Lemont’s Matthew Ciesla didn’t have to wait long for his chance at redemption.
Ciesla, a senior catcher and North Central College recruit, was at the center of a mistake-filled third inning that led to Lincoln-Way West scoring three runs to tie Saturday’s game.
During one rundown sequence, Ciesla missed a tag at the plate and then fired a ball into center field while trying to throw out another runner at second base.
“You kind of want to crawl into a hole at that point, but I knew I had to keep my head up the whole time, keep going, keep fighting through it and deliver a big hit for my team,” Ciesla said. “When I got my chance to get those runs back, I was fired up.”
Ciesla made up for it right away. In the bottom of the third inning, he came through with an RBI single to put host Lemont ahead for good on its way to a 10-3 win over the Warriors.
On top of that, Ciesla also drew a bases-loaded walk for a second RBI and had a leadoff double to spark a two-run second inning for Lemont (22-3), which won its 13th straight game.
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South Suburban College commit Grady Garofalo added an RBI triple and scored twice, while Zane Schneider went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. Southwestern Illinois recruit Cannon Madej (5-1) struck out 10 over six innings, didn’t issue a walk and also didn’t allow an earned run.
“I’ve been working my butt off and it’s all starting to click,” Madej said. “Every year in high school, I’ve gotten hurt. I’ve been doing everything I can to stay healthy this year, and it’s showing in my results.”
Quentin Lange went 2-for-3 for Lincoln-Way West (18-6), while Jackson Mansker and Notre Dame recruit Michael Petit each produced a single and scored a run.
Ciesla, meanwhile, quelled the Warriors’ momentum with his big RBI single up the middle in the third.
“I knew I made that costly error and didn’t want it to cost my team the game,” Ciesla said. “I got to come up with runners in scoring position the next inning and I wanted to put us in position to win.
“That’s what I tried to do. I was really amped up for that at-bat.”
Lemont coach Brian Storako appreciated Ciesla’s ability to bounce back quickly.
“He was just trying to do too much, trying to make a play and you can never get mad at a kid for that,” Storako said. “Then he settled down. We always talk about separating what happens on the field from your offense. He did a great job of doing that, refocusing and getting a big hit for us.”
Ciesla is now hitting .377 with 19 RBIs.
Storako is never surprised to see Ciesla demonstrate toughness, either. He has the grit you would expect from a lifelong catcher who also played receiver for Lemont’s football team.
“Football really helped me with my competitiveness and it helped me learn more about being on a team and working all together with my teammates,” Ciesla said. “Catching, I’ve been doing that since probably 10U and I love it.”
Ciesla’s older brother, Michael, was also a catcher for Lemont who went on to play at Quincy University and Carthage.
“I’ve basically been following in his footsteps,” Ciesla said. “He played college baseball and now I’m going to play college baseball. That’s been a goal for a long time.”
And he’s going to do it at his favorite position.
“I like seeing the whole field and kind of being the captain of the field,” Ciesla said. “I’m in on every play so that’s very fun for me.
“I know many people don’t like catching, but I really enjoy it.”
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