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PLAYOFF TIME!
Chris Kuchta

Baseball Chris Kuchta

Return to Prominence: PSC Baseball Back in Postseason After 11-Year Drought

Pioneers to Take on Harper and Region Power Kankakee in Sectional

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Ill. --- Four thousand seven days.
 
Four thousand and seven days ago was May 17, 2014 and it represented the beginning of a dry spell that the Prairie State baseball team is more than ready to put behind it.
 
On May 17, 2014 PSC fell to Black Hawk College 4-3 in an NJCAA Region 4 Tournament semifinal contest.  It proved to be the last time that the Pioneers would compete in a playoff game.
 
Until now.
 
Thanks to a 25-win season, PSC is back in the playoffs and relieved to see the aforementioned drought come to an end as head coach Dre Gilmore has his club on a quest for a berth in the NJCAA World Series.
 
The Pioneers (25-25) will travel to Kankakee for a best of three Region 4 sectional this Friday. 
 
PSC will square off against Harper in a 9 a.m. first pitch before taking on the host Cavaliers at 3 p.m.
 
Gilmore, in his second season piloting the Pioneers, is certainly happy that one of his initial goals for the program has already come to fruition. 
 
"I'm very, very excited about all of this," Gilmore said.  "At the same time though, I'm also not exactly sure what to expect. I mean I've been here six years, four as an assistant and now two as head coach and we've never done this before. I'm thinking about things right now that I haven't had to since I've been here.  It's great though and its what I coach for and what the guys play for, so we'll be ready. It's been a long time coming.
 
"I'm thinking about lineups, pitching matchups and logistical aspects regarding our trip.  We're not used to doing these things this late in the year.  We plan on making this (qualifying for the playoffs) a habit from here on out though."
 
Last season, the Pioneers missed a chance at the postseason following a plethora of one-run losses after failing to close out several late-inning leads.  In 2025, thanks in part to sophomore closer Pedro Pinto, that hasn't been an issue.
 
"Pedro solved a lot of issues for us this year," Gilmore said.  "If we didn't have the ability to get those final three outs this year, things could have easily gone the other way for us.  He played a huge part in us making the playoffs as all of our pitchers did."
 
The hard-throwing Pinto has also established a new single-season saves record with 11 and leads all of junior college baseball with that number.
 
Both of PSC's opponents present a formidable challenge. The Pioneers played well and held leads against both during their regular season matchups this year, but ultimately dropped both tilts.   Gilmore is optimistic that his team can learn from its past setbacks against the Hawks and Cavaliers.
 
"We know that we can play with anyone in our region.  That said, the two teams we face Friday are teams that we have to be at our best to get past.  Both Kankakee and Harper are super fundamentally strong teams.  Harper likes to play small ball a little more while Kankakee can really drive the gaps and hit the ball out of the ballpark.  They're both really well coached too and neither one makes mistakes.  We need to play a complete game against them both."
 
The Cavlaiers' lineup features nine hitters batting north of .300 with freshman infielder Thomas Offill leading the charge with a .406 average and 26 RBI.  Sophomore outfielder Dalton Hobbick is hitting .380 with 38 RBI.
 
Kankakee's biggest run producer is sophomore outfielder Amarion Paxton who has driven home a team-best 53 RBI.  Sophomore catcher Nolan McCrossin is right on Paxton's heals at 52 runs driven in.
 
Harper, unfortunately does not have statistics posted for the public, so a scouting report is unavailable for the Hawks.
 
The Pioneers will counter both of these teams with their own heavily-fueled lineup with freshman third baseman Luis Romero (Virtual School, PUERTO RICO) and his .376 average leading the attack.  Romero has also driven home a team-best 42 runs and blasted a team-high six home runs.  The strong-armed third sacker has also has compiled a .423 on base percentage and is slugging a club-best .592.
 
The Pioneers are hitting .284 as a team and have six players with batting averages of .300 or better.
 
Freshman second baseman Jesser Contreras (The Vine Christian Academy), (.319), sophomore right fielder Anthony Dapice (Minooka H.S.), (.313), freshman infielder Michael Saiz (Harker Heights, H.S.), (.308), sophomore first baseman Logan Tokarz (Oak Forest H.S.), (.305) and sophomore designated hitter Felix Arias (The Vine Christian Academy), (.301) all are hitting at least .300.
 
Rocket-armed freshman shortstop Nuno Borges (Colegio CK, BRAZIL) is just a knock away from .300 at .299.  Borges has also crossed home plate more than any Pioneer with 40 runs.
 
PSC also features a starting staff and bullpen chocked full of power arms and strike throwers.
 
Freshman Rodrigo Arceo boasts a 4-0 record with a team-low 2.82 earned run average.
 
PSC sophomore ace Fabian Morales (Waukesha H.S.) is 4-2 and leads the team with 44 punchouts. 
 
Sophomore reliever A.J. Kvasnicka (Marian Catholic H.S.) has pulled the Pioneers out of several jams this year and has an ERA of 3.91.
 
While making the playoffs is huge, Gilmore knows it is just the first step in ultimately getting the program to where he'd like to see it.
 
"Making the postseason of course is big and its been a long time and a ton of hard work has gone into it, but we want to get to the point where making the playoffs is a given for Prairie State baseball and contending for the region championship is something that we're always in the mix for.  When your program is in that position year in and year out, a national championship becomes realistically attainable as well."
 
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Players Mentioned

Felix Arias

#27 Felix Arias

INF
6' 1"
Sophomore
Anthony Dapice

#3 Anthony Dapice

OF
5' 9"
Sophomore
Logan Tokarz

#42 Logan Tokarz

INF
6' 4"
Sophomore
Fabian Morales

#1 Fabian Morales

RHP
5' 10"
Sophomore
A.J. Kvasnicka

#12 A.J. Kvasnicka

RHP
6' 2"
Sophomore
Rodrigo Arceo

#26 Rodrigo Arceo

RHP
6' 3"
Freshman
Nuno Borges

#18 Nuno Borges

INF
5' 10"
Freshman
Jesser Contreras

#2 Jesser Contreras

C
5' 10"
Freshman
Michael Saiz

#14 Michael Saiz

INF/RHP
5' 10"
Freshman
Luis Romero

#33 Luis Romero

INF
Freshman
Pedro Pinto

#0 Pedro Pinto

P
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Felix Arias

#27 Felix Arias

6' 1"
Sophomore
INF
Anthony Dapice

#3 Anthony Dapice

5' 9"
Sophomore
OF
Logan Tokarz

#42 Logan Tokarz

6' 4"
Sophomore
INF
Fabian Morales

#1 Fabian Morales

5' 10"
Sophomore
RHP
A.J. Kvasnicka

#12 A.J. Kvasnicka

6' 2"
Sophomore
RHP
Rodrigo Arceo

#26 Rodrigo Arceo

6' 3"
Freshman
RHP
Nuno Borges

#18 Nuno Borges

5' 10"
Freshman
INF
Jesser Contreras

#2 Jesser Contreras

5' 10"
Freshman
C
Michael Saiz

#14 Michael Saiz

5' 10"
Freshman
INF/RHP
Luis Romero

#33 Luis Romero

Freshman
INF
Pedro Pinto

#0 Pedro Pinto

Freshman
P

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