Sunday Slam: 'Lazz' Energetic as Ever and Enjoys Quite a Year at Hersey
Allen Pitches Way to Top of Huskies' History Books; Fremd's Hishinuma Helps Case Western to Historic D-III Tennis Crown
Tim Lazzarotto became a grandfather for the second time a couple of weeks ago and Friday was his last day as a teacher at Hersey before retiring.
That can’t be possible because “Lazz” still seems like that energetic and young first-year head coach who led Wheeling on one of the wildest rides in Mid-Suburban League baseball history in 1995. Even Lazzarotto, an assistant for this year’s record-setting Huskies, joked about running into longtime coaches and retired teachers like Libertyville’s Jim Panther and Stevenson’s Paul Swan during this week’s Mundelein baseball sectional.
“To see all those guys, it’s crazy that now I’m with them,” Lazzarotto said with a laugh on Friday.
The good news is the 1983 Palatine graduate is hardly going into full retirement mode. Lazzarotto said he will continue to be an assistant coach for Hersey baseball after this year and in the fall he is going to Niles West to be the offensive coordinator for third-year head coach and Schaumburg grad Nick Torresso.
“That’s never going to go away,” Lazzarotto said of his passion for high school coaching. “The coaching part I’ll do until I can’t do it anymore. It’s in my blood.”
His first year as Wheeling’s head baseball coach in 1995, after seven as the freshman A coach, certainly raised his blood pressure for better and worse. High expectations were being met with an 8-2 start. But injuries to two Division I players - pitcher Ryan Mroz (Creighton) and sophomore shortstop Jaime Velasquez (Illinois-Chicago) - contributed to a major tailspin where it lost 8 in a row and 13 of 14 and was seeded seventh in an eight-team Class AA regional with a 13-16 record.
Mroz was able to pitch in spots and Velasquez solidified the infield at shortstop late in the season to help the Wildcats regroup with Daily Herald all-area third baseman Lou Kantzavelos and pitchers Tony Jones, Marc Welch and Todd Michalik. The last-place team in the MSL North proceeded to upset three 20-win teams (Notre Dame, Buffalo Grove and Maine West) for its first regional title in 17 years. The run continued in a Niles West sectional semifinal stunner as Jones threw a tension-filled 2-1 complete game to hand 32-win New Trier only its fifth loss of the season.
Wheeling was now 17-16 and one game away from the state tournament in the days where sectional champions advanced to the Elite Eight. Perennial powerhouse Oak Park-River Forest and legendary coach Jack Kaiser, who at that time was the winningest baseball coach in state history, finally ended the memorable ride 5-0.
And Lazzarotto was part of three amazing rides at Hersey this year as the football team under first-year head coach Tom Nelson had an undefeated regular season, the girls basketball team of also-retiring head coach Mary Fendley took fourth in the state and the baseball team under Wally Brownley set the school record for wins with 29 on the way to MSL and regional titles and a trip to the sectional final.
“We’ve got a really nice team and we weren’t expecting this this year,” Lazzarotto said. “We knew we had talent … and our kids are believing and they’re just on a roll.”
Lazzarotto resigned as the head baseball coach at Wheeling after six years because of the grind of living in Wauconda at the time and teaching at Algonquin Middle School in Des Plaines. He went to Prospect to assist Ross Giusti, now his next-door neighbor of 20 years in Palatine, and then hooked on with Hersey and Bob Huber in 2006. He enjoys working for Brownley, who played on Schaumburg’s 1997 state championship team, and what he called a good group of coaches that includes longtime assistant and fellow retiree Kevin Kelley.
Lazzarotto was also part of two state football championship coaching staffs led by Brent Pearlman at Prospect in 2001-02 and was an assistant for Ryan Kirkorsky when Rolling Meadows’ girls basketball team had consecutive Class 4A second-place finishes in 2013-14.
“The only one that’s eluded me is getting downstate for baseball,” Lazzarotto said. “Wally has won a championship and he’s been there. We’re giddy we’ve made it this far.”
He originally wasn’t going to coach football next year but got connected with Torresso at Niles West through longtime coaching friend Jim Wormsley at Hersey and Wheeling. Lazzarotto likes the talent there and is excited to help Torresso, who has gone 2-7 and 3-6 after taking over a program that won a total of 2 games in four years. Torresso was a Daily Herald All-Area two-way lineman at Schaumburg for Mark Stilling in 2006.
But after coaching three sports for 30 of his 35 years in education, Lazzarotto is also looking forward to the chance to get away during the winter with his wife Maria and to spend more time with his twin daughters and two grandchildren.
“I don’t have to teach all day and I can coach,” Lazzarotto said with a laugh. “That’s not too bad.”
Hersey’s History-Maker on the Mound
A record-setting season for Hersey baseball was also been one for pitcher Jeremy Allen. The junior vaulted to the top of the single-season victory list at 10 when he beat Barrington in the sectional semifinals and surpassed the 9 victories by Rob Quarnstrom in 1993 and Steve Danielak in 2010.
Quarnstrom was a hard-throwing lefty who was a three-time Daily Herald All-Area pick. He was 8-0 as a sophomore for the 1992 Hersey team that won 28 games and coach Harvey Foster said, “He’s the best pitcher I’ve seen at Hersey and I’ve been here since it opened.” A year later he was 9-4 with 6 shutouts as the Huskies won their first regional title and in his senior year he was limited to a 4-1 record because of tendinitis but hit .457.
Quarnstrom was drafted in the 30th round by the Minnesota Twins but opted to attend Arkansas. After college, he signed with the Texas Rangers as an undrafted free agent and got as high as Class AA as he went 9-3 with 17 saves in three minor-league seasons.
Danielak was a two-time Daily Herald All-Area pick who went 8-2 as a junior and matched Quarnstrom by going 9-5 as a senior in 2010. Head coach Bob Huber, who also pitched for the Huskies, said, “you get nine guys like Steve and you won’t lose. A fierce competitor who just battles.” Danielak went on to pitch for four years at Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne.
Fremd’s Hishinuma Helps Make the Case for NCAA Tennis Title
Casey Hishinuma had a stellar four-year tennis career at Fremd that included sectional and MSL team titles and three trips to the state tournament. Now Hishinuma is also a national champion.
The sophomore helped bring Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland the Division III NCAA men’s tennis title after consecutive runner-up finishes the previous two seasons. Hishinuma played primarily at No. 6 singles as Case Western won its first national team title in any sport by beating Tufts 5-2. The program’s remarkable rise led to a column by legendary Cleveland-based sportswriter and book author Terry Pluto.
Hishinuma was third on the team in singles victories at 26-8 and was 13-5 at No. 6. He played as high as the No. 3 spot during the season and also went 7-2 at doubles. The mechanical engineering major went 14-1 at singles and 5-1 at doubles as a freshman.
Three other Chicago-area products were part of the historic tennis season at Case Western. Sophomore Ansh Shah (Hinsdale Central) was a College Sports Communicators Academic All-American after going 23-6 at singles and 18-6 at doubles. Freshman Jackson Schuetzle (Crystal Lake South) had 4-1 records at singles and doubles and freshman Matthew Plunkett (New Trier) had 8-4 records at singles and doubles.
Grayslake Central’s Mieszkowski D-II Baseball All-American
Nate Mieszkowski was a big part of one of the state’s most successful baseball programs at Grayslake Central. That success has continued for Mieszkowski as he just completed a Division-II All-American season at Missouri Southern in Joplin.
The sophomore second baseman was a second-team All-American by the Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) as Missouri Southern went 45-17 and reached the championship game of the NCAA Central Regional. Mieszkowski had a slash line (average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage) of .374/.455/.634 with 14 homers, 66 RBI and 19 doubles. He is the first position player from the school to receive All-American recognition since Freddie Landers, another Grayslake Central alum, was an honorable mention third baseman by the National College Baseball Writers Association.
Mieszkowski is part of a strong local contingent at Missouri Southern. Junior Henry Kusiak (Grant) was a D2CCA first-team All-Region shortstop who slashed .313/.410/.550 with 13 homers and 58 RBI. Freshman outfielder Ethan Clark (Lakes) was at .372/.416/.500 with 17 doubles and 65 RBI.
Sophomore Kyle Moore (Streamwood/Oakton Community College) went 8-4 with 3 saves in 27 games and freshman Kyle Kaempf (McHenry) went 1-1 with a save and 28 strikeouts in 25⅓ innings and 19 games.
Hoffman’s Garofalo Wins Athletic Trainers Award
Hoffman Estates athletic trainer Greg Garofalo was one of 10 regional winners of the National Athletic Trainers Association’s (NATA) Secondary School Committee Athletic Trainer of the Year. Garofalo was the winner for Region 11, which includes Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. There were 10 regional winners this year and the national winner will be announced later this month at the NATA national convention and symposium June 21-24 in Indianapolis.
Garofalo is also the president of the Illinois Athletic Trainers Association (IATA) and he earned his bachelor’s degree in athletic training from North Central College in 2015. He earned his master’s in advanced athletic training from the University of South Florida.
Braheny Takes Over St. Viator Girls Basketball Program
Schaumburg grad Kyle Braheny was recently named the new head coach of the St. Viator girls basketball program and will be looking to continue the success it had under Jason Raymond. Braheny spent the last six years as head girls coach at Niles West and was also an assistant in the boys program for Bob Williams.
Raymond stepped down after eight seasons to spend more time with his family. Six of those seasons resulted in regional championships for Viator (there was no postseason in COVID-shortened 2021) and his 2019 team went 25-9 and won a sectional championship.
Braheny was an all-Mid-Suburban League and Daily Herald All-Area special mention basketball selection as a senior at Schaumburg for Williams in 2005. He was also an All-Area wide receiver/defensive back in football for Tom Cerasani.
Mahoney Puts South Carolina in Regional Title Position
St. Viator grad Jack Mahoney put South Carolina in position to win its NCAA baseball regional and advance to the super regionals. Mahoney went 6 solid innings to improve to 7-3 as South Carolina beat North Carolina State 6-3 in a winner’s bracket game Saturday night.
Mahoney allowed 7 hits and had 6 strikeouts and threw 5 scoreless innings before giving up 3 runs in the sixth. South Carolina plays for the regional title today.
Minor Matters
Updating some area players in the Minor Leagues:
Ryan Loutos (Barrington) had a solid May for the Cardinals’ Triple-A Memphis affiliate as the right-handed reliever had a 1.89 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 12 games (14⅔ innings). Loutos has made all but two of his appearances for Memphis and is 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA and 27 Ks in 24 IP.
Quinn Priester (Cary-Grove) also has been impressive in the last month-plus at the Pirates’ Triple-A Indianapolis affiliate. On Friday he scattered 4 hits in 6 shutout innings with 6 strikeouts and 3 walks to beat Toledo after going 4-0 with a 2.81 ERA in May. The righty is 6-3 with 4.38 ERA and 53 Ks in 51 ⅓ IP in 11 starts.
Brooks Gosswein (Barrington) is 1-0 with a 3.72 ERA in 8 games (6 starts) for the White Sox High-A affiliate at Winston-Salem. Gosswein has 36 Ks in 36⅓ IP.
Brett Harris (Hersey) is playing third base for the A’s Class AA Midland (Texas) affiliate and is at .281/.394/.446 with 3 homers, 12 doubles and 36 RBI.
Quinn Gudaitis (Hersey) is 2-2 with a 6.00 ERA in 13 games (18 IP) with the Tigers’ Class A Lakeland affiliate. Gudaitis has allowed only 1 hit and no runs in his last 3 appearances (4⅔ IP).
Ryan Borucki (Mundelein) started the season in the Cubs’ system but elected to become a free agent in early May. He signed with the Pirates and is off to a good start with Triple-A Indianapolis. Borucki was activated May 23 and hasn’t allowed a hit or run in 4 innings over 4 relief appearances.
Eric Stout (St. Francis) signed with the Mariners as a free agent in mid-April and is 1-0 with a 5.68 ERA in 12 games (19 IP) at Triple-A Tacoma.
Ryan Nutof (South Elgin) is 1-1 with 1 save and a 5.48 ERA in 23 games for the Reds’ Triple-A Louisville affiliate.
IBCA All-Star Games Saturday at Pontiac
Dillon Schmidt of Barrington will represent the MSL in the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) All-Star Games next Saturday at Pontiac High School. Schmidt will play for the North team in the Class 3A-4A boys game scheduled to start at 5 p.m. The other games are the Girls’ 1A-2A at 11 a.m., Girls’ 3A-4A at 1 p.m. and Boys’ 1A-2A at 3 p.m., and admission is $5.
Schmidt’s teammates on the North include Cooper LePage (Crystal Lake South), Brady Kunka (Benet), Dennis Estepp (Grayslake Central), Ben Oosterbaan (Hinsdale Central) and Collin Wainscott (Marmion). Recently retired Simeon coach Robert Smith is the head coach. Jonah Fairbank (Northridge Prep) is playing for the 1A-2A boys team led by Aurora Christian coach Dan Beebe.
The 3A-4A girls North roster includes Peyton Gerdes (Grayslake North), Mia Gillis and Jordan Wood (Carmel), Baylie Parks (Lake Zurich), Rachel Kaus (Lake Forest), Cassidy Arni (Geneva), Mariann Blass (York), Kennedy Brandt (Glenbard West), Abby Drendel (Naperville North) and Alysaa Hughes (St. Charles North).
Voice of the Salukis Turns off the Mic
College athletic programs are often linked to their long-time radio play-by-play voices. This state has some distinctive and distinguished ones such as Dave Eanet at Northwestern, Brian Barnhart at Illinois, Bill Baker at Northern Illinois and Dave Snell for Bradley basketball.
Mike Reis was that voice for Southern Illinois athletics. Reis announced on Twitter on Wednesday he is stepping away from that post after 44 years as well as his job in the SIU athletic department. The 1978 SIU graduate called the 1983 Division I-AA national championship football season, the men’s basketball NCAA Sweet 16 trips in 2002 and 2007 and the 1977 College World Series baseball team as a student broadcaster.
He called 501 football games and 1,325 basketball games for the Salukis. He is a member of the Saluki, Illinois Basketball Coaches Association and St. Louis Sports halls of fame and was named Illinois Sportscaster of the Year in 2011 by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.
Here is part of Reis’ announcement he posted on Twitter:
“It's simply time, friends, and it is totally my call. I still have a passion for doing the play by play, but the passion for the day-to-day part of the job that makes sure the play by play is good, has dwindled. As a consequence, mistakes in the play by play have ensued. The mistakes may be trivial to some and unnoticed by others, but they are bothersome to me. I've always felt when this happened it would be time to step down. I've always said I would know before others when it was time to step down. It's time.
“Please don't be suspicious of my decision. It's all my decision. Southern and Learfield (which owns SIU's broadcast rights) want me to continue. My health is fine. I don't have another job. There is nothing to be suspicious about. It's just time. Saluki Athletics has been my life. I leave happy. I am proud of my career doing Saluki football, basketball and baseball games as well as reporting on all of the teams.”
Big Change for Pinckneyville Basketball
Pinckneyville, which is about 75 miles southeast of St. Louis, is one of the state’s storied boys basketball programs with three state titles and eight other top-four trophies. Matt Laur was announced as only the third head coach in the program’s last 49 years last week.
Laur replaces Bob Waggoner, who took a superintendent’s job in Indiana and was 386-103 in 13 seasons with fourth-place finishes in 2008 and 2018. Laur had four 20-win seasons as the coach and athletic director at Freeburg since 2015, had a 28-win season at Steeleville and also coached at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
Prior to Waggoner, Dick Corn won 708 games in 32 seasons with state titles in 1994 and 2001 and second- and fourth-place finishes. The program was put on the map by the legendary Merrill “Duster” Thomas, who won a single-class state title in 1948 and had four teams finish third.
Congrats to Laz on his retirement, and to Wally and the Huskies on an amazing season! Great job as always, Marty. Lots of familiar names in this one!
And, as always, Kevin Kelley continues to be the man!
Known Tim since our days together at Harper. Great guy who has done incredible things for kids for his entire career! First Class person who deserves the recognition and the freedom of retirement!