THE THIRD-SEEDED WILDCATS ADVANCE TO NEXT WEEK'S DISTRICT SEMIFINALS AT STRONGSVILLE HIGH SCHOOL, WHERE THEY WILL FACE THE SECOND-SEEDED BRECKSVILLE-BROADVIEW HEIGHTS BEES ON MAY 16 AT 4:30 P.M.
UP NEXT FOR THE 'CATS IS FRIDAY NIGHT'S REGULAR SEASON GAME AGAINST THE LAKEWOOD RANGERS IN LEGENDARY LAKEWOOD STADIUM. THE FIRST PITCH FOR THE VARSITY GAME IS 7 P.M. THE VARSITY MATCHUP WILL FOLLOW A 4:30 JUNIOR VARSITY GAME BETWEEN THE RANGERS AND THE WILDCATS.
BY EDDIE DWYER, COPYRIGHT MAY 2012
Berea, Ohio – Leading off in the bottom of the fifth inning on Thursday evening, Saint Ignatius’ gifted junior second baseman Dan Rowbottom got what he was looking for.
And oh my, did he make the most of it.
Turning on a first-pitch fastball, Rowbottom hit a majestic home run over the right-field fence at Baldwin-Wallace College. It was part of a Wildcats’ offensive attack that included a little bit of everything en route to a 6-0, Division I sectional-final victory over the Invaders from Normandy.
Rowbottom’s blast also had some historical aspects to it, as it was Dan’s first round tripper on the varsity level, Saint Ignatius’ first home run as team this season and the first homer produced by the Wildcats’ all-wood bats, small-ball approach of 2012.
“Lately, I’ve been trying to take advantage of the first pitch,” said the left-handed hitting Rowbottom, who pointed out that senior center fielder and tri-captain Tim McCoy belted a home run during the preseason scrimmages. “The first pitch is usually a fastball and later on I’m usually seeing the off-speed stuff. He gave me an inside fastball, that’s the pitch right there. It felt good, the ball just kept on going.”
Saint Ignatius, which improved to 16-9, will keep on going, as the victory over the Invaders vaulted the 'Cats into a May 16th district-semifinal date with Brecksville-Broadview Heights. The first pitch on the 16th will be 4:30 p.m. from Strongsville High School. Saint Ignatius and Brecksville played at Progressive Field last month and the 'Cats came away with a 1-0 victory in a game that saw both teams use an array of pitchers.
Along with an offense that rolled three deuces – two runs in the second, third and fifth innings – Wildcats head coach Brad Ganor and pitching coach T.J. Donovan ‘94 witnessed another outstanding effort from the ‘Cats’ pitching staff.
Less than 24 hours after senior right-hander and tri-captain Matt Hoyer threw a one-hitter in a 10-0, sectional-semifinal triumph over Maple Heights, junior left-hander Tom Rolle, senior southpaw Zak Shockley, senior right-hander Scott Chase and junior right-hander Matt Lynch combined on the shutout over Normandy. The firing foursome totaled 10 strikeouts in what was Saint Ignatius’ fourth staff (more than one pitcher) shutout this spring and seventh overall. Phenomenal was the word Coach Ganor used in referring to the combined shutouts.
Rolle pitched two perfect innings, striking out four, and Shockley, a Marshall recruit, threw two hitless innings with a K. Chase pitched the fifth and sixth innings, yielding two singles and striking out three, and Lynch put the seal on the deal in the seventh by striking out two. Normandy’s third and final hit came on a single in the seventh.
“A couple of plays we didn’t execute today, which was disappointing, but we executed others,” Coach Ganor said. “Scoring early and giving our pitching staff confidence is very important. Guys were coming in and throwing strikes and we were in control for most of the game.”
Saint Ignatius' two runs in the second inning resulted from a walk and a stolen base by junior third baseman Tyler Finkler, a base hit by and a stolen base by senior catcher Ralph Lucarelli, an RBI single by senior shortstop and tri-captain Mike Ruffing and a perfectly executed bunt to the right side by junior first baseman Mike LaManna.
Senior right fielder Dan Oaklief fueled the two-run third by driving the ball to deep left field for a lead-off double. Dan moved to third on fielder’s choice and scored on a wild pitch.
A walk to McCoy and his consecutive stolen bases, a walk to senior designated hitter Stephen Alexander and another wild pitch produced the ‘Cats’ fourth run, and the two-run fifth was highlighted by Rowbottom’s authoritative greeting to Mr. Rawlings, an infield hit by McCoy that was followed by his third stolen base on the day, a sacrifice fly by Alexander and a suicide squeeze by Finkler.
“We know how well we can play, when we play the way the coaches taught us,” said Rowbottom. “We just want to take advantage of it and see how far we can go in this tournament.”
FROM THE SIBN: John Fanta ’13, the lead broadcaster for the Saint Ignatius Student Broadcasting Network, wanted to send out his apologies, as the SIBN lost power in the seventh inning of the Normandy game. John emphasized that the SIBN will be fine-tuned and ready to go for its next broadcast, which is Saturday’s 4 p.m. varsity game against St. Edward at B-W.
Rounding the corner and heading home.