Lincoln-Way West’s Jackson Mansker was robbed of a home run on a play that even Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong would do a double-take and admire.
Mansker, who coaches say is usually an even-keel player, responded by punching the bench three times with his right hand, causing three bloody knuckles for which he needed bandages.
“I’ve been getting wall balls all season,” Mansker said. “I think it’s happened to me 10 times. I was just frustrated. I never really get mad that easily.”
But mad, in this case, proved beneficial Saturday for Mansker in his next at-bat.
The senior third baseman took his frustrations out on the ball for a two-run homer to left field in the fifth inning to break a tie as the Warriors went on to a 6-2 win over the host Vikings in the Class 4A Homewood-Flossmoor Regional championship game.
Carson Paulas added two hits and two RBIs as Lincoln-Way West (26-9) won its sixth regional title and fourth in the last five years. Owen Chudzinski (4-1) picked up the win in relief, working three scoreless innings.
Senior catcher Owen Weber also made a rally-stopping defensive play with the bases loaded in the fourth with the score tied 2-2. He caught up with a pitch that bounced in the dirt and fired a missile to Mansker at third for an inning-ending pickoff.
It helped the second-seeded Warriors punch their ticket to a Wednesday sectional semifinal at a time and location to be determined against third-seeded Sandburg (21-12).
“I needed to block the ball and keep it in front of me,” Weber said. “But I saw that the runner was off the base and I needed to take advantage of it.”
Jalen Webb led seventh-seeded H-F (21-16) with two hits. Junior center fielder Marcos Morales made the leaping catch that robbed Mansker in the third inning.
Just about everyone assumed it was a home run.
“I thought it was gone — I thought he had no chance,” Mansker said of Morales. “Props to him for making a really good catch.”
Mansker’s four trips to the plate Saturday were interesting to say the least.
His first blast hit the wall in center for a double. He was robbed at the wall and hit the homer. With two out and nobody on in the sixth, the Vikings had seen enough and intentionally walked him.
Mansker, who is going to Indianapolis as a safety for football, also changed his stance Saturday. After hitting flat-footed, he heeded the advice of assistant coach Jeff Struebing to lift his left heel.
“I didn’t like doing it at first in practice,” Mansker said. “But when I did it (Saturday), it started to work.”
Struebing didn’t like the way Masker was hitting the ball and thought that a little tweak would help.
“He’s as athletic as anyone is the state but his swing wasn’t athletic,” Struebing said of Mansker. “We just got him on the front ball of the foot to get a little taller.
“We loosened him up a little bit with a nice little toe tap, and that’s what a lot of guys are doing nowadays. It frees up his swing. He’s so strong, and the dude can hit.”
Paulas, who likes to get things started on a good note for the Warriors as their leadoff hitter, confirmed he knows good things will happen when Mansker steps up to the plate.
“I know if I get on base he will send one through the hole and I’ll be running home,” Paulas said. “He’s a great guy, and it’s not just baseball. I’m friends with him outside of baseball and we hang out all the time.
“He’s just great to have in our lineup.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
