By Sean Duncan
Executive Director

Leading up to the start of the high school season, we will count down the top 75 preseason teams every day as part of our comprehensive season coverage: 

Team: Lockport
Preseason Rank: 32
2013 Record: 32-8
Conference: Southwest Suburban Blue
IHSA Class: 4A
Head Coach: Andy Satunas
Playoff Run: Lost in Supersectional (Mount Carmel)
2013 Final Rank: 4

Returning Starters: 0
Returning Pitchers: 4

TOP PLAYERS
Noah Masa, RHP, 2014 (Illinois-Chicago)
Cole Bellair, RHP, 2015
Mike Formella, RHP, 2014 (Concordia)
Ryan Dalton, OF, 2014
Jake Stanton, C, 2014 (Millikin)
Lorenzo Blazekovich, MIF/RHP, 2014
Tyler Hair, MIF, 2015

X-FACTOR
Noah Masa. The diminutive right-hander won’t intimidate anyone on the mound, but he possesses shut-down stuff. His slider is similar to that of Sam Couch’s last year, when he threw the pitch 75 percent of the time in leading Joliet Catholic to the 3A title.

NEWCOMER TO WATCH
Cole Bellair. The junior right-hander is one of the top prospects in the 2015 class. He features an 87-90 mph fastball and a solid breaking ball.

KEY PLAYERS LOST
Derek Bangert, C (Heartland CC)
Ted Snidanko, OF (Purdue)
Evan Martens, RHP (SIU-Edwardsville)

STAT RAT
RHP Mike Formella went 5-0 with 40 Ks in 35.2 innings last year.

OUTLOOK
Not many teams can graduate all starting position players and its All-State No. 1 pitcher and still be considered one of the top teams in the state. That’s because coach Andy Satunas has a stable of highly capable - albeit untested - arms ready to go. Masa, Bellair and Formella are a strong trio for the Porters. Bellair is one of the top junior prospects in the state. But make no mistake, though, there likely will be some growing pains in the field. That’s what happens when all the starters from last year’s 32-win supersectional club graduate. Replacing the powerful bat of Derek Bangert in the middle of the lineup will be especially tough. Lockport, however, never has a lack of baseball players walking the hallways.

BOTTOM LINE
The Porters came painstakingly close to advancing to the Class 4A state semifinals, losing a 1-0 heartbreaker to eventual-champion Mount Carmel in the supersectional. While the Porters likely don’t have that caliber of club this season, they undoubtedly will be solid once again. If the untested offense can provide enough run support for its pitching staff, then Lockport can compete for the Southwest Suburban Blue title. But that’s a big if.

Make sure you follow @PBRillinois on Twitter for complete Illinois high school baseball coverage throughout the season.

Season Countdown

+ Preseason Team Rankings

+ Updated Illinois 2014 Player Rankings

+ June Event Schedule