Cannon Madej was Lemont’s bat boy when he was younger. Now, the freshman pitcher is making sure opponents do very little with their bats against his hometown team.
Madej, a left-hander, is following in the footsteps of his older brother, Nathan, who was an all-state selection at Lemont and is now pitching at Florida Southern.
“I was always out here watching my brother play and it’s amazing to be a part of the Lemont team now,” Madej said. “It’s a really good feeling. I love representing this town.
“It’s a really nice town, and everyone’s close with each other. This team’s just really good and I love it.”
After making his varsity debut with two appearances on Lemont’s spring break trip to Florida last week, Madej got his first home start Saturday.
He put on a show, striking out nine and allowing just one hit over five shutout innings in a 5-2 nonconference victory over Stagg.
“It’s awesome coming out here and being able to have this opportunity to play as a freshman and just getting in work with our amazing coaches and continuing to get better,” Madej said.
Lemont coach Brian Storako has been impressed with Madej’s poise in tight situations. He pitched out of a bases-loaded jam Saturday.
“He’s got the same attitude as his brother,” Storako said. “He’s got that grit. He’s got a little bit of a bulldog attitude even though he’s just a freshman.
“When he’s gotten into a jam, we’ve kind of let him go to just see what happens, and he’s taken advantage of that every time.”
Madej has allowed just two hits in 8 2/3 scoreless innings for Lemont (6-4). But that doesn’t mean pitching on the varsity as a freshman is easy.
“You can’t just throw it anywhere,” Madej said. “You have to be pinpoint on almost every pitch or they’re just going to rock you. When you’re pitching against guys four years older than you, you have to be almost perfect with every pitch.”
Senior pitcher Brandon Johnson was thrilled to see Madej dominate against Stagg.
“With him being so young, the most impressive thing would be his composure,” Johnson said. “I think he’s learned a lot from his older brother.
“You can tell when he steps on the mound, he’s relaxed and he’s calm. He’s got the look, and he’s ready to go.”
Indeed, Madej believes he owes a lot to his brother.
“My brother got me into baseball,” Madej said. “Him and my dad, every day we’d be out throwing and hitting the ball in the front yard. It’s amazing watching my brother play still. He’s definitely pushed me over the years and helped me get better.”
Road Warriors: Lincoln-Way West (8-3) went 4-0 on its trip to Georgia for the Prep Baseball Report Spring Break Experience.
The Warriors earned wins over two teams from Ohio, one from New York and one from Kentucky.
“The whole goal was to go out there and get a bunch of playing time for everybody on the team,” Lincoln-Way West coach Jake Zajc said. “It was really nice to not have to worry about weather, fields, practice time.
“It was nice to just compete, get a lot of team bonding stuff and kind of see where guys fit into roles and build an identity for the year.”
The Warriors allowed just four total runs over the four games, getting strong pitching performances from college recruits Colton Kachinsky (Western Illinois), Conor Essenburg (Kansas State), Reagan King (Triton) and Lucas Acevedo (Illinois-Chicago).
Vegas Vacation: Three area teams converged in Las Vegas last week as St. Laurence, St. Rita and Marian Catholic competed in the All Faiths Classic hosted by Bishop Gorman.
The Mustangs had an impressive 3-1 showing, St. Laurence went 2-2 — with both losses coming to teams ranked in the top 20 in the nation — and the Spartans finished 1-3.
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
