Coach Brad Ganor's Wildcats, now winners of 11 consecutive games and 20 of their past 21, will take a 25-6 record into Friday's elite eight, Division I regional-final match up with Toledo St. Francis de Sales (29-2), the state's fourth-ranked team. The first pitch from Nobby's Ballpark on the campus of CWRU will be 5 PM and junior southpaw Nick Margevicius (8-0) will be on the mound for the 'Cats.

St. Francis advanced by defeating fifth-ranked Perrysburg, 10-5, in Thursday's regional semifinal at Bowling Green State University. Saint Ignatius was ranked 17th in the final coaches' state poll for 2013.

Along with the efforts turned in by Nick Fabian and Tom Rolle, the Wildcats also got some clutch hitting from Tyler Finkler, Joe Khoury and Conor Hennessey, solid defense from Khoury at first base and Alex Panstares behind the plate, and a strong sixth inning of relief from right-hander Kyle Pluta.

"Knowing how to win close games," said Coach Ganor. "We've been in a number of them all year and these guys have pitched in a number of close games like that."

HERE IS THE FULL STORY ON THURSDAY'S DRAMATIC VICTORY OVER AVON LAKE.

Cleveland, Ohio - It was a perfect late spring early evening in sun-drenched Nobby's Ballpark.

Clouds swirled almost artistically across a blue sky and the temperature on the campus of Case Western Reserve University flirted with 90 degrees.

So it was only fitting that two talented and big-hearted baseball teams played one of the more memorable games in the history of Cleveland's OHSAA regional baseball.

The 25-6 Saint Ignatius Wildcats and the 17-11 Avon Lake Shoremen, teams whose gritty and baseball savvy approaches almost mirror one another, tested each other's will for nearly three hours on Thursday evening before the Wildcats prevailed, 3-2, in a Division I semifinal.

While there were many dramatic moments, it was the top of the seventh inning, when you could have cut the tension with a knife, that most of the faithful from both schools took home with them.

Avon Lake, which was coming off two impressive shutout victories over Amherst and Midview in the Lorain District, trailed, 3-1, with bases empty after Wildcats gifted junior first baseman Joe Khoury ran down a high pop fly along the fence in foul territory and made a smooth one-handed catch while leaning over the fence for the first out in the top of the seventh.

The Shoremen refused to look at the scoreboard, however.

After a walk to right fielder Jeremiah Campo, a stolen base by Campo, a wild pitch that advanced Campo to third and a walk to Avon Lake's outstanding catcher Brad Hamilton, the Shoremen had runners on first and third with one out.

Up stepped first baseman Kyle Kuhar, Coach Kevin Marlow's clean-up hitter, and he delivered his second RBI of the game with a single up the middle. Kuhar also drove in the first run of the game when, after Campo was hit by a pitch and Hamilton lined a base hit to right-center, he singled home Campo home for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

With his team now clinging to a one-run lead with one out and runners on the corners, Saint Ignatius head Coach Brad Ganor went to his bullpen again and called on five-tool junior outfielder/pitcher Nick Fabian.

Fabian, who moved from left field to the mound, promptly got the second out on a high pop up to short right center that senior captain and second baseman Dan Rowbottom hauled in.

After a tightly called (some may say squeezed) walk loaded the bases, Fabian kept his composure and sealed the Wildcats' fourth regional final appearance since 2007 by getting the next batter to fly out to junior Nick Longo in right field. Along with Khoury's Vic-Power like grab for the first out of the seventh, Saint Ignatius' sophomore catcher Alex Panstares saved a run with one of his many quick reaction blocks.

"These guys are confident of getting big outs in tough situations," said Coach Ganor, who guided Saint Ignatius to a school-record three consecutive state final fours in 2007, '08 and '09. "It was an all-around great team effort."

That effort included a three-run bottom of the second that erased the early momentum the Shoremen produced in the top of the first. The key moments were a smoked single by Khoury that advanced Panstares to third after Alex walked with one out, a sacrifice fly by Rowbottom that knotted the score at 1, an RBI single to left by senior shortstop and Ohio University recruit Tyler Finkler that scored Khoury with the go-ahead run and a hustle double by senior center fielder and captain Conor Hennessey that plated Finkler.

Khoury was able to score the go-ahead run because of his heads-up base running that saw him take second base when the relay throw off Rowbottom's sacrifice fly went to home plate.

Saint Ignatius' starter, senior left-hander Tom Rolle, turned in another solid and resilient performance in improving to 6-0 on the season. Coach Ganor also got a strong stint from senior reliever and captain Kyle Pluta in the top of the sixth after Avon Lake put runners on first and second with a double by designated hitter Cole Rosmarin and a walk.

In his 5 2/3 innings of work, Rolle yielded one unearned run and a walk, struck out four and threw 52 strikes in the 82 pitches he delivered. Described by Wildcats veteran pitching coach T.J. Donovan '94 as an athlete on the mound, Tom also made two of his trademark 1-3 putouts off sharply hit balls.

"In the first inning I kind of lost focus on a few pitches," Rolle said. "So when we came in (after the top of the first), Coach Donovan and I were talking and he said, 'You can't let up, you have to focus on every single pitch! If you do that, we win.'

"My change-up got me out of a lot of tough jams today," Rolle continued. "I really didn't have my curveball, at all, so I had to rely on the change-up and the fastball."

Composed and competitive, that's Tom Rolle personified. Even on a day, said Coach Ganor, when he didn't have his best stuff.

*As for Friday's opponent, the Knights from St. Francis will be seeking the program's fourth trip to the state final four. St. Francis lost in the semifinals to the eventual state champion in 1972, 1974 and 1999.

Fueling St. Francis' offense in the early going against Perrysburg on Thursday were Miccoy Drzewiecki with a triple, winning pitcher Max Lyon with a double and Andy Okuley with a single. Each one of those hits produced runs and forced Perrysburg to go to its bullpen.

After a 30-minute lightning delay with two outs in the sixth inning, the Knights got a two-run single from Eric Zmuda and a two-run double from Cody Lewis. Lyon, who tripled and scored the Knights' 10th run in the seventh, was 3-for-4 on the evening.

See you at Nobby's Ballpark!