Shane Skuhrovec turns in an outstanding performance on the mound and displays a capable bat, the 'Cats set the tempo with a three-run first inning and the defense makes its case again.
It all added up to an 8-0 victory over Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin in the Lions' baseball den on Wednesday evening.
Up next for Saint Ignatius is a trip to Stow on Thursday for a 4:30 match up with the Bulldogs. Senior right-hander Matt Lynch will be on the mound for the gold-jersey donned Wildcats.
****Congratulations go out to former Saint Ignatius baseball standout Derek Dietrich '07, who made his major league debut on Wednesday afternoon with the Miami Marlins (see the corner's post from earlier today). Derek went 1-for-3 in a 1-0 loss to the San Diego Padres. His hit came in his first MLB at-bat - a 1-0 pitch single to right field.
****And congrats to the Wildcats' freshman baseball team, which improved to 15-2 by defeating host NDCL, 11-1, and Saint Ignatius' lacrosse team for defeating Westlake, 14-4, on Wasmer Field Wednesday night. Keying the Wildcats' fifth consecutive victory and 11th in 12 games were Garrett Joseph (4 goals), Mike Advey (3 goals) and Danny Hennessy (2 goals- no relation and different spelling to Conor Hennessey). And last, but certainly not least, a tip of racket to Coach Jon Barker's tennis team for prevailing at Western Reserve Academy on Wednesday, 3-2. That's 11 in a row for Coach Barker's team as it gears up for next week's sectional play.
HERE IS THE FULL STORY ON WEDNESDAY'S VARSITY BASEBALL TRIUMPH AT NDCL.
Geauga County - They weren't yelling "Shane, come back" on Auburn Road early Wednesday evening.
In fact, if some of Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin's faithful never see Saint Ignatius' 6-foot-4 junior right-hander Shane Skuhrovec again, it might be too soon.
The quiet, but gritty Skuhrovec, making his first varsity start after some strong work out of the bullpen this season, shut down one of Ohio's strongest baseball programs en route to the Wildcats' 8-0 victory at NDCL.
A player who does whatever is asked of him - pitch, play the outfield or DH, Skuhrovec didn't even know he was going to start against the Lions until first period at school on Wednesday.
"Coach (Brad) Ganor pulled me out of class and said Nick Fabian's back was hurting (spasms) and that he wanted me to come in here and get the job done," said Skuhrovec, who limited the always sound bats of NDCL to four hits before being relieved by senior right-hander and captain Kyle Pluta with one out in the bottom of the seventh. "I said, 'Yeah, I can do it.'"
True to his words, Skuhrovec kept the Lions (12-9) off balance for most of the late afternoon and early evening and got the offensive and defensive support every pitcher appreciates.
Saint Ignatius (16-6), having now won 11 of its past 12 games, jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning and never looked back.
Senior second baseman, captain and Illinois recruit Dan Rowbottom keyed the first-inning surge with a leadoff triple to the gap in deep right-center field. Senior center fielder and captain Conor Hennessey hit a too-hot-to-handle grounder through the left side for an RBI and junior right fielder Nick Longo followed with a single to right center.
The Wildcats then flashed their aggressive base running, as Longo, a Miami of Ohio recruit, broke for second and Hennessey came flying home on the throw to second.
Continuing to put the pressure on, Longo, running on the pitch, came all the way around from second and scored on a ground out to the right side off the bat of senior third baseman Cole Nieto.
Skuhrovec, who shook off a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first and a two-out walk and a single in the bottom of the second, coaxed a 4-6-3 double play with runners on first and third and one out in the bottom of the third.
"My fastball, my four-seam and two-seam, were working really well and I started finding my slider later in the game," Skuhrovec said after he threw 100 pitches, 60 of which were strikes. "I felt relaxed, comfortable."
Saint Ignatius' infield, led by Rowbottom and senior shortstop and captain Tyler Finkler, turned in another marvelous performance. Rowbottom, Finkler and sure-handed junior first baseman Joe Khoury were part of three key double plays.
The Wildcats, who out hit the Lions, 9-4, pushed their lead to 5-0 in the top of the fourth. Nieto led off with a single through the left side and advanced to second on a good read off a pitch in the dirt. Skuhrovec then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to the left side and was safe at first on a throwing error. Junior left fielder Kyle Daugenti followed with a sacrifice fly to deep left center that scored Nieto and Khoury delivered a two-out RBI single down the left field line.
Skuhrovec's hustle double, more aggressive base running and Khoury's RBI sacrifice fly had the 'Cats purring to the tune of a 7-0 lead in the top of the sixth.
A two-out double by Nieto and the ensuing RBI single by Skuhrovec closed out the scoring in the top of the seventh.
"That's a pretty good job, a pretty good job," said Coach Ganor of Skuhrovec's first starting assignment on the mound. "He did more than we could have hoped for in my opinion. Offensively we pressured them from the first inning on and never really let up.
"I can't say enough about the defense," Coach Ganor continued. "Double plays are not easy to turn. We turned a couple of really nice ones, not just tailor made. We got the week started on a positive note as we look towards May 17th (the OHSAA Division I sectional finals)."