After Brother Rice lost several key players from last season’s team that finished third in the state, Jackson Natanek knew he was one of the new guys who needed to step up.
Early on, however, the sophomore infielder/pitcher was struggling to produce offensively for the Crusaders while feeling the weight of those expectations.
“I was young, and I was trying to get my role and find my spot hitting,” Natanek said of his adjustment period. “I was barreling balls, but they would go right to people.
“I kept the same swing and just said, ‘Some of them will drop someday.'”
They’re falling in the right spots for Natanek these days. He continued a strong postseason Monday night, going 2-for-3 with a double and earning the win in relief as Brother Rice rallied for a 5-4 win over Lincoln-Way East in the Class 4A Crestwood Supersectional.
That’s not all. Natanek also scored the winning run for the Crusaders (25-15) on Randall Nauden’s walk-off RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh at Ozinga Field.
Purdue recruit Amir Gray went 2-for-2 with a solo home run, while sophomores Danny Sheehan and Tadgh Callaghan turned in solid outings on the mound, each allowing two earned runs over three innings.
Brother Rice will take on New Trier (25-7) — a 2-0 winner over Stevenson — at 5 p.m. Friday in the state semifinals at Duly Health and Care Field in Joliet.
With Natanek on second base and two outs in the seventh inning, Nauden ripped a base hit down the right field line for the winner. It came after Gray was intentionally walked.
The rally started with Natanek’s two-out double in an at-bat that featured seven pitches, including three foul balls with two strikes.
“You look at a kid like Jackson, to be able to battle in a seven-pitch at-bat with two outs and nobody on, when a lot of times, you selfishly give up,” Brother Rice coach Sean McBride said. “He fouled off tough pitch after touch pitch and then drove the ball to the gap.
“That’s kind of the epitome of who we are.”
Natanek said he’s batting with an entirely different mindset than early in the season.
“Now when I’m hitting, I go up there with complete confidence, knowing I own the pitcher before I step into the box,” he said.
Natanek also struck out the side in his one inning on the mound in the top of the seventh, setting the stage for the walk-off win.
“That was electric,” he said. “Their whole student section was chirping, but I just had to do my thing and throw strikes. It’s really fun being a two-way player. I hope I can do it in college.”
Matt Hudik went 3-for-4 with two RBIs for Lincoln-Way East (31-9). Pittsburgh recruit Tyler Bell had a two-run double and Ball State recruit Zach Kwasny allowed four earned runs in 6 1/3 innings.
The Griffins built a 4-1 lead behind Bell’s two-run double and Hudik’s two-run single, but the Crusaders came back with three runs in the fifth.
That rally began with a bunt single from Sean Sullivan, included a sacrifice fly from Natanek and was capped by Gray’s home run.
In the end, Lincoln-Way East fell just short of the program’s first trip to state.
“We’ve played our butts off all year,” Kwasny said. “We’ve battled adversity. We’ve accomplished some history. We came up just short of really making history (Monday).
“We had one bad inning when I was on the mound and we had some chances to answer back — hit some balls hard and just couldn’t find a hole. That’s just baseball.”
Natanek, meanwhile, was on the bench last season when the Crusaders played at state. Now, he’s ready to make an impact.
“There’s a lot of pressure, but I love these moments,” Natanek said. “I’ll die for them. I love being able to lead my team.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
