'A warrior': Matt Zahora battles ankle injury to pitch St. Laurence past Waterloo in 3A state semifinals

Up until Thursday, St. Laurence coach Pete Lotus wasn’t sure if Matt Zahora would be able to pitch.

But Zahora, who injured his right ankle during the celebration of Monday’s supersectional victory, wasn’t about to miss playing in the biggest game of the season.

The junior right-hander allowed only three hits Friday over 5 1/3 innings to lead the Vikings to an 8-2 victory over Waterloo in the Class 3A state semifinals at DuPage Medical Group Field in Joliet.

“I was pitching no matter what,” said Zahora, who improved his record to 9-0. “It meant a lot that the coaches trusted me and my teammates had my back.”

Indeed, Luke Montgomery went 3-for-4 with two runs for St. Laurence (34-5). Matt McCormick was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Vytas Valincius finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

The Vikings will play in the program’s first state championship game at 11 a.m. Saturday against Montini (22-11), a 5-1 winner over Dixon in the other semifinal.

Matt Dornbos, Kevin McCormick and Jason Krol each added an RBI in support of Zahora, who was uncharacteristically wild. He struck out two but walked seven and hit two batters.

“In the beginning of the game, it didn’t really affect me,” Zahora said of the sore ankle. “But in the fifth inning, it affected me a little bit.”

A pair of 1-6-3 double plays helped Zahora escape jams in the third and fourth innings. He confirmed starting those rally-squelching double plays felt good.

“Knowing I made a big pitch made my confidence go up,” Zahora said. “I put myself in those situations with walks and hitting a batter. I had to step up.”

Lotus called Zahora “a warrior” for making it work on the mound.

“He’s been tough all year,” Lotus said. “He made big pitches when he had to.”

Known for his big bat, Matt McCormick showed the crowd he’s more than capable defensively.

Waterloo (22-13) had runners on first and third base in the top of the first inning. McCormick, a West Virginia recruit, ended the threat by throwing out a would-be base stealer at second.

“I take a lot of pride in that — to show that I can play catcher,” McCormick said. “To throw the runner out to end the inning, it killed the rally and we had some momentum.”

Montgomery gave the Vikings plenty of momentum in the way of speed on the bases. The junior outfielder singled, stole second and scored the game’s opening run in the first inning.

In the seventh, Montgomery singled, stole second and third and scored on a wild pitch.

“I was just trying to do my role, get on base and run,” Montgomery said. “Get the big hitters like Matt and Vytas opportunities to drive me in.”