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Last spring, Mount Carmel’s Ian Tosi went into surgery and woke up to some shocking news. What was expected to be a less-serious procedure turned into Tommy John surgery.
An intense rehab followed.
About 15 months later, the senior left-hander — who has signed with Miami — was on the mound for the Caravan in the type of game that made all those hard days on the comeback trail worth it.
“I’ve worked every single day of the week to come back from that surgery,” Tosi said. “I got back in 11 months. That’s unheard of. I pushed through for my team and I couldn’t be more happy and more proud of myself for that.”
Tosi delivered an inspiring outing Wednesday, working around four errors and six hits to hold St. Laurence to four earned runs over 5 2/3 innings and help Mount Carmel upset the top-seeded and nationally ranked Vikings 12-8 in a wild Class 4A Brother Rice Sectional semifinal in Chicago.
Georgetown recruit Brady Holland and Wake Forest commit TJ McQuillan each homered for the fourth-seeded Caravan (28-10), with Holland’s being a three-run shot. Pancho Vazquez also went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Cullen Winters finished 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
“It’s amazing but we knew we were going to win,” Tosi said. “I don’t think it’s even close to an upset. We know we’re the better team.”
As a result, Mount Carmel will take on Brother Rice (28-10) — a 7-6 winner over Reavis (24-13) in eight innings in the other semifinal — at 11 a.m. Saturday in the sectional championship game.
Louisville recruit Cory Les went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer and four RBIs to lead St. Laurence (35-3), which saw its quest for back-to-back state titles end after winning Class 3A last season. Wisconsin-Parkside commit Danny Donovan added a solo homer.
For the most part, though, Tosi kept the Vikings in check and delivered exactly what Mount Carmel coach Brian Hurry was looking for Wednesday.
“He’s been through a lot the last 16 or 17 months,” Hurry said. “Not many people have gotten to see what he’s had to do to get back to pitch for us. I’m really proud of him.
“It was a gutsy performance against a lineup that’s extremely tough to get out.”
For Tosi, the long journey started with a struggle to diagnose some arm soreness. Eventually, he was told he had a partial tear of the UCL in his left elbow.
“They told me I just needed a repair,” Tosi said. “When I woke up from surgery, I found out I had Tommy John, the whole reconstruction, and I was pissed. I had no idea that was going to happen.
“It took a long time to swallow it, but I think it’s for the better. The repair is just a Band-Aid. Getting the full thing, I’m pumped now. I’m ready to go. My arm keeps getting better and better.”
Tosi was unexpectedly ready for the start of this season, but he was held to short outings most of the spring before ramping up down the stretch.
He’s now 5-0 with a 1.46 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 33 2/3 innings.
“The buildup has been perfect,” Tosi said. “I always told them that I’d be ready for the playoffs. I knew I’d be able to give them five to seven innings in the playoffs and help us win.”
Holland gave Tosi his biggest piece of run support, ripping a three-run homer in the sixth inning to make it 12-5.
“We knew we needed to keep scoring,” Holland said. “I had never beaten them in four years, so this feels great.”
Even more so for Tosi.
“It’s unreal,” Tosi said. “I’ve worked so hard for this moment. I got emotional when the game ended, man. There were so many emotions. I’m just glad I was able to help my team win.”
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An intense rehab followed.
About 15 months later, the senior left-hander — who has signed with Miami — was on the mound for the Caravan in the type of game that made all those hard days on the comeback trail worth it.
“I’ve worked every single day of the week to come back from that surgery,” Tosi said. “I got back in 11 months. That’s unheard of. I pushed through for my team and I couldn’t be more happy and more proud of myself for that.”
Tosi delivered an inspiring outing Wednesday, working around four errors and six hits to hold St. Laurence to four earned runs over 5 2/3 innings and help Mount Carmel upset the top-seeded and nationally ranked Vikings 12-8 in a wild Class 4A Brother Rice Sectional semifinal in Chicago.
Georgetown recruit Brady Holland and Wake Forest commit TJ McQuillan each homered for the fourth-seeded Caravan (28-10), with Holland’s being a three-run shot. Pancho Vazquez also went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Cullen Winters finished 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
“It’s amazing but we knew we were going to win,” Tosi said. “I don’t think it’s even close to an upset. We know we’re the better team.”
As a result, Mount Carmel will take on Brother Rice (28-10) — a 7-6 winner over Reavis (24-13) in eight innings in the other semifinal — at 11 a.m. Saturday in the sectional championship game.
Louisville recruit Cory Les went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer and four RBIs to lead St. Laurence (35-3), which saw its quest for back-to-back state titles end after winning Class 3A last season. Wisconsin-Parkside commit Danny Donovan added a solo homer.
For the most part, though, Tosi kept the Vikings in check and delivered exactly what Mount Carmel coach Brian Hurry was looking for Wednesday.
“He’s been through a lot the last 16 or 17 months,” Hurry said. “Not many people have gotten to see what he’s had to do to get back to pitch for us. I’m really proud of him.
“It was a gutsy performance against a lineup that’s extremely tough to get out.”
For Tosi, the long journey started with a struggle to diagnose some arm soreness. Eventually, he was told he had a partial tear of the UCL in his left elbow.
“They told me I just needed a repair,” Tosi said. “When I woke up from surgery, I found out I had Tommy John, the whole reconstruction, and I was pissed. I had no idea that was going to happen.
“It took a long time to swallow it, but I think it’s for the better. The repair is just a Band-Aid. Getting the full thing, I’m pumped now. I’m ready to go. My arm keeps getting better and better.”
Tosi was unexpectedly ready for the start of this season, but he was held to short outings most of the spring before ramping up down the stretch.
He’s now 5-0 with a 1.46 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 33 2/3 innings.
“The buildup has been perfect,” Tosi said. “I always told them that I’d be ready for the playoffs. I knew I’d be able to give them five to seven innings in the playoffs and help us win.”
Holland gave Tosi his biggest piece of run support, ripping a three-run homer in the sixth inning to make it 12-5.
“We knew we needed to keep scoring,” Holland said. “I had never beaten them in four years, so this feels great.”
Even more so for Tosi.
“It’s unreal,” Tosi said. “I’ve worked so hard for this moment. I got emotional when the game ended, man. There were so many emotions. I’m just glad I was able to help my team win.”
Continue reading...
