Naperville Central senior Jackson Persin stood out in more than one way during the final game of his baseball career.
For one thing, everyone noticed Persin’s dirty uniform pants, even though the field at Slammers Stadium in Joliet doesn’t have any dirt.
“They’re just stained at this point,” he said. “I’ve washed them. It won’t come out.”
Persin’s pants are a fitting metaphor for how he and his teammates grinded through a long season, which ended late Saturday night with an 11-2 loss to Mount Carmel in the Class 4A third-place game.
Despite two lopsided losses at the state finals, the Redhawks (30-11) earned the third state trophy in program history. It will sit next to the state championship trophies from 2006 and 2010.
“It means a lot,” Persin said. “It was a long year, and we worked really hard, and it’s nice coming home with something that we can remember.”
The Redhawks created a lot of fond memories, and Persin was a part of that. He played in 32 games, starting the season at catcher and getting action as a designated hitter and third baseman.
Persin started at third base against Mount Carmel. Facing Miami-bound left-hander Ian Tosi, he went 1-for-2 and drove in both of the Redhawks’ runs.
“Jackson has been part of what we’ve done all year,” Naperville Central coach Mike Stock said. “He competes against all the best pitchers. He’s one of our best hitters against good pitchers, and their kid was good. So that’s why we put him up at the top of the order.”
Persin batted second against the Caravan (31-11) behind junior center fielder Jermaine Kenady, who led off the bottom of the first inning with a single and stole second.
Persin followed with an opposite-field single to right field to score Kenady and give the Redhawks a 1-0 lead.
“They gave me room to put a ground ball over there, and I thought, ‘He’s throwing hard, might as well take it the other way,’” Persin said. “When you’ve got Jermaine on base, he can score from anywhere.”
Persin’s hit was the last one given up by Tosi, who struck out seven in four innings. The Caravan scored nine consecutive runs before senior Michael Page, a North Central College commit, led off the fifth with a pinch-hit triple, which was the Redhawks’ third and final hit. Persin hit a sacrifice fly to left to plate Page.
That was the final plate appearance for Persin, who batted .263 with 11 RBIs in 57 at-bats this season.
“It was a good time,” Persin said. “It was going out there one more time with your boys and just playing to win.
“Whether it was hitting or in the field, I think I contributed pretty well. That was always my goal. I just wanted to contribute.”
While Mount Carmel used its usual starting lineup, Stock utilized 19 players, including six pitchers.
“We’ve got 25 guys here, and everybody can play ball,” Stock said. “So it was getting guys in to compete who haven’t got a chance to in the last four weeks.
“Except for a couple errors here and there, I thought we competed, especially on the mound. I was proud of the guys on the mound.”
Kenady had similar sentiments about Persin.
“He showed us how even though we’re maybe not playing a lot, we’ve got to stay ready and still be confident,” Kenady said. “Being ready at all times helped us in the long run. I’m really proud of him.”
Persin was one of 17 seniors who led the Redhawks a lot further than any of them expected when the season began. They won 15 straight games before losing to Maine South 9-1 in the state semifinals.
“I just think how well we got along,” Persin said. “That took us a long way, just the energy we had every single day.”
The Redhawks also had a drive to succeed.
“We understood what it took to be here, and we wanted to be here,” Kenady said. “We did everything we could, so just being out there with the guys for one last time, it made me very happy.
“Seeing them on the field, seeing how much they enjoy the game, I’m pretty proud of the guys and how far we made it.”
Kenady, one of three junior starters, vowed to be back at the state finals.
“We still want to do more,” he said. “It’s not the going to be the first time you’re all going to see us.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
