After being in sick bay for the last four games, a healthy Frank DeSico was thrilled to be back in his element on Friday afternoon.
DeSico, Saint Ignatius’ gifted senior middle infielder, returned to the lineup at second base and helped lead the Wildcats to a 10-1 victory over Lincoln-West in a Division I sectional-final baseball game on Talty Field in the Brookside Reservation.
Saint Ignatius, which also got five shutout innings from senior right-hander Neil Butara and some clutch hitting by junior first baseman Mike Burke and senior shortstop Brad Clement, improved to 20-6. The Wildcats will face the Olmsted Falls Bulldogs (13-10) in a district semifinal on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in Lakewood Stadium.
Lincoln-West, which is seeking another Senate Athletic League championship, slipped to 7-7. The Wolverines were making their second consecutive appearance in the sectional finals.
“I didn’t know what to do with myself,’’ said DeSico of being away from the game he loves and plays with an endless passion. “I was watching local teams play like (Willoughby) South, I was watching SportsCenter left and right, anyway I could get some baseball going.’’
After Butara set the Wolverines down in order in the top of the first inning, DeSico got it going in a hurry as he led off the bottom of the inning by lining a 3-1 pitch into the gap in left-center field for the first of his three doubles. With one out, DeSico stole third base and came home on a RBI triple to deep right-center field by Clement. A sacrifice fly by senior designated hitter Brian Lawless made it 2-0 and a two-out RBI double to right-center by Burke scored Butara, who had walked and stole second.
Saint Ignatius, the No. 1 seed at the Lakewood District, set the table in the bottom of the second with a three-base error by the Wolverines’ right fielder and a walk and a stolen base by junior left fielder Kevin Hopkins. DeSico followed with a two-run double and junior third baseman Dave Gallagher pushed the Wildcats’ lead to 6-0 by slapping a single up the middle.
“Coming out here, I was nervous, I’ll be honest,’’ said DeSico, a University of Notre Dame baseball recruit. “I was a little skeptical of myself, being out for a week. But I just told myself to go up there (to the plate), don’t think about anything and just have fun. I was more patient than I normally am, and it led to some good things.’’
Good things continued to come Saint Ignatius’ way in the bottom of the fifth, as a walk and a stolen base by Butara, a RBI single by Burke, an errant relay throw, a dropped fly ball, a fielder’s choice and another throwing error made the score 9-0.
Butara, who also is a talented catcher, struck out nine, walked one and yielded an infield hit and a seeing-eye single in his five innings of work. He recorded two strikeouts in the first, second, fourth and fifth innings, and triggered a 1-6-3 double play in the top of the third.
Burke, who finished with four hits and three runs batted in, accounted for his team’s 10th run with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the sixth. Along with his three doubles and two RBI, DeSico had two stolen bases and scored two runs. Clement added a double to his RBI triple and also drew a walk.
“The main objective was to win the sectional championship and we did,’’ said Wildcats coach Brad Ganor, who had a long, but happy night on Thursday as he and wife Nicole welcomed their first child – Dominic Joseph Ganor – into the world. “Neil was solid like always, it was good to have Frank back bringing his energy and Mike Burke really swung the bat well. We did what we had to do.’’