No. 1 St. Rita hammers No. 2 St. Laurence in Bajenski quarterfinals

May 23, 2014

By Drake Skleba
Senior Writer

CRESTWOOD- In a Third-Annual Steven M. Bajenski Memorial Tournament quarterfinal game - and the rubber-match between the two Catholic League Blue powers - No. 1 St. Rita spotted No. 2 St. Laurence a 4-2 lead after three innings. Then the Mustangs scored eight runs the following two innings and cruised to a convincing 14-7 victory.

With the win, top-ranked St. Rita (30-3) will take on the defending Bajenski Tournament champion Joliet Catholic Academy (28-6) on Friday at 5:15. The 10th-ranked Hilltoppers beat Joliet-area rival Providence 2-0 in the second quarterfinal game played at Standard Bank Stadium on Thursday night.

St. Laurence (27-5) jumped all over St. Rita starting and winning pitcher Jake Shepski (5-1) for four runs and nine hits in the first three innings. Senior Roger Wilson’s two-run smash single off of St. Rita third baseman Tyler Halas gave the Vikings an early 2-0 lead in the first inning. NIU-bound Brad Wood came through with a clutch two-out RBI single in the second to give the Vikes a 3-2 lead and junior Frank Greco’s sac-fly made it 4-2 in the third.

In the bottom the fourth, the Mustangs scored three times to grab their first lead at 5-4.The bottom of the order for St. Rita were the offensive heroes for the top-ranked Mustangs. No. 8 hitter, junior shortstop Marty Bechina’s RBI single made it 4-3 and he would score on No. 9 hitter Chris Delgadillo’s RBI double to tie the game at 4-4. Mustang leadoffman sophomore Danny Cleaves put the Mustangs up 5-4 with an RBI single.

“This was just a great team effort,” said Delgadillo. “I really squared up on the pitches tonight and it really felt good to get some hits. I have been really struggling at the plate as of late.”

St. Rita blew the game open with the five-spot in the fifth. Mustang centerfielder Shane Peisker’s two-run double was one of the highlights of the five-run fifth. Bechina added an RBI double.

The Vikings scored three times in the sixth on one hit to close to 10-7 but St. Rita landed the knockout punch with four more runs in the bottom of the sixth. Anthony Farron and that man Bechina had RBI singles, to highlight the Mustang sixth.

“We just keep answering every St. Laurence surge. They would score and would respond with more runs,” said Bechina. “I had a good day at the plate but everyone contributed to this victory.”

With the loss St. Laurence will fall to the consolation bracket of the tournament.

“The bottom of our batting order really helped us win this ballgame,” said St.Rita coach Mike Zunica. “Marty and Chris had big days for us.”

You can see all of the action of Friday’s Bajenski Tournament Semi-Final 1 LIVE @ www.highschoolcube.com at 5:15. I will have the play-by-play of the Top-10 Matchup.

No. 1 St. Rita hammers No. 2 St. Laurence in Bajenski quarterfinals

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