Kremer: JCA Sophomore Baseball Standout Turning Heads

He doesn’t always do things in textbook fashion. He does make his presence known, whether he is swinging a bat, roaming center field or working off the pitching mound.

Joliet Catholic Academy sophomore baseball standout Nick Dalesandro is one of those rare talents who has to be accounted for at all times by Hilltopper opponents.

In a 5-3 victory over Chicago Harlan at the Crestwood Supersectional on Monday, he caught a routine flyball in center field. He overthrew his cutoff man, but fired a strike to home plate. And a fifth-inning uprising by Harlan was shut down on a spectacular 8-2 doubleplay.

JCA (25-14) moved on to play in this weekend’s Class 3A state tournament at Silver Cross Field. Harlan went home, the Falcon players collectively shaking their heads in disbelief.

And that was nothing, really, for Dalesandro.

When he is pitching, he drops down submarine style on occasion and freezes opposing hitters in the batter’s box. JCA senior catcher Alex Voitik has learned to enjoy the awe-inspiring show. He has worked with Dalesandro since he was called up to the varsity ranks as a freshman.

He played a little third base for JCA before settling into his current role as the Hill’s everyday center fielder and most promising pitcher.

“Nick’s got a tailing fastball, he’s got a curveball and he’s got a nice changeup,” Voitik said. “He comes down and throws submarine a few times here and there with the same velocity that he throws his fastball.

“That’s just to throw hitters off. If hitters are fouling pitches off, I’ll throw the sign down there and he’ll come from underneath. They won’t expect it coming in—it’s interesting to see. I like it.”

Voitik had to wipe a sheepish grin off his face as he told the story.

Around the JCA baseball camp, everybody has been grinning as of late. The Hilltoppers have won seven of eight games, including five in a row in the postseason, and have outscored their playoff opponents 36-4.

A season that once looked like it would be defined by injury and heartache now will end with a trip to the state finals and, perhaps, a state championship. Who woulda thunk it?

“We weren’t thinking of either,” JCA coach Jared Voss said. “It was just a matter of one day at time with injuries and guys being out and this and that. It was impossible to look ahead at that point. It was about game-to-game. But the one thing we had to look forward to was the Stevie (Bajenski) tournament. That was good opportunity to rally the troops and have a great showing.”

JCA defeated St. Rita and Mount Carmel en route to capturing the tourney title. Sam Couch emerged as the Hill’s No. 1 starter, too. He tossed a five-hit shutout against St. Rita. He threw a no-hitter at Lemont in the regional finals. And he struck out 15 in JCA’s 13-0 sectional final victory over Evergreen Park.

Couch has allowed seven hits in his last three starts—no runs. In fact, he has not allowed any runs in his last 26 innings pitched. The joke is he is chasing Orel Hershiser’s major league record of 59 consecutive scoreless innings.

Of course, Couch will settle for inching his way up the JCA history books in a noon start Friday vs. Mt. Vernon (31-8-1), the downstate power standing next in the Hilltoppers’ path.

He will be trying to help JCA capture its first state baseball championship since 2009. The Hilltoppers are making their sixth appearance in the IHSA state tournament since Voss took the coaching reins 15 years ago. He has compiled a record of 385-166-1.

He has seen his fair share of terrific players come and go through the program, too.

Dalesandro, a 6-foot-2, 170-pounder, has a chance to become one of JCA’s all-timers. He boasts a 6-2 record with a 2.03 ERA. In 48.1 innings, he has struck out 52. His fastball has been clocked in the mid-80s and there is plenty of room for him to add more speed as he develops more strength and fills out his body.

He is batting .371 with four doubles and 26 RBIs. And he already has verbally committed to play collegiately at Purdue.

“At some point in the first 10 games last year, he was up, and he stayed,” Voss said. “He was permanent. We used him a limited amount as a pitcher—just in some relief performances. But he played center field and he played a lot of third base for us last year also.”

He showed enormous skills. He also showed off the intangible traits that separate him from the rest of the crowd.

“His pitching repertoire speaks for itself,” JCA pitching coach Jake Jaworski said. “He’s got a mid-80s fastball. He’s got a good breaking ball that he’s pretty confident in throwing at any point in the count. He’s got a good changeup.

“He comes from different arm angles. He’s just an athletic kid out there. He’s a pretty special talent because he can change his motion from pitch-to-pitch and have complete control over it. And I think the thing that makes him so good on the mound is he’s just a competitor.

“He’s a kid who could go out there at any time. He’ll throw as many pitches as he needs to. And he’s going to think he’s going to beat that hitter no matter the situation. I think that’s what makes him special.”

Just don’t expect Dalesandro to go by the book. Or JCA, for that matter. The is a team that has climbed a hill to mark its place in Hill tradition.

“We were ranked in the presason No. 3 by PBR,” said Voitik of JCA’s position in the Prep Baseball Report forecast. “We came out with pretty big heads. We had a lot of injuries that brought our team down and we struggled offensively at the beginning of the year.

“But our team always picks it up in the end. We won the Stevie Bajenski tournament. And right now we’re on a roll.”