St. Rita senior pitcher Sully Kazee has battled through his fair share of ups and downs this spring.
Poised to lead the Mustangs rotation, he was shut down for a couple weeks midseason with an injury. When he returned, he wasn’t feeling quite right on the mound, battling through some tough outings.
But now when the team needs him the most, the Southeastern (Iowa) Community College recruit is feeling as strong as ever.
Kazee threw four shutout innings, scattering a hit and a walk with nine strikeouts on May 30 as host St. Rita defeated Bremen 13-1 in five innings to win a Class 3A regional championship.
“It’s definitely been a mental challenge,” Kazee said. “I had to fight through it when I didn’t have everything in my arm. Now that I feel good again, it’s the best my arm has felt in a long time. It’s definitely worth the fight.”
St. Rita (24-12) advanced to play Evergreen Park (24-13) on June 3 in the Brooks Sectional semifinals.
The regional title was the fourth in a row for the Mustangs.
Senior Colin Quinn (four RBIs, two doubles, run, walk), juniors Jayden Ibarra (four RBI, double) and Braden Quinn (two-run homer) and sophomore Julio Gutierrez (three runs, three singles) led a balanced lineup.
Kazee came into the season with senior Will Rewers as a potent one-two punch at the top of the rotation.
When the team got back from a trip to Las Vegas in early April, though, his throwing shoulder didn’t feel quite right. The diagnosis was a strained rotator cuff.
“It was just from pitching,” Kazee said. “I felt it coming back from Las Vegas but didn’t think anything of that. I threw a couple more games and it fell apart after that.”
Kazee didn’t pitch for two weeks to let his shoulder rest.
When he did return, he didn’t have his best stuff, but he kept working and looked to build his arm back up.
Coach John Nee said he loves Kazee’s approach on the mound.
“Sully’s got control of three pitches. That makes him really good,” Nee said. “He’s got good velo, but not throwing it by guys. Three pitches around the plate puts doubt in the mind of hitters. That’s what good pitchers do. At his best, he’s got all three. That’s what he’s thrown the last three outings.”
Other regional winners
In Class 4A, TCU commit Jimmy Benson threw a perfect game with five strikeouts as host St. Laurence (35-2) beat Oak Lawn 5-0 on May 30.
Juan Avila pitched a four-hitter with five strikeouts to lead host Reavis (24-12) past Lyons 4-1.
Peter Jurcenko threw one-run ball over 5 1/3 innings as Sandburg (21-12) beat host Andrew 6-1.
Texas A&M commit Brady Cunningham was 2-for-3 with a homer, two runs and four RBIs as Brother Rice (27-10) downed host Young 9-1.
Nick Pigatto, Tom Hosty and Ryan Lawlor drove in two runs each as Marist (24-12) blanked Joliet West 13-0 at Stagg.
Connor Elenteny threw a four-hitter with five strikeouts as Mount Carmel (27-10) shut out host Oak Park-River Forest 6-0.
In Class 3A, winning pitcher Noah Munoz was 3-for-4 with a double, a run and two RBIs to lead Evergreen Park (24-13) past host Oak Forest 6-3.
Kam Alikan was 2-for-3 with a homer, two runs and three RBIs as host Nazareth (27-9) beat Timothy Christian 10-2.
Josiah Saucedo struck out six in 6 2/3 innings as eighth-seeded Solorio (12-12) stunned the top-seeded hosts 5-4 at Lemont.
Vincente Amaro fanned 10 in six innings as host De La Salle (22-15) beat Glenbard South 5-3.