DePaul Prep Beats Leo and Improves to 13-0.

[Preview of next week’s piece in the Inside—Booster.]

By Jack Lydon

DePaul Prep is on a roll. “The boys are just humming right now. 13-0. The guys are putting good games together. Good practices. It's all coming together,” said Charlie “Chuck” Pribyl, DePaul Prep senior third baseman after the Rams 10-0 victory over Leo at Kroc Field on the far Southside.

And it came on a combined no-hitter by five DePaul Prep pitchers, Owen Rog, Garen Gutzmer, Noah Liss, Gavin Variano and Connor Egan. This is the best start to a varsity baseball season in the 11 years of DePaul Prep and is also believed to be the best start to any season in the Gordon Tech era as well.

There has also plenty of offense to go with solid pitching for the Rams on this historic streak. Pribyl lead off the scoring for the Rams in the top of the second with a two-run homerun to right center. It was the second two-run homerun for Pribyl in as many games. Chuck had a two-run walkoff homerun in Monday’s extra-inning 7-5 win over Amundsen at Kerry Wood Field.

“I think we just have a lot of fun right now. We know each other very well. So I think it’s coming together. It’s just flowing nicely right now,” Pribyl continued.

Freshman Nolan Hecht followed up Pribyl’s shot with a towering two-run homerun to right field of his own in the top of the fourth giving the Rams a 7-0 lead and putting the game out of reach.

Of the gaudy 13-0 start to the season, DePaul Prep head baseball coach and assistant athletic director Sam Colon put on a huge grin saying, “I don't really have any words to describe it. It's a really fun group.”

“These guys have put in a ton of work to prepare themselves for the season. I think a lot of the hard work is definitely showing now. It's high school baseball. We're gonna catch a loss at some point. So I think it's a little special group. It's fun.”

This historic start for the Rams is just that—a start. The Rams now head into the meat of their schedule with upcoming games against Chicago Catholic League Blue Division rivals including perennial powerhouse teams, Brother Rice, Mount Carmel, Loyola and Providence Catholic, not to mention St. Rita, St. Laurence and DeLaSalle.

“It doesn't worry me. We’re well prepared, well coached and I think we can attack anything that comes our way,” Pribyl said of the approaching tough stretch in the schedule.

Skipper Colon was a little more circumspect when it came to the 13-0 record and upcoming conference play. “It's ok. [The players] know. We talk about it as a team. None of this matters unless you're the last one standing at the end. These wins are great and all but come [the playoffs] is when we want to rattle off seven in a row. That’s what matters most.”

The sports programs at DePaul Prep has achieved remarkable success after its transformation from Gordon Tech in 2014. The basketball team has won three straight state championships in basketball. The football team won a state championship in the fall. The girls’ volleyball team took fourth in the state in the fall. As a well as the state finals appearances of boys’ and girls’ cross country teams in the last couple years.

“It's a testament to the coaches and the kids and everybody. It takes a village to have continued success this way across the board. Our school community, our strength room and Coach [Alex] Nadolna,” Sam Colon said of the school’s successes in athletics of late.

“I have learned something different every time I go along on the ride [to a state tournament]. I've definitely taken a little bit from Coach Baum. I've taking a little bit from Coach [Passarella]. I've taken a little bit from the Coach Gajzler. How can we implement it? Obviously, they have had success. We've had success. How can we continue to find success in different ways and continue to evolve. So it's been fun. It's been fun to learn.

DePaul Prep Baseball is Going to State; 13-3 Victory over Byron

The DePaul Prep Rams (23-14, 8-8) landed in Rockford for the IHSA 2A baseball super-sectional against the Byron Tigers. The convincing 13-3 win sends the Rams to the State Finals in Peoria this coming weekend.

Before, during and after the game, the Rams were loose. Didn’t seem like a super-sectional. Just like another game. Just fun to play baseball. Not so much for Sam Colon, the Rams’ first-year manager. His normal easy going demeanor seemed a bit more focused, serious, businesslike.

And land on the Byron Tigers the Rams did with four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Byron rallied with three in the top of the second. That’s about as good as they had. The Rams just put it on them after that. Three in the bottom of the second. Another in the fourth. Three more in the fifth and two in the bottom of the sixth for a walk off ten run slaughter rule victory.

Senior pitcher, the always focused and businesslike Robert Rivera pitched well. Rivera struggled in the top of the second. A balk with nobody out and men on first and third scored the Tigers’ A. Lorenz from third.

“I just thought shake it off. Being the pitcher on the mound, you’re the leader. I have hold my composure and show everyone it’s not going to phase me. Even letting in those three runs, I knew I could fight back,” Rams’ pitcher Robert Rivera said.

“I changed up my mechanics. I went to stay closed longer. I started leaning more toward the plate. It helped me control my curveball. It really upped my [velocity] on my fastball too.”

The three runs in the top of the second were the only runs he would allow.

At bat, the whole team contributed--total team victory. Michigan commit and the fastest man on the field, AJ Garcia had a hit, a stolen base and two walks scoring three runs. Vance Kurakowa had a hit and run scored. Catcher Oliver Vigerust was hit by a pitch, had a hit and a base-on-balls. First baseman Kevin O’Connor had a huge game with three hits, two RBI’s and a walk. Griffin Horne had a hit and scored two runs. Beni Espinosa had three hits, four RBI’s, scored two runs and a walk. Third baseman Cameron Klein three hits and an RBI. Carter Levine two hits and three RBI’s, not to mention a spectacular diving catch in right field. Addison Latko had two hits, including a legged out triple and gapper in right center, and scored a run, but no homeruns today.

As hurtful as the super-sectional loss to Byron by the DePaul Prep womens’ basketball team was in March, this emotional super-sectional victory for the Rams took some of the sting out of it.

“I told Sarah [Zarymbski, girls basketball coach and 2014 Gordon Tech classmate of the Sam Colon] that we would get some revenge for her,” Rams head coach Sam Colon said after the game.   

“This team has got all the talent in the world. It’s a matter of can you put it all together in a year. Our first goal was to win the [Chicago Catholic] League [White]; we put ourselves in a position to get there. We didn’t get there. The next goal was to get a second season. The expectation was to get to Peoria. Now it’s to win it.”

It’s third trip to State for the Rams so far this year. Mitch Baum’s boys’ cross-country team won a state title in November. Tom Kleinschmidt’s boys’ basketball team won the 2A basketball state title in March. Now it’s Sammy’s turn.

The Rams will face the Columbia High School Eagles (30-4), from south of St. Louis, at the Peoria Chiefs’ stadium, Dozer Park, on Friday at 3:00 p.m. The other state semi-final will feature Joliet Catholic v. Quincy Notre Dame. The Championship game will be Saturday at 5:30.

DePaul Prep Defeats St. Ignatius 6-2

The DePaul Prep Rams defeated the St. Ignatius Wolfpack 6-2 at the brand new baseball field at Rice Park in a Chicago Catholic League showdown.

“We’ve been talking about it the last two weeks. We’ve got to produce with runners in scoring position. We have struggled a little bit with that,” said Rams’ manager Sam Colon.

Up 3-0 in the top of the fourth, with two down and two strikes on him, freshman catcher and left fielder Addison Latko rifled a shot between third base and the third baseman. Oliver Vigerust, Kevin O’Connor and AJ Garcia came around to score putting the Rams up 6-0.

“That was big time for the freshman for sure,” continued Colon.

DePaul’s senior pitcher Dylan Kaminski (3-0) continued his dominance only giving up two hits and no runs through five innings. However, with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, up by six runs, Kaminski found a little trouble.

Kaminski gave up a sharpe single to center, then a walk, then another single on a ground ball to left. A throwing error allowed a run in, then another run scored when no one covered home on the throwing error.

That was that. The next batter popped up and the inning was over with two Wolves left on base.

Dylan set down the next Wolves from the Pack in order in the bottom of the seventh for a complete game Rams’ victory.

Rams move on to face Harvest Christian tomorrow and then start an important two game set against Montini.