When it comes to pitching, Rich Township’s Jett Roman has a heck of a role model.
His mother, Danielle Gladstone, was a star softball pitcher at Rich East before becoming a second team All-American at South Suburban College and going on to play at Illinois State.
“I’m still far behind,” Roman said, smiling about his mom. “She was on newspaper covers. She was an All-American. I definitely have not gotten to her level yet, so I just keep competing.
“It’s intimidating, but I know I can get there one day.”
Roman might not yet be the best pitcher in his family, but he now has something huge on his resume. The junior right-hander is going down in Illinois High School Association history as a big part of a record-breaking rotation for the Raptors.
Rich Township has thrown six no-hitters, the most by any team in a single season according to the IHSA record books. Five teams had previously been tied with five no-hitters, the most recent being the 2023 teams from Nashville and Mahomet-Seymour.
“It’s awesome,” Roman said. “We’ve put in a ton of work, so I feel like we’ve just been going out there and having fun and doing what we have to do.”
Roman and junior lefty Malachi Weinum have even gone beyond the no-hit threshold. They have each thrown two perfect games this spring.
Seniors Jeremiah Henry and Sebastian Collazo IV have each contributed one no-hitter. Five of the no-hitters came in games shortened due to the mercy rule, while Collazo thew his over a full seven innings in an 8-0 win over Argo on April 25.
The Raptors (25-6, 17-0) have dominated the Southland Athletic Conference and are easily going to finish over .500 for the first time as a program since the Rich Central, Rich East and Rich South athletic departments were merged ahead of the 2020 season.
Rich Township finished 12-17 last spring, but coach Corey Stallings has seen his team take huge strides. Especially on the mound.
“It’s beyond cool to break this record,” Stallings said. “It’s a testament to them and how hard they worked in the offseason. It was a grind. These are great kids and we’re in a place now where a lot of our seniors are going on to play in college.”
Roman was on the mound for the record-breaking day on May 6, tossing a four-inning perfect game in a 16-0 win over Thornton.
“I had no clue about the record,” Roman said. “When I found out, it was awesome. I was shocked. I didn’t just have one of them, I had two, so I was definitely proud of myself.”
Especially because this is Roman’s first season as a full-time pitcher. In previous years, he spent a bit of time on the mound but was primarily a third baseman.
“In the second half of last season, I fell into a slump hitting,” he said. “But I was pitching really well. Over the offseason, I put all my work into pitching and I fell in love with it.”
Roman and several other Raptor pitchers have spent much of their time working with the Top Velocity program at Triple Crown Training in Frankfort, which was co-founded by Stallings.
“We’ve worked really hard to get here,” Weinum said. “This team is super fun. There’s not a day where we’re down on each other. Win or lose, we’re always going to stay up and have fun.
“That’s the point of baseball.”
Of course, putting your name in the record books makes it even more fun.
“It’s just crazy,” Weinum said. “I was astonished when I found out. We’ve just all worked hard to perfect our craft and we keep pushing.
“Now we’re trying to get more, you know?”
