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Recap of Saint Ignatius versus Anthony Wayne in regional-championship baseball

By Eddie Dwyer, 05/30/09, 12:00AM EDT

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SHELBY, OHIO – As he was savoring a school-best third consecutive Division I regional baseball championship, Saint Ignatius senior second baseman and Co-Captain Brad Clement talked about what has fueled yet another impressive postseason drive by the Wildcats.

“We’re getting big hits at the right time, clutch two-out hits,’’ Clement said. “One through nine, we’re just getting it done.’’

Saint Ignatius got it done again on Saturday afternoon as Coach Brad Ganor’s balanced, aggressive and baseball savvy lineup proved to be too much for a game Anthony Wayne team.

The Wildcats, trailing by two runs entering the bottom of the second inning, wore down the Generals, 15-7, in a regional final at Shelby High School.

Saint Ignatius, which took command with 10 unanswered runs, will be making its 10th state final-four appearance when it faces Cincinnati power Archbishop Moeller in a semifinal match-up on Friday at 4 p.m. in Columbus’ Huntington Park.

In their most recent encounters, the Wildcats defeated the Moeller Crusaders in last year’s state semifinals and the Crusaders eliminated Saint Ignatius in the 2004 state semis. Moeller has won four state titles in baseball and the Wildcats’ only state baseball crown came in 2002. Saint Ignatius was a state runner-up last season and in 2000.

“One through nine, everybody’s solid,’’ said Coach Ganor after the Wildcats improved to 25-7. “We tinkered with our lineup about a week and a half ago. We moved some guys around and put some power at the bottom end of the order. There really aren’t any easy outs and we’re getting a lot of production out of our juniors, which is fantastic.

“I couldn’t be happier right now, going into the final four for the third time in a row. It’s not easy to get down there. It’s hard to win these games. And these kids came through every year.’’

Anthony Wayne (20-9), which was seeking its first state final-four appearance, rode a two-out, two run double by Devin East to a 4-2 lead in the top of the second inning. The Generals responded with a four-run second after Saint Ignatius combined a leadoff walk by junior left fielder Kevin Hopkins, a base hit by senior shortstop Frank DeSico and sacrifice fly balls by Clement and senior designated hitter Brian Lawless into a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first.

In the bottom of the second inning, things really started to heat up – emotionally as well as physically.

Down 0-2 in the count, Wildcats junior third baseman Dave Gallagher put together an exceptional at-bat and battled back to draw a walk. Junior first baseman Mike Burke followed with a single to left field and he and Gallagher moved up to second and third, respectively, on a wild pitch.

With one out, junior right fielder Jesse Franklin hit a fly ball to left-center field. The left fielder and center fielder both made a beat on the ball and collided. From this corner’s perspective, and that of one of the umpires, the ball appeared to be jarred loose by the collision. Gallagher scored on the play, cutting the deficit to 4-3, and Burke advanced to third.

The Anthony Wayne faithful let their feelings be known and Generals head coach Mark Nell argued strongly that it was a good catch. The game was delayed for several minutes while Nell chewed out part of the umpiring crew.

After order was restored, Hopkins was hit by a pitch and the bases were loaded with one out. Anthony Wayne retired the next batter on a popup, but Clement came through with one of those clutch two-out hits he referred to. The Kansas State recruit drove a 3-2 pitch to left field for a two-run double and a 5-4 Saint Ignatius lead. Clement was down in the count, 1-2.

“The key was to score after that (play) happened,’’ said Ganor. “That was the difference in momentum. For us to be able to come up with a hit after that controversy was huge.’’

The Wildcats rode that momentum to three more runs in the bottom of the third and grabbed control of the action by coming up with a four-run fourth that seemed to dampen the Generals' spirits.

Standout senior catcher Neil Butara got things started in the bottom of the third with a single to left. Gallagher followed with a sacrifice bunt, Burke walked and left-handed hitting senior center fielder Brian Cavanaugh laid down a picture-perfect bunt to the third-base side of the infield that he beat out for a base hit.

Franklin’s grounder to the right side pushed Saint Ignatius' lead to 6-4 and the Wildcats tacked on two more runs on a single through the left side by Hopkins and a RBI single by DeSico.

Two-run doubles by Burke and Franklin highlighted the fourth-inning offense and, after Anthony Wayne scored three times in the top of the sixth, Saint Ignatius responded with three more runs in the bottom of the inning. The key sixth-inning blows were a leadoff double by Hopkins, a RBI single by Lawless and a run-scoring infield hit by Butara.

Anthony Wayne didn’t help its cause as the Generals committed two two-base errors in the bottom of the sixth.

Franklin, who emphasized that this is the part of the season the Wildcats play for, finished with four runs batted in. Clement had three RBI, Burke and Lawless each drove in two runs and the gritty table-setter Hopkins was 3-for-3, drew a walk, was hit by a pitch, scored two runs and had a RBI. Saint Ignatius out-hit the Generals by the same margin as the final score, 15-7.“When the chance comes, I try to make the most out of it,’’ Hopkins said. “I’m a hard-nosed baseball player that just tries to follow what the seniors have taught me. They’re great role models.’’

And Hopkins pointed out that he also had two other special sports role models during his formative years – his dad, Jim, and his older brother, Brian, a former Wildcat who is now playing tight end in football for Johns Hopkins.

Along with another impressive offensive showing, Saint Ignatius got a workman-like performance on the mound from senior right-hander and Northwestern recruit Luke Farrell, and a strong seventh inning of relief by senior right-hander Jim Piascik.

In improving his record to 8-2, Farrell scattered six hits over 5 and 2/3 innings and Piascik ended the game by setting the Generals down in order on a 6-3 groundout and two strikeouts.

“Luke battled like we’ve always asked him to, like a senior should,’’ said Ganor, who is in his fifth season as the Wildcats’ skipper. “He was shaky (in the second inning), but he persevered, got out of it and shut them down.’’