
The senior infielder is chasing after one more championship, and he’s trying to enjoy every moment along the way.
“It’s been a blast,” Kemp said. “You love winning state championships, but it’s all about the journey to get there. It wouldn’t be as fun if I didn’t have the great journeys that I’ve had the last two years.
“I’m trying to focus on the journey there, having fun while hopefully getting to that state championship game. And ultimately, the goal is to win that state championship.”
Kemp helped make sure the journey would continue Monday, reaching base in all four of his trips to the plate and scoring four times as the Hilltoppers responded resoundingly to an early deficit by rolling to a 14-4 win over Spring Valley Hall in the Class 2A Geneseo Supersectional.
Louisville recruit Trey Swiderski had a triple, a double, three RBIs and two runs for Joliet Catholic (24-8-1), while Jake Troyner added three RBIs and Zach Pomatto went 3-for-3 with two doubles. Nate Ciemny struck out eight and threw four shutout innings out of the bullpen to earn the win.
The defending state champion Hilltoppers will take on Quincy Notre Dame (35-1) — a 13-1 winner over Bloomington Central Catholic — at 5 p.m. Friday in a state semifinal at Dozer Park in Peoria.
Spring Valley Hall (23-9) scored three times in the first inning and led 4-1 after the top of the second, but Kemp helped lead the Hilltoppers back with leadoff singles in the first and third innings.
Kemp recently moved to the leadoff spot, where he tries not to put too much pressure on himself.
“It’s a pretty new thing,” he said. “I just started leading off in the regional championship game. I’ve found out that leading off is really just about being confident, being comfortable and just staying relaxed up there.
“You realize it’s going to set the tone, but you also have to realize that what you to do to start the game isn’t going to define what happens the rest of the game.”
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Joliet Catholic coach Jared Voss juggled the lineup a bit when Swiderski was out with an injury late in the regular season. When Swiderski returned, he decided to put Kemp and Swiderski at the top.
“If the lineup rolls over an extra time, who would you want to see get those extra at-bats in the seventh inning?” Voss said. “Tommy and Trey. Those guys have done great there.”
Swiderski enjoys hitting behind Kemp.
“When he gets on base every at-bat and you know you can hit him in, you get that confidence when he gets on,” Swiderski said. “It’s perfect.”
Ciemny, meanwhile, came in with two runners on and no outs in the second inning, with Spring Valley Hall looking to add to a 3-1 lead.
He immediately got a double-play grounder, escaped by allowing just one run and then dominated the rest of the way.
“I like starting sometimes because you know exactly when you’re pitching, but I also like coming into situations like that with people on base and getting out of the inning,” Ciemny said. “It’s really satisfying getting out of situations like that.”
It was the first time Joliet Catholic trailed this postseason.
Kemp, however, confirmed that’s where his two-sport experience came in handy.
“Especially this year, football’s helped a lot,” Kemp said. “There were quite a few games, like the Providence regular-season game, where we were down and came back to win.
“So, dealing with that adversity in football, I’ve felt this before so that helped me know that we could come back and win this game.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.