On a young Lemont team, leadership starts at the top. The top of the lineup, that is, where senior infielder Max Michalak bats in the order.
Michalak, who has been the one to set the tone for Lemont all spring, is one of the key veterans who kept the team going after some early season struggles.
“It’s just taking accountability for things, making sure my teammates are always on, and just leading the young kids,” Michalak said. “It’s talking to them, making sure they don’t get too high or too low, keep them grounded, and make sure they know it’s a team and you’re not selfish.”
Growing up at the right time, Lemont (30-9) now finds itself as one of the final four teams standing in Class 3A heading into a state semifinal at 1 p.m. Friday against Highland (32-6-1) at Duly Health and Care Field in Joliet.
Lemont coach Brian Storako has seen his team hit its stride at the perfect moment.
“We didn’t start out very hot, but we got hot at the right time,” Storako said. “We talked about how you don’t win championships in April. It was a gradual thing.
“We finally figured out where guys fit and what positions they’d play. Guys got comfortable and it just started clicking.”
But when it wasn’t clicking, like when Lemont was 7-6 in mid-April, it was Michalak who helped hold things together.
“Max, Noah (Tomaras) and AJ Scruggs are seniors, and their leadership has been great,” Storako said. “They keep all our guys in it. They keep us rolling and they handle all the stuff that the coaching staff doesn’t need to handle. Their leadership has been paramount to our success.”
While Michalak leads with his words, his production also speaks volumes.
The Parkland recruit ranks second among regular Lemont hitters with a .402 average. He leads the team in runs with 40 and is third in RBIs with 25.
Michalak’s approach is simple when he steps into the batter’s box to lead off games.
“I just try to look for a first-pitch fastball and attack it,” he said.
It pays off frequently, often giving the rest of his offense momentum. That’s according to junior utility man Shea Glotzbach, who also appreciates how Michalak gives him run support when he’s on the mound as one of Lemont’s top pitchers.
“Max gives us a lot of energy,” Glotzbach said. “At the start of games, he gets everyone riled up and ready to go and not slacking off. He gets everyone focused and not messing around.
“I feel like that’s a big part of it. Getting good early at-bats, getting a lead and wearing pitchers down is big, and he helps us do that.”
Michalak also played football and basketball in middle school but decided to give them up in high school to focus on baseball.
“I was kind of a smaller kid,” he said. “I felt like with football, I didn’t want to get injured. Basketball, I didn’t enjoy it anymore. I knew baseball was what I loved to do and what I wanted to keep doing.”
Fourth-seeded Lemont won the Evergreen Park Sectional by holding its four opponents to just one combined run. That included back-to-back shutouts of Catholic League Blue powers St. Laurence and St. Rita, a 9-0 win in the sectional semifinal and a 1-0 win in the sectional final, respectively.
Lemont rallied to top De La Salle 4-3 in Monday’s Crestwood Supersectional.
Michalak believes all the ups and downs of the regular season prepared his team to make this run.
“For a younger group like ours, I feel like we’ve had to put in more work than others and other teams haven’t had to face as much adversity as we have,” he said. “I feel like that’s what separates us from other teams.”
