Michael Noonan takes his role as the No. 9 hitter in Providence’s lineup pretty seriously.
While some may balk at batting ninth, the senior center fielder embraces it.
“I’ve hit there the whole season — I haven’t moved,” Noonan said. “Before every game, I’m thinking that I don’t care about my average and I don’t care about my on-base percentage.
“If I can do at least one thing productive for the team, that’s what I’m going to try to do.”
He did more than one thing Wednesday.
Noonan notched three hits, three runs and two RBIs and was a menace on the bases as the defending Class 4A state champion Celtics opened the postseason with a 15-5 six-inning win over Bloom in a Sandburg Regional semifinal in Orland Park.
He doubled in two runs with two outs in the second inning to start a nine-run outburst and also had a bunt single, but something else stood out to Noonan.
“I don’t care how I get on,” he said. “You saw it — I ran out a weak ground ball to second and I was perfectly happy with that. I’ll take it every time if I could.”
Sammy Atkinson added three hits and four runs for Providence (24-12), while Cincinnati commit Enzo Infelise chipped in with three hits and two RBIs. Eddie Olszta and Minnesota recruit Nate O’Donnell each drove in two runs.
Dan Williams tallied two hits and Kamari Dawkins drove in two runs for surging Bloom (18-13), which entered with a 10-2 record in its final 12 regular-season games.
The third-seeded Celtics will play at 3 p.m. Saturday in the regional final, which will be at Andrew, against the semifinal winner between Sandburg (21-11) and Homewood-Flossmoor (13-19).
Noonan, meanwhile, said he has played baseball almost all his life, but that’s coming to an end after this season. He plans on going to Purdue to study mechanical engineering.
“It comes down to trains, trucks or planes,” he said. “I want to do something with them. Just give me a house with a big yard and a dog and I’ll be good.”
To hear the people in Providence’s inner circle tell it, Noonan is good on the diamond too.
“He’s the nine hitter, and Sam and I are right after him, so he’s always on base and I know he’s fast,” Infelise said of Noonan. “If he’s on second, he’ll score on a base hit.
“He just competes. He’s a winner. He wants to be out there every day.”
Providence coach Mark Smith loves having that heavy-duty production at the bottom of the order.
“His job as that nine guy is to somehow get on base for the top of the order,” Smith said of Noonan. “Noony sparked us with that two-out double that got that whole inning going.
“He’s come a long way with his hitting. He was a part-time player for us last year and sometimes we hit for him, but this year, he has gotten better and his defense helped get him into the lineup.”
The Celtics used six pitchers Wednesday, watching an 11-1 lead melt to 11-5 before recovering.
“We were sloppy,” Infelise said. “We have a target on our back and we’re trying to take over the state again. Our main goal is to go back to Joliet, and we need to win games.
“If we win them, we win them whether they are sloppy or not. Just get it done. But playing sloppy can’t happen anymore.”
Noonan’s time as a competitive player is winding down, but he’s also looking for a big finish that would end up in the state finals at Duly Health and Care Field in Joliet.
“I’ll definitely miss playing,” Noonan said. “It was a tough decision but not as tough as it is for other people. I’ll still try to incorporate it either with intramurals or playing with some friends.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
