Wednesday’s walk-off win over Benedictine was exciting. Thursday’s thrilling finish over Solon was even better.
Entering the bottom of the seventh, Saint Ignatius had not led all game versus the No. 10 team in the state, the Solon Comets. Led by North Carolina recruit Casey Maniglia, Solon took the lead first with an RBI single by Mike Tsironis to score Ryan McCurry.
The Comets then added three more in the second to take a 4-1 lead. With two outs, McCurry roped an RBI double to right that brought home two Comets to make it 3-1, and then Tsironis got his second RBI of the day with a single to left making it 4-1 Solon.
However, the Wildcats did not show any signs of being rattled. Starter Tommy Grosel quickly adjusted and heated up, keeping Solon’s lineup in check the rest of the way. On offense, the Wildcats’ bats came alive.
In the bottom of the third, the Cats got two runs back. Jeff Chonko, with one out and Ryan Jacobs ninety feet away from scoring, shot a liner at the shortstop for Solon, who had a hard time handling the ball. That scored Jacobs to make it a two-run ballgame.
On the ensuing at-bat, Christian Ramos did his job to get Jack Siefert home from third on an RBI groundout, and just like that, Solon only led 4-3. The Wildcats were biting at the Comets’ tails.
After Grosel’s day ended in the 4th, junior Jack Eyink came on and kept the deficit at one run, striking out two and giving up just one hit, which did no damage. Then in the seventh, Dan Adler came on and did quick work of the Comets to send the game to the bottom of the seventh inning with the Wildcats down just a run.
Mark Geraci started the rally started with a quick line drive to right to get the tying run aboard. Alec Guy then came on to pinch run for the senior shortstop. The next at bat saw Miami (OH) commit Ryan Jacobs bunt a slow roller down the third base line that no one could make a play on, reaching first to represent the winning run. Two men on for the Wildcats, nobody out. Enter Jack Siefert.
The Wittenberg University recruit entered the ballgame batting .382 with 5 RBI’s. He’s had big hits all year long, but none bigger came before Thursday.
Still with nobody out, Siefert loved the first pitch he saw from the Comets’ pitcher, as he roped it to deep left center field into the gap. The rocket brought home Guy and Jacobs to walk-off and win the game, 5-4, over Solon.
“Honestly, I was just trying to hit a single up the middle, score at least one of the runs, tie it up,” said Siefert. “But he gave me a fastball, up and in, and I just took it out there, and that’s the end of the story.”
The 5-4 victory over the Comets is the biggest of the year up to this point, as Solon entered as the No. 10 team in Division I, having defeated Strongsville and Brunswick, two of the teams that the Wildcats have lost to this season. Plus, it was only Solon’s third loss of the year.
The win also places the Wildcats at 11-9 and gives the team tons of momentum heading into the playoffs.
“This is some huge momentum,” Siefert said. “A six-game winning streak right now, something we really didn’t think we could find at the beginning of the year. And now that we’re at this stage, everyone is so positive, the vibe is crazy. I can’t wait. We’re going to out and we’re going to win states.”
Saint Ignatius will now get set to face off with the No. 7 seed Valley Forge Patriots for the second year in a row in the Sectional Final on Friday at 4:30 p.m. at Baldwin Wallace. Last season, the Wildcats defeated Valley Forge 14-0 in five innings. The Patriots earned an 18-0, run rule victory over Lincoln West in their Sectional Semifinal on Thursday to clinch a spot in the Sectional Final.
The Louisville recruit Connor Adams, with a 3-0 record and 0.00 ERA, will get the start versus the Patriots.
DISTRICT TOURNAMENT UPDATE:
No. 3 seed St. Edward is the first team to advance to next week’s District Semifinal. The Eagles knocked off Parma Senior in 6 innings on Thursday, winning 10-0.
Top-seeded Strongsville will face No. 9 seed James F. Rhodes in the Sectional Finals on Friday. The Rams escaped No. 8 Garfield Heights, 6-4, in 8 innings on Thursday in the Sectional Semifinal.
Finally, No. 4 Rangers of Lakewood face the No. 5 seeded Normandy Invaders on Friday, who knocked off No. 12 Max S. Hayes 13-0 on Thursday.