It had been almost month since Lincoln-Way East’s John Connors hit his last home run.
The senior first baseman got his swing back at a pretty good time Thursday afternoon, thanks in part to a lunchtime hitting session at the D-BAT batting cages in Mokena.
“I have to give props to my teammate, Jack Cosich,” Connors said. “He got (me) to hit at noon. We went out there and cranked those machines up and hit for like an hour.
“Playing in the game, I felt like I saw the ball so much better.”
Connors came through with one of his better games, helping the Griffins roll to a 10-3 victory over Lincoln-Way West in a Class 4A Lockport Sectional semifinal at Ed Flink Field.
In the first inning, Connors hit a three-run homer, his seventh of the season. He added a two-run triple in the third for second-seeded Lincoln-Way East (30-8), which will play at 10 a.m. Saturday against fourth-seeded Lockport (21-13) for the sectional title.
Zach Kwasny, who scored twice, picked up the pitching win for the Griffins. Matt Hudik and Tyler Bell scored two runs apiece. Anthony Massa and Conor Essenburg each had two hits for third-seeded Lincoln-Way West (28-9).
For the left-handed hitting Connors, who had not produced a home run since May 4, Thursday was long overdue.
After displaying his power in the first few months of the season, including a grand slam March 20 against host Lockport, Connors tried to keep his head up during the drought.
“I wasn’t driving the ball as much,” he said. “I was still hitting, but it wasn’t the same. I waited on one pitch, got it, and obviously I deposited it over that 347 (foot) sign.”
Kwasny struck out seven in five-plus innings. The Ball State recruit gave up two runs on two hits with two walks and didn’t mind taking a three-run lead into the second inning.
That came courtesy of Connors’ blast, and the Griffins were well on their way to clinching their first 30-win season in program history.
“Every time he comes up, you know something good is going to happen,” Kwasny said of Connors. “He hits the ball hard and puts it in the gaps. He leads the team in two-out RBIs, which is huge.
“His three-run bomb put more pressure on them and less pressure on me. I could attack with confidence.”
The two-run triple down the right field line was not a surprise to Connors.
“I have more triples than you would think,” he said.
But it did surprise Lincoln-Way East coach Eric Brauer, who thought it was Connors’ first of the season. Brauer double-checked the statistics with his iPad.
“He has three,” Brauer said of Connors. “But I would be lying if I said I remember the other two. We’ve gotten on him on his base running. It’s something we want him to have pride in.
“He has gotten quicker over the last four years. There were times where we would have someone run for him in the past, but he is getting better.”
Connors will continue his career at junior college power John A. Logan.
“I was on the couch and got a text message from one of their recruiters,” Connors said. “At first, I didn’t think anything of it, but I saw they had three, four or five 40-win seasons in a row.
“A former player at East, Ryan Ritter, was a third-round pick by the (Colorado) Rockies and he went there. It worked out for him. I think I can really develop under those guys.”
That sounds about right to Brauer.
“He swings a really good bat,” Brauer said of Connors. “Two more years of development is obviously going to help him.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
