Cullen Winters is on a quest to win two rings during his junior year at Mount Carmel.
Winters was a key defensive back in football as the Caravan won the Class 8A title in the fall. Now, thanks in large part to the outfielder’s postseason heroics, the baseball team is knocking on the door to follow suit.
“Winning it in two sports in one year would be pretty cool,” Winters said. “I have the experience from football to help me, and hopefully we can get it done in baseball now, too.”
Winters made sure the Caravan will have that chance.
He produced the go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning Monday night as Mount Carmel held on for a 6-3 win over Sandburg in the Class 4A Crestwood Supersectional at Ozinga Field.
Triton commit Logan Fernandez delivered a two-run double for the Caravan (30-10), while Georgetown recruit Brady Holland finished with a double, a run and an RBI and Cowley commit Jonathan Osornio added a pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth.
Lewis recruit Jake Matise worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh to force extra innings and then finished things in the eighth to earn the win for Mount Carmel, which will play at 7 p.m. Friday at Slammers Stadium in Joliet in a state semifinal against the winner of Tuesday’s Schaumburg Supersectional between Lane Tech (33-6) and Libertyville (28-10-1).
“I just needed to get my team out of that to keep us in the game,” Matise said of the seventh. “I had to get us out of that jam, any way possible. I don’t know if you saw the radar gun, but I was throwing like 65 mph there, just to get it over the plate.
“The way to get someone out was just to let them hit it.”
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Sandburg (23-13), which also got a two-run homer from Roosevelt recruit Giovanni Longo, tied the game 3-3 in the seventh when Nick Seaman singled and scored on a sacrifice fly from Benedictine commit Lucas Rosas.
The Eagles then had the bases loaded with two outs before Matise induced a flyout on a 3-2 pitch.
That set the stage for Winters, who ripped a single up the middle to drive in the go-ahead run.
“I knew I had to put the ball in play,” Winters said. “I just found a hole. It was a pretty big moment. Then Johnny (Osornio) came through after that. It was awesome.”
Winters also went 5-for-9 with three RBIs over two games at the Brother Rice Sectional.
“This playoff run, Cullen’s been clutch hitting and in the field,” Matise said. “He made that catch on the 3-2 count in the seventh inning. He’s making catches in the rain in the eighth. People lose it in the lights without the rain to worry about.
“He’s been spectacular this postseason, and we’re going to need him for two more games if we want to win the state championship.”
Mount Carmel coach Brian Hurry was excited to have Winters on the team after seeing what he could do on the football field.
“Cullen is a fierce competitor,” Hurry said. “I kind of learned that about him during the football season. I go to all the games.
“When I saw him play football, I was like, ‘I’m glad he plays baseball.’ Because he’s got the mentality. He’s confident, he’s poised and he’s not afraid to compete. I kind of figured that would carry over to baseball.”
It has, especially in the postseason.
“I did some extra hitting the Sunday before the St. Laurence game and got my confidence up,” Winters said. “The first pitch I saw that game, I hit a double.
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“That started the hot streak. Now, I’ve just got to keep it going.”