St. Laurence High School baseball team in Burbank, Illinois, fights for another title
The St. Laurence High School baseball team in the southwest Chicago suburb of Burbank made school history with a 3A state championship a year ago.
With a loaded roster back, they're primed for what they hope is another long playoff run as the No. 1 seed beginning Wednesday at home.
The Vikings are propelled by a special kind of toughness that makes them tough to beat as they chase their repeat championship — this time up a class in 4A.
"We know it's uphill. It's a tough challenge. Expectations don't really matter. It just comes down to playing your best on that day, being the best team for seven straight games in the playoffs is all it comes down to," said St. Laurence senior shortstop and Louisville commit Corey Les. "So it's really just knowing that it's not going to be easy, and we've got to play our best baseball."
Luckily, the guys on the team know a little bit about playing their best baseball when it matters most. Last season, they captured the 3A title in the program's first state championship.
It was also the first championship for longtime coach Pete Lotus.
"It was just surreal. It was one of those moments we talked about when we came here. We all came here. We were like, we wanted to win a state championship, and we wanted to do it for Coach Pete, be his first class to do it," Les said. "He means everything to this team. I would say he is the heartbeat of this team, the passion. I think he thinks about baseball 24/7. He never stops thinking about. He's one of the best, if not the best coach in the state."
Lotus coaches the team to be tough and passionate.
"You got to love what you do, you know?" he said. "And I tell them right away, me and the coaches, we're going to come out here, and we're going to be enthused and passionate. You better match it. When you have the kids that absolutely love practicing, you know, I think that's a great thing."
The St. Laurence team is loaded with talented players, but they also bring a special kind of toughness to the baseball diamond. That is especially true of the guys who played football in the fall, like Les, who rushed for over 1,400 yards as the Vikings football team made a run to the 6A state semifinals.
"Football has been a part of my life since I was born. I came here knowing I could play two sports," Les said. "That was a big thing here at St. Laurence. They want you to play two sports."
Les said there is a mindset that transfers from football to baseball.
"It's definitely the toughness," he said. "You can' t really teach what goes on on a football field, that physical toughness. You have to get up after every play. You're going to get knocked down, knocked down, knocked down. You have to get up."
"They're really tough kids. They're tough-minded. They play the game hard. That adversity comes in, whether it's dealing with an error you made, or, you know, getting a strike call against you, you know, you have to move on from it," added Coach Lotus. "And I think that's a huge level of mental toughness. The experience that we were able to have last year with a lot of these guys coming back, you know, winning a state championship. You know, I think certainly helped us as well."
And the Vikings baseball team hopes that experience helps this fantastic senior class go out on top in back-to-back style.
Daniel Coyle, St. Laurence Senior:
"That would be crazy. I mean, I think we could do it. honestly. We've got the talent, we've got the grit, and there's not really much else you need," said St. Laurence senior third baseman and pitcher Daniel Coyle. "We just need to go out there and believe in ourselves that we can do it, and we're better than anyone we play."