Lemont’s Shea Glotzbach might want to forget this game, but he will always remember it.
The senior third baseman went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts at the plate Thursday. He also made two straight errors in the field and then gave up a run during the only inning that he pitched.
And he still was the difference-maker.
“He’s one of our best players on our team for a reason,” Lemont coach Brian Storako said of Glotzbach. “He didn’t have a great day at the plate. We all know that. We all saw that.
“But he found a way to make a difference. That’s all we ask those kids to do. It they don’t have their best day, they have to find a way to make a difference.”
On two of those strikeouts, Glotzbach reached on dropped third strikes and scored both times as Lemont survived for a 7-6 win over Oak Forest in a Class 3A St. Laurence semifinal in Burbank.
Glotzbach, a Missouri-St. Louis recruit, earned the save by pitching out of a jam in the seventh inning for Lemont (29-7-1), which plays at 11 a.m. Saturday for the sectional title against St. Laurence (33-5), which beat St. Rita 5-0 in the other semifinal on 12 strikeouts by Jimmy Benson and two hits, two runs and two RBIs from Cory Les.
Jacob Parr added two hits and three RBIs for Lemont, while Brett Tucker doubled home a pair of runs in the first inning. Nick Reno picked up the pitching win, allowing two runs in five innings.
Kevin Sullivan had three hits for Oak Forest (23-14-1). Vince Webber drove in two runs.
Even with everything he went through, Glotzbach was happy about Thursday’s win. Lemont finished second in the state last spring in Class 3A and was focused on taking another step.
“It’s about doing anything to win,” Glotzbach said. “It’s all about winning. It’s not about stat padding or anything like that. Me striking out and getting on base — that’s all I can do.
“I can’t go back and retry, so I have to take my opportunities and make the most out of them.”
While Glotzbach was grinding out his unique game, teammate Matthew Devoy pitched an unconventional sixth inning.
Devoy, who is also going to Missouri-St. Louis, entered with no outs and two runners on. He struck out the first two batters he faced, hit the next, walked two more and struck out the final batter.
“I executed against the first two hitters,” Devoy said. “But there was one call that did not go my way and I didn’t take it the right way.
“I started to aim my pitches. I short-armed the ball and walked a lot of guys, but I’m just happy that my teammates had my back.”
Devoy was impressed with how Glotzbach was able to bounce back from all of the adversity and pin down the victory for Lemont.
“I really knew Shea was going to get it done,” Devoy said of Glotzbach. “He didn’t allow any of the mistakes he made in the entire game affect him on the mound.
“He’s always been a stone-cold guy.”
Glotzbach’s confidence was tested in the fifth inning when he was charged with back-to-back errors. On the next play, he fired a high throw that the 6-foot-5 Parr brought down at first base before a collision with an Oak Forest runner.
“They were just messed up plays and reading the ball wrong,” Glotzbach said. “I was trying to do too much and was thinking too much.
“I know myself and I know I’ve been there before, so I knew I could come back and do better.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
