A leg injury forced Nolan Ramoley to have surgery in October. The junior outfielder recovered quicker than expected, making it back for the start of the season for Brother Rice.
But he hadn’t quite felt like himself. Spending most of the early part of the spring as the team’s designated hitter, the leg was still slowing him down a bit.
With a trip to state on the line, however, Ramoley was ready Monday night. Legging out a triple. Beating out an infield single. Making big plays in center field. What injury?
“It was pretty cool,” Ramoley said. “Running for that triple, I feel like I got all my speed back there. It feels good to be back from injury and be able to produce runs for my team.
“I haven’t had a game until this one where I really felt 100%.”
Ramoley, a Kentucky recruit, went 2-for-4, drove in a run and scored another as the Crusaders knocked off defending state champion Providence for an 8-5 win in the Class 4A Crestwood Supersectional at Ozinga Field.
Eastern Michigan commit Aidan Nohava finished 3-for-4 with a triple, two RBIs and a run for Brother Rice (37-3), while Gavin Stanislawski went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Brady Cunningham allowed three earned runs over 4 2/3 innings for the win and Illinois State-bound Jackson Natanek earned the save.
The Crusaders clinched the program’s sixth state trophy and will play at state for the third time in four years starting at 7 p.m. Friday with a semifinal against McHenry (33-4-1).
“This is an unreal feeling,” Nohava said. “I’ve been here before my sophomore year and it’s the same goosebumps I got then again, but there’s a different feeling because I’m a senior.”
SIU-Edwardsville recruit Cooper Eggert went 2-for-4 with three RBIs to lead Providence (27-13). Cincinnati commit Enzo Infelise ended up 2-for-3 with a solo homer and a double, while Minnesota recruit Nate O’Donnell went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.
O’Donnell also pitched five innings, allowing four earned runs. But Ramoley’s RBI triple in the fifth inning broke a 3-3 tie and put the Crusaders ahead for good.
It was the kind of moment Ramoley has been working toward the last several months, making all the rehab worth it.
“I’m still going to physical therapy once a week,” Ramoley said. “Earlier in the year, I was going three times a week. It’s definitely been a grind and it’s taken a long time for my speed to come back, so it’s just been patience.”
Brother Rice coach Sean McBride felt Ramoley was holding back a bit when a blooper fell in front of him for a base hit in the second inning. He tried to fire him up.
“I said, ‘Look, Nolan, you’ve got to play aggressive. I’m not mad at you, but you have to let that athleticism show,’” McBride said. “I just wanted to challenge him to kind of let it loose. I feel like at times he’s a little tentative.
“But, man, that was a big hit. He really let it loose there.”
The Crusaders added three runs in the seventh to take an 8-3 lead. The Celtics did not go down easily, though, scoring twice in the bottom of the inning before Natanek got a double play to end it.
That brought on the celebration. Brother Rice is going back to state and Ramoley is back.
“I guarantee I’m as excited as his parents are to watch him play like that again,” Nohava said of Ramoley. “We’re all a close, tight-knit family, so any time a guy like that comes back from a big injury and gets it done for us in a big game like this, I can see the whole team is super happy for him.”
