Prep Baseball Report

Preseason Team Countdown: No. 30 Lyons



By Ryan Quigley
Illinois Scouting Director
 

Leading up to the start of the high school season, we will count down the Top 50 preseason teams every day as part of our comprehensive season coverage:

Team: Lyons Township
Preseason Rank: 30
2014 Record: 27-9
Conference: West Suburban Conference-Silver, 13-5 (Tied for First)
IHSA Class: 4A
Head Coach: George Ushela 
Playoff Run:
Lost in Sectional-Semis to St. Rita 2-0
2014 Final Rank:
20 
Returning Starters:
3
Returning Pitchers:
3

TOP PLAYERS
Name, Position, Class (College Commitment)

Tom Hickey, RHP, 2015
John Heilenbach, 3B/RHP, 2015 (Villanova)

Jack Oremus, IF, 2015

Charlie Harrigan, OF, 2015 (Lewis)
Quinton Hughes, P/OF, 2015
Nick Gron, C, 2015

Jeff Wolf, RHP, 2015 (Edgewood)

Kam Fezekas, RHP, 2016

X-FACTOR
Senior RHP Tom Hickey is back for his final campaign. All the 6-foot-5, lanky right-hander did in 2014 was go 8-1 with a 0.98 ERA in 65 IP with 56 strikeouts and 24 walks.

NEWCOMER TO WATCH
RHP Kam Fezekas flashed upper 70’s to low 80’s fastball velocity as a freshman, two years later he should be poised to make a contribution on varsity.

KEY PLAYER LOST
Lyons will have to replace varsity mainstays in SS Sam Cybulski (Lewis) and their best overall player in C/RHP Sam Heilienbach (UW-Whitewater)

STAT RAT
Senior middle infielder Jack Oremus and senior outfielder Charlie Harrigan both return to lead the offense. Oremus hit .350 last season with doubles and 24 RBI, while Harrigan hit .350 

OUTLOOK
Lyons is a perennial powerhouse having made multiple State Tournament Finals and capturing the 2011 State Championship. They finished as the runner-up in 2012. Look for Lyons to finish near the top of the West Suburban-Silver led by a true ace in Tom Hickey.

BOTTOM LINE
Every year Coach George Ushela’s teams lose players, and every year they continue to win. Expect them to play fundamental baseball, throw strikes, and seldom beat themselves. They’ll most likely battle it out with Oak Park, Downers Grove North, and York for the West Suburban-Silver crown. Look for Ushela’s squad to be firing on all cylinders come playoff time, when they are usually playing their best baseball.

Preseason Countdown

+ Top 50 Preseason Countdown Rankings

+ Updated Illinois 2015 Rankings

+ June Event Schedule

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