Class 4A baseball: Providence tops Conant for record sixth state championship

JOLIET — There’s a new king of the hill in Illinois baseball.

Providence won its state record sixth title Saturday, defeating Conant 4-1 in the Class 4A championship game at Duly Health and Care Field.

The win breaks a tie with Edwardsville and Joliet Catholic, who both have five titles.

The Celtics (33-8) took advantage of a couple of Conant errors, got a timely two-out, two-run single by Nate O’Donnell in the fourth inning and a stellar performance on the mound from Kasten Goebbert to earn the title, their first since 2016.

Goebbert allowed just three hits in six-plus innings, getting relief help from O’Donnell in the seventh after allowing a solo homer to Conant’s Matt Maize to lead off the bottom of the inning. O’Donnell retired the only three batters he faced to record the save. Goebbert struck out four and walked one, keeping the Cougar hitters off-balance the whole game.

Goebbert, a junior transfer from Lockport, didn’t even know until Saturday morning that he would be starting the state championship game.

“I didn’t find out until this morning when we met for batting practice that I would be the starter today,” Goebbert said. “I’m actually kind of glad they didn’t tell me until today. I probably wouldn’t have been able to sleep last night.

“I was able to locate my fastball for first-pitch strikes pretty much all game. That’s what worked best for me. I was locating my pitches well and the defense played great. As big as this park is, with the wind blowing in, I figured I would just let them hit it and let my defense go get it. I have a lot of confidence in our defense that they will make the plays.”

Conant (30-8) made a couple of errors early and they both led to Providence runs. The Celtics left the bases loaded in the top of the first, but broke through in the second. Blake Jenner led off with a walk before courtesy runner Mike Sanfratello was sacrificed to second by Mitch Voltz. Enzo Infelise (2 for 4) grounded to third, but the throw went awry and allowed Sanfratello to score for a 1-0 Providence lead.

After a scoreless third, the Celtics added some insurance runs in the fourth. Jenner again led off with a walk, but Sanfratello was picked off of first. An out later, Voltz singled and Infelise followed suit to put runners on first and second. A popup by Jackson Smith was dropped by the Conant second baseman, allowing Voltz to score, before O’Donnell drovein both Infelise and Smith with a single for a 4-0 lead.

“It feels great to win the title,” O’Donnell said. “That was our goal at the beginning of the year, and we accomplished it. We didn’t hit great in the playoffs, but we got great pitching and we played great defense.

“I was warming up in the bullpen in the fourth inning, so I didn’t really see a lot of what happened. When it was close to my turn at bat, I came into the dugout, got up to bat and tried to be loose. He hung a curve on the first pitch and I was able to put a good swing on it. It was definitely a moment to live for.”

It was a bit of an up and down season for the Celtics, but it certainly ended on the highest of notes.

“It wasn’t always pretty, but I am so proud of how these kids battled and fought,” Providence coach Mark Smith said. “Our pitching in the postseason was just amazing. I think the scores against us were 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, and 1. We didn’t hit great because we saw a lot of great pitching, but our pitching and defense kept us in the game and we got the timely hits when we needed them.

“We wanted our guys to enjoy their final seven innings together, just to take a deep breath and enjoy the moment. We had great energy on the bench and I told the kids to be relaxed and loose, play hard and have no regrets.”

Smith also had high praise for Goebbert, as well as the multitude of players that came before him.

“We knew of him when he transferred in,” Smith said. “He hadn’t played high school baseball before this year, but he played travel with some of the guys on our team. I just can’t say enough about him. He’s a funny, goofy kid and he is relaxed and composed. He was out there smiling on the mound in the sixth inning.

“A lot of people came before us that built this program, starting with Mr. [Tom] Dedin, the program’s first coach. From him to everyone who has played for this program to the parents and alumni that have supported us. We have one goal ever year, and that’s to win our last game. Seeing these kids accomplish that, especially the seniors that have worked their tails off for four years, it something special.”