Two Old Teammates Match Coaching Wits in Baseball Supersectional

Monday's Crestwood Supersectional baseball game provided the rare opportunity for two College of St. Francis (Joliet, Ill.) alums to match coaching wits.

Lincoln-Way East coach Paul Babcock was a captain of the 1993 College of St. Francis NAIA National Champions. The Saints went 46-16 that year, beating Southeastern Oklahoma State University 4-2 for the title. Mount Carmel coach Brian Hurry was a redshirt freshman at the College of St. Francis in 1993. The school changed its name to the University of St. Francis in 1998.

"We only had four seniors on the team and Coach Babcock was one of the captains," Hurry said. "He had a great work ethic and attitude, and his approach to the game inspired me. I still love all of my St. Francis teammates."

Mount Carmel ended Lincoln-Way East's magical playoff run with a 9-7 victory.

"I couldn't be too disappointed, because I'm not going to root against (Hurry), but of course I want my guys to win," Babcock said. "It's like going against your brother. You still want to beat them, but it's one of those things where if you can't do it, you hope they can."

Oh, What Could’ve Been

There could’ve have a nice local battle for the Class 4A baseball title this weekend in Joliet between Providence Catholic and Lincoln-Way East if the Griffins could’ve defeated Mt. Carmel on Monday. Of course, both teams would’ve still needed victories on Friday for a championship to pair up the two teams. Providence, about five miles away from Silver Cross Field, is easily the closest of the eight Class 3A and Class 4A teams that will play this weekend.

Brown Heading to New York, New York

Lincoln-Way East’s Aaliyah Brown will be in New York City this weekend for the adidas Grand Prix Dream 100 where she’ll compete against other top racers from across the country. Brown won the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and was a member of the winning 400-meter relay team during the Class 3A IHSA girls track and field finals this spring.

Lincoln-Way’s Hyatt in IHSLA All-Star Game

Lincoln-Way sophomore Austin Hyatt represented Lincoln-Way in the Illinois High School Lacrosse Association B-Class all-star game on Thursday night at Benedictine University in Lisle. Hyatt played on the Dark team, coached by Grayslake North’s Brad Fish. The White team beat the Dark team 8-2.

Lincoln-Way North’s 30-4 Season

The Lincoln-Way North baseball team’s season-ending also ended the high school careers of many of its standout seniors, including A.J. Neufeld, Alex Eaton, Luke Waldier and Jake Harper.