THE TITANS FROM ST. JOHN'S JESUIT AND ST. XAVIER EACH FINISH 2-1 IN JESUIT CUP PLAY, AS ST. JOHN'S DEFEATS ST. XAVIER, 7-3, IN SUNDAY'S FIRST GAME.

SAINT IGNATIUS WILL TRAVEL TO WALSH JESUIT ON MONDAY FOR THE FINAL GAME OF THE JESUIT CUP. THE FIRST PITCH IS SCHEDULED FOR 4:30 P.M.

BY EDDIE DWYER, COPYRIGHT MAY 2012

Avon, Ohio - The Saint Ignatius Wildcats will enter Monday’s final Jesuit Cup game at Walsh Jesuit on a four-game losing streak. Two of those losses occurred less than 24 hours apart – identical 5-4 setbacks to the solid baseball programs from Brunswick and Toledo St. John’s Jesuit.

Late Sunday afternoon and evening, the Wildcats staged a spirited, and at times frustrating, battle with their Jesuit brothers from Cincinnati St. Xavier in what was the second day of the annual Ohio Jesuit Cup Tournament in All Pro Freight Stadium.

While the Bombers of Saint Xavier closed the deal in the late innings and defeated the ‘Cats, 7-4, there is no question that Saint Ignatius again showed the ability to go toe-to-toe with one of the state’s elite teams.

And, as Saint Ignatius head coach Brad Ganor and his staff have emphasized since game one of 2012 and reiterated again after Sunday’s tough loss to a 16-4 St. Xavier club, the main focus of the Wildcats’ season comes to the fore on Wednesday when Coach Ganor’s team takes on Maple Heights in a Division I sectional semifinal at Baldwin-Wallace College.

“We hit the ball pretty well the last two days,” said Coach Ganor, referring to Sunday’s game and the one-run loss to St. John’s Jesuit in Saturday’s Ohio Jesuit Cup opener. “I really can’t fault our pitching. Although we didn’t pitch as well as we would have liked to, our pitching has been outstanding all season.”

The latest version of the Wildcats (14-9) vs. Bombers intense, yet classy, rivalry saw St. Xavier combine a walk and a stolen base by standout senior center fielder Conor Hundley, another walk, a sacrifice bunt by senior left fielder Griffin Dolle and a groundout by starting junior pitcher Joe Gellenbeck into a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

Saint Ignatius, which was looking to avenge last season’s 11-run loss to St. Xavier in Jesuit Cup play, answered with a run in the bottom of the first. Junior left fielder and leadoff catalyst Conor Hennessey was hit by a pitch, gifted junior second baseman Dan Rowbottom lined a one-out single to center field and senior center fielder and tri-captain Tim McCoy ripped a game tying RBI single to center.

The ‘Cats could have done further damage in the first inning, but Gellenbeck reached back for something extra and recorded two strikeouts with runners on second and third.

In what was a see-saw battle, the Bombers scored twice in the top of the second, with the big blow being a one-out RBI single by senior first baseman Mike Hedgebeth off a 1-2 pitch.

Saint Ignatius responded with a run in its half of the second, scoring off two walks, a sacrifice bunt by standout junior third baseman Tyler Finkler and a sharp grounder to the right side by Hennessey.

Wildcats junior left-hander Tom Rolle, who came on in relief after two innings, calmly pitched out of trouble in the top of the third. Riding that momentum, Saint Ignatius got a leadoff double from Rowbottom in the bottom of the third. McCoy followed with a sacrifice bunt and, with Rowbottom on third, senior first baseman Stephen Alexander knotted the score at 3 by slapping a ground ball to the right side.

The test of wills continued as St. Xavier moved back in front, 4-3, in the top of the fourth. The Bombers manufactured their lead on a single through the right side by Hundley, a wild pitch, an error, a sacrifice bunt by Dolle and an RBI single through the right side by the first-pitch swinging Gellenbeck.

Saint Ignatius, which is seeded third at the Strongsville sectional/district, rode a leadoff triple to deep right field by McCoy and a run-scoring single to center field by Alexander to a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the fifth.

The final two innings saw St. Xavier produce two runs in the top of the sixth and an insurance tally in the seventh.

Providing the decisive swings in the sixth were sophomore catcher Jordan McDonough with a one-out RBI double to left field and sophomore right fielder C.J. Hilliard, who brought home the Bombers’ sixth run with a two-out single up the middle.

A huge momentum swing took place in the bottom of the sixth, when Hennessey led off with a double down the left-field line off St. Xavier senior reliever Colin Adams and advanced to third on a wild pitch. With one out, Hennessey tagged up on a fly ball to Dolle to left field. Dolle made a strong one-bounce throw to home plate and Hennessey was called out by the plate umpire, a call that was disputed by the Wildcats' coaching staff.

Dolle then provided some breathing room for the Bombers with a run-scoring single in the seventh and Adams was able to work around a little trouble in the bottom of the seventh, as Saint Ignatius sent the tying run to the plate.

ST. JOHN’S JESUIT 7, ST. XAVIER 3: The Titans, behind some solid defense and the pitching of sophomore Jacek Czerwinski, led, 5-0, entering the top of the sixth inning.

St. Xavier, on the strength of a two-run home run over the fence in left field by senior Donovan Pogue, closed to 4-3 entering the bottom half of the sixth.

But freshman infielder Devon Garcia became the Titan to remember after he delivered a one-out, bases-loaded three-run double in the bottom of the sixth.

*IN CLOSING, THE CORNER WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE THE SIBN’S BASEBALL PLAY BY PLAY AND COLOR COMMENTARY TANDEM OF JOHN FANTA ’13 AND GREG ZITON ’13, WHO WILL BE INDUCTED INTO THE NATIONAL HONORS SOCIETY ON MONDAY. NOW THAT’S A SAY HEY.

Rounding the corner and heading home.