Ask Lyons Township pitcher Nolan Lenc the main reason for his team’s summer record improving to 30-1 overall and his answer might surprise you.

It’s not the offensive power or the consistent pitching, but instead, something else.

“We do the little things well,” said Lenc after his five and 1/3 innings performance in LT’s 6-3 win over La Grange in the semi-final of the 45th Annual Roy Overholt Tournament on Tuesday night. “That’s the first thing the coaches taught us.”

According to LT manager Eric Hofer, LT loved to practice from day one of the summer and did nothing but improve in everything from fielding fundamentals to timely hitting.

And now LT finds itself with one more test when it squares off against Western Springs in the championship game this Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

“It’s a great way to end the season,” said Hofer. “If we play our best ball, we have a good chance.”

In Tuesday’s win, LT let the Kiwanis Park crowd know it was present right from the start by opening up the top of the first inning with a 4-0 advantage. Lenc put LT up 2-0 with a single that drove in Jimmy Hofer and Patrick Richert. In the following at-bat, Lenc scored on a single from Zach Carlson. Later in the inning, Katie Ferman added another run when she stole home.

In the top of the third, LT extended its lead to 5-0 when Austin LaPenna singled to drive in Frankie Nix. However, La Grange provided a splash of resilience in the bottom of the third when Doug Miller blasted a two-run homer that allowed Jack Timberlake to cross home plate. La Grange trimmed the advantage to 5-3 three batters later after Michael Kicmal roped a triple to score Joe Bruni.

“We never gave up and we fought hard,” said La Grange manager John Walsh, whose team will play Berwyn in the third place game on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. “It’s been a special season. We feel honored to be here.”

Richert added the final run of the game with a solo home run in the top of the sixth. Lenc finished with 5 strikeouts while teammate Carlson pitched 2/3 of an inning and earned the save. Bruni pitched 2 and 2/3 innings and had 3 strikeouts for La Grange while teammate Timberlake went 3 and 1/3 innings.

“I think we have a great chance,” said Lenc of the championship game. “The pitching and the hitting have been real good.”