JCA's Benson In The Big Time

For the first time in his life, Joliet Catholic Academy baseball coach and diehard Cubs fan Jared Voss actually watched an entire White Sox game.

That’s because 2006 JCA graduate Joe Benson batted leadoff and played center field in his major-league debut with the Minnesota Twins. Even though the Sox won 3-0 Tuesday night, Benson walked in his first at-bat.

The Twins’ minor-league Player of the Year in 2010, Benson batted .285 with 14 stolen bases, 28 doubles, 4 triples, 16 homers and 67 RBIs for New Britain, the Twins’ Double-A team.

A second-round pick out of JCA, Benson is the No. 5-ranked prospect for the Twins by mlb.com.

“We’ve had six guys in the past get a chance to play in the majors,” Voss said. “From my standpoint, the seventh is the first player I had the opportunity to coach, so I feel great pride and excitement.

“It’s the same Joe, too. Watching him break up the double play, making a diving attempt in center for a catch, taking a swing on a 3-1 count … he still plays with his hair on fire. It was great to see.”

And about the White Sox?

“Yesterday was one of my best days as a coach,” Voss said, smiling. “And it’s the first time I’ve ever watched a Sox game from start to finish.”

VOLLEYBALL: Behind seven points from Erin Piercy, the JCA girls volleyball team improved its record to a perfect 9-0 with a 25-18, 25-22 nonconference victory over host Waubonsie Valley.

Piercy’s ace in Game 1 ignited a 4-point run and allowed the Angels to pull away from a 5-3 lead for a 14-4 advantage. JCA led 20-12 and 22-16 as six different players recorded kills.

After four ties, the Angels jumped ahead 14-8 and 22-14 in Game 2 before the Warriors closed within 23-21. A dump kill by junior setter Mallory Mangun and a booming kill by senior outside hitter Kelly Feigh clinched.

Junior outside Morgan Reardon finished with 7 kills, all in Game 2, while Feigh totaled 5. Senior middle Hailey Pennington had 4 kills, Mangun marked 10 assists and 6 points, senior setter Alaina Ragusa added 8 assists and senior libero Jill Hickey led with 11 digs. Feigh and Reardon also had 11 digs.

“The girls came out, played strong and were in control from the very beginning of the match,” JCA coach Christine Scheibe said. “Erin did a nice job of serving by being consistent and effective, and as a team, we played a nice defensive match. We brought up a lot of their hits.”

B96 ON SITE: Radio station B96 was at Friday night’s football game between JCA and Peoria Richwoods at Joliet Memorial Stadium. The first 200 students, staff and guests to approach the B96 booth received a free B96 Friday Night Football T-shirt.