When Josh Currier was told last year he wasn't good enough to make the Lincoln-Way East baseball team, he didn't sulk or throw a fit.

Currier, a 6-foot-5 left-handed pitcher, vowed redemption.

“I'm a pretty level-headed person,” Currier said. “I was pretty dejected. I was told there were 13 pitchers better than me. When I walked out of the room, the whole team was outside. I told them I was cut. They thought I was kidding.

“I was surprised. I'd never been cut before. It was motivation for me.”

Let's face it. Six-foot-five lefties with 85-mph fastballs that tail away are generally viewed as an asset. Just not at Lincoln-Way East, which finished 15-18 last season.

The first thing Currier did was text his pitching instructor, Brian Forystek, who works for Future Stars Baseball Academy. For Currier, it was time to get down to serious business.

“I told him I was going to be working out every day,” Currier said. “There was no chance I was going to stop playing. I've been pitching since first grade. I loved pitching for my high school and representing my town.”

Forystek was a left-handed pitcher for Sandburg in the mid-1990s who went on to star at Illinois State and play in the Baltimore Orioles organization. He led Sandburg to its first Class AA state finals appearance in 1996.

“I'd say nine out of 10 kids who get cut and tell me they want to keep playing end up shutting it down for good,” Forystek said. “Josh was just the opposite. He worked his butt off. He hit the weight room. Put on 15 pounds of muscle. He got a chip on his shoulder.

“I was surprised he got cut. But in a roundabout way, getting cut might have been the best thing to happen to him.”

Working out is all well and good. But Currier needed to pitch in games during March, April and May.

Forystek set him up with a weekend spring league in Wisconsin, which plays its high school season in the summer.

“I pitched against the best high school players in Wisconsin,” Currier said. “It was excellent competition. I averaged about 10 strikeouts a game.”

The closure of Lincoln-Way North last year forced a change to the school boundaries in District 210. Kids from Mokena like Currier, who attended Lincoln-Way East, transferred to Lincoln-Way Central.

Currier had no trouble this spring making Lincoln-Way Central's team. In fact, he's the No. 2 starter and ended up earning a scholarship to Valparaiso.

Knights coach Mitch Nowicki is glad to have Currier.

“He's a very smart, good kid,” Nowicki said. “He's a big-time competitor and a good teammate. He's willing to listen and improve.

“I think once he got cut, he committed himself even more to the game. He's passionate about his work.”

Currier (1-0) has a 4.50 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 14 innings. He's had some trouble finding the plate consistently with 11 walks, but he's routinely pitched against the Knights' best opponents.

“The best is yet to come from Josh,” Nowicki said. “I expect him to do very, very well at the next level.”

Currier had approximately 30 college programs recruiting him, including Division I interest from Eastern Illinois and Ball State. It also doesn't hurt Currier has a 3.8 GPA and scored a 29 on the ACT.

In the end, Currier picked a place he knows.

“My sister (Kayla) plays volleyball at Valparaiso,” Currier said. “I've been there a ton to watch her games. It's a perfect fit academically and athletically.”

And a testament to not giving up.

pdisabato@tribpub.com

Twitter @disabato