Called on sooner than he expected, Margevicius throws 5 and 2/3 innings of shutout baseball and Nara slams the door in the seventh as the Wildcats sweep their two-game, regular-season series with the Eagles.
A one-out double by Shane Skuhrovec and a two-out RBI single by Joe Khoury in the bottom of the second inning account for the game's only run.
Coach Brad Ganor's Wildcats win for the 13th time in 14 games and will now take an 18-6 record into Monday's match up with Canton Central Catholic at Baldwin Wallace University. The first pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.
The 'Cats' junior varsity team defeats St. Ed's jayvees for the third time this season, 8-4, and the Eagles' freshman team ends up splitting its two-game season series with Saint Ignatius' freshmen by prevailing, 8-6, in what was the first game of Saturday's annual all-levels triple header between the West Side rivals.
****Also, congratulations go out to Coach Pat McManamon's lacrosse team, which improved to 12-1 by defeating Hampton (Pa.), 13-3, at Hawken School on Saturday afternoon. It was the sixth consecutive victory for the Lax 'Cats.
HERE IS THE FULL STORY ON THE WILDCATS' VARSITY GAME. THE JV AND FRESHMAN RECAPS FOLLOW THE VARSITY STORY.
Berea, Ohio - Saint Ignatius' talented junior southpaw Nick Margevicius said he was expecting to be called on for a close-out or relief role during the late innings of Saturday evening's game against rival St. Edward at Baldwin Wallace University.
Well, as all baseball coaches tell their pitchers, always be ready.
After the Wildcats' No. 1 starter, senior left-hander Tom Rolle, experienced some discomfort while pitching to just the third batter of the game, Saint Ignatius head coach Brad Ganor and veteran pitching coach T.J. Donovan '94 went to the mound.
Following a discussion with Rolle, Coach Ganor and Coach Donovan made the decision to call on Margevicius with one out, a runner on first and a 1-0 count on the third batter.
After being allowed to warm up on the mound, Margevicius, overcoming a first-inning walk and wild pitch, went on to lead Saint Ignatius to a season-series sweep of its longtime rival, 1-0.
The only offense Coach Ganor's team needed came courtesy of a one-out double by junior designated hitter Shane Skuhrovec and a two-out, run-scoring single off the bat of junior first baseman Joe Khoury. The game's lone run was produced in the bottom of the second inning.
"Tom (Rolle) played catch prior to the game gingerly, which sometimes he does," said Coach Donovan, a former baseball and football standout for the Wildcats who played baseball professionally. "And then the normal Tom turns it up once we get to the bullpen (pregame). He didn't show any pain in the bullpen, but once he went out there (in the first inning), we could clearly see something wasn't right. So we played it safe.
"I think it may be something with his elbow," Coach Donovan continued. "So we will rest him accordingly in order to get him ready for the playoffs."
As for the young man they called on, it wasn't like Coach Ganor and Coach Donovan were turning to untested waters. Margevicius, who pitched extremely well after being promoted from the junior varsity as a sophomore in 2012, blanked St. Edward over 5 and 2/3 innings before he was relieved by another of Saint Ignatius' young, but oh so promising arms, sophomore right-hander MJ Nara. Nara put the finishing touches on the Wildcats' 18th victory in 24 games by slamming the door in the top of the seventh.
In improving his record to 6-0, Margevicius yielded five hits, struck out five and walked one. Sixty two of his 93 pitches were for strikes. Nara, who now has a lock on Saint Ignatius' closer role, shook off a lead-off walk and sealed the Wildcats' second victory over St. Edward in 12 days on a fly out to left field and two strikeouts.
"He's one of the fastest-working pitchers that we have, so he is fun to coach, it's fun to call pitches for him," Coach Donovan said of Margevicius. "And he really works hard on hitting his spots and executing his pitches, which makes my job easier. Quite frankly, he knows how to pitch to contact when he's falling behind.
"By the third or fourth inning today, he was able to throw his curve ball for a strike," Coach Donovan continued in his evaluation of Margevicius. "And when Nick can throw his breaking ball for a strike, everything else works and gets better. His fastball has more life on it and his change-up is more deceptive."
Speaking of deception, St. Edward's record now stands at a very deceiving 11-13.
The Eagles, who also lost to the Wildcats, 6-4, on April 30 at Baldwin Wallace, a game that saw St. Edward leading, 4-0, after four innings, had six hits to Saint Ignatius' four on Saturday.
Eagles head coach Joe Kasl got solid efforts on the mound from lefty Darien Knowles and right-hander Jarret Edwards.
That said, Saint Ignatius, a tight-knit club that has the versatility to beat you in different ways, complemented the efforts by Margevicius and Nara with another outstanding game defensively.
Senior second baseman and captain Dan Rowbottom, an Illinois recruit, made several nice stops on sharp ground balls, Khoury and senior shortstop and captain Tyler Finkler were vacuums again and one of the most underrated players in the area - senior third baseman Cole Nieto - came up with a play that would have made Brooks Robinson smile.
With one out in the top of the sixth, Nieto made a diving stop of a smoking grounder that had base hit written all over it, got up and fired to Khoury for the second out. How big was Nieto's effort in a 1-0 game? The next batter, Eagles designated hitter Adam Madias, singled to left.
"I really like that," said Margevicius of pitching in a no-room-for-error game. "It keeps the intensity up. You know you have to hit every spot."
JUNIOR VARSITY GAME: Trailing St. Edward, 3-0, Coach Tim Clark's JV Wildcats tied the score with three runs in the bottom of the second inning. The big blow was an RBI single to center field by shortstop Kurt Mantes.
St. Edward, playing small ball, took a 4-3 lead in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly by second baseman Sam Cepis.
Saint Ignatius responded again, this time with a three-run bottom of the fourth. After Mantes was hit by a pitch, the key moments that followed were a single to left by right fielder Dylan Smolen, a game-tying RBI single up the middle by center fielder Sam Fuller, a text-book sacrifice bunt by first baseman Nick Jackson, a take-the-lead RBI single by second baseman Mullen Socha and a run-scoring sacrifice fly by left fielder Ryan Alexander.
The Wildcats then took control with a two-run fifth that was highlighted by a single up the middle by third baseman Jake Kucia, a sacrifice bunt by Mantes and a single by Smolen that brought home the two runs.
St. Edward, which had a runner caught off third base for the game's final out with the bags loaded, lost for just the sixth time in 21 games. Saint Ignatius, which now stands 16-7-1, got four solid innings of relief from left-hander Brendan Adler.
FRESHMAN GAME: Miscues definitely helped tell the tale as the Wildcats' freshmen suffered just their third loss in 18 games.
After two big errors helped St. Edward score three times in the top of the fifth and take a 4-1 lead, Saint Ignatius responded with four runs in the bottom of the fifth. A base hit by Nick Freund, an RBI double by Jack Cook and a two-out, two-run single William Csiszar tied the score. The Wildcats took a 5-4 lead when pinch runner Brian Harrigal scored all the way from first base on a double to center field by Nick Mitchell.
The Eagles wouldn't be denied, however, as they took advantage of what was given them and came up with timely hits in scoring four times in the top of the seventh.