First Look: Providence Falls in Baseball State Title Game

Providence Catholic’s hopes for the Class 4A state baseball championship were crushed by a hard-hitting Lyons Township squad Saturday night.

Lyons' big bats and unbeaten pitcher Connor Cuff were too much for Providence, as the Lions claimed the crown with an 8-3 victory at Silver Cross Field in Joliet.

Providence starting pitcher Brandon Magallones didn't make it out of the third inning, allowing five runs and eight hits before being relieved by Dan Wetzel.

On the other side, Cuff went the distance for Lyons, allowing just five hits and improving his varsity record to 19-0.

Providence’s Sam Travis started the scoring with a two-out solo home run to left field in the first inning.

Lyons responded with three runs in the bottom half of the first on three hits—including a two-run double by Cuff—and a Providence error.

Lyons added two runs on four hits in the third to take a 5-1 lead.

Providence’s Matt Trowbridge, who pitched a complete game in the Celtics’ 9-1 win over Prospect in Friday’s semifinal game, came into Saturday’s game in relief, with the bases loaded and no outs in the fourth. His wild pitch allowed Lyons’ sixth run to score. A sacrifice fly appeared to bring home another run, but it was ruled that the runner left third base too soon, resulting in a double play. A groundout ended the inning, with Lyons ahead 6-1.

Providence scored two runs in the sixth, as Travis delivered an RBI double and Zak Kutsulis brought in a run on a groundout, bringing the Celtics to within 6-3.

Lyons responded with two runs in the bottom of the sixth to take an 8-3 lead, and Cuff retired the Celtics in order in the seventh to close out the game.

Providence and Lyons both finished the season with a record of 37-4.

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