From the campus of St. John's Jesuit, this year's host of the annual tradition-rich Ohio Jesuit Tournament.

 Toledo, Ohio - With their tension-packed victory over the Wildcats, the Queen City Bombers of St. Xavier will take an 11-5 record into Sunday's second-round, high-noon matchup with the 14-2 Warriors from Walsh Jesuit. Walsh Jesuit defeated St. John's Jesuit, 6-3, in Saturday's first game, handing the Titans just their third loss in 16 games this spring.

 Saint Ignatius, which is now 8-6, will take on St. John's Jesuit in Sunday's other second-round matchup, which will also begin at noon.

 Here is a corner's view of Saturday night's Wildcats-Bombers diamond encounter, which turned out to be another memorable chapter in the storied rivalry between two of the most tradition-rich athletic programs in Ohio and the entire nation.

 WILDCATS MOVE TO A THREE-RUN LEAD IN THE TOP OF THE THIRD INNING 

 Thanks to Mother Nature, St. John's Jesuit's home field needed some tender care before the start of the OJT, care that changed the Saint Ignatius-St. Xavier game from an estimated start of 2:30 PM to 5:42 PM. A tip of the corner's cap goes out to the Titans and their ground crew, who did a great job.

 In a will-tester that lasted over two hours and ended with brisk blue-gray skies and a setting sun, St. Xavier's veteran Head Coach Bob Sherlock watched his Bombers take a 1-0 lead in the bottom the first inning. The key blow was a two-out, bases-loaded RBI single by St. Xavier's sophomore designated hitter Hank Thomas.

 Saint Ignatius, under the guidance of highly successful Head Coach Brad Ganor and his baseball-savvy Assistants Mark Terlep and John Whelan, knotted the score at 1 in the top of the second inning

 With two outs and the bases empty, Wildcats gifted sophomore shortstop Michael McNamara doubled to deep right field and senior catcher/co-Captain Drew Asadorian scorched a 2-0 pitch into left-center field for a game-tying RBI double.

 Saint Ignatius starting pitcher Luke Lashutka, a member of the Wildcats' rich-in-athletic talent sophomore class, issued a lead-off walk in the bottom of the second inning only to watch Asadorian fire a seed to senior co-Captain Tommy Grosel for a tailor-made, throwing behind the runner pickoff at first base.

 Lashutka, who was making his first Varsity start, would issue another walk before ending the bottom of the second inning on a strikeout and a pop up.

 Riding the emotion of Lashutka's gutsy second inning, Coach Ganor's Wildcats responded with three runs in the top of the third.

 Fueling the third-inning fire were multi-skilled junior second baseman AJ Gaich, who beat out an infield hit, senior right fielder and University of Cincinnati recruit Jack Eyink, who doubled down the left field line with authority, and junior left fielder and Nebraska recruit Michael Holdsworth, who loaded the bases by drawing a walk.

 A 5-2 error courtesy of the Bombers put Saint Ignatius in front 3-1 and Holdsworth, who was caught in a run down after a suicide squeeze didn't go as planned, somehow avoided a tag and scored the 'Cats' fourth run.

 St. Xavier, a member of Cincinnati's highly competitive Greater Catholic League, ended the top of third by setting down three consecutive batters and closed to 4-2 in the bottom of the third.

 Bombers sophomore second baseman Tucker Hundley led off the bottom of the third with a single to left field and senior left fielder Michael Grause produced an infield hit.

 After the gritty Lashutka retired the next two batters on a strikeout and a 4-6 force, a passed ball resulted in St. Xavier's second run on the night.

 The Bombers of Coach Sherlock got a big lift when they retired Saint Ignatius on three consecutive strikeouts in the top of the fourth inning.

 Once again, Lashutka responded by putting together his own 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fourth off a 6-3 groundout, a strikeout and a fly out to sophomore Erik Daugenti in center field.

 Wildcats outstanding Stats Man Seamus Hough had Lashutka's line as 4 and 1/3 innings, 77 pitches, six hits, two earned runs, four walks and four strikeouts.

 St. Xavier, which owns a couple of impressive GCL victories over perennial power Archbishop Moeller this season, closed to 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth off one-out doubles from Grause and senior first baseman Tyler Dellerman.

 After Saint Ignatius' bullpen turned away a potential scoring situation in the bottom of the sixth, the Wildcats were set down in order in the top of the seventh and the Bombers put together their impressive two outs and nobody on base rally in the bottom of the seventh.

 A tough error while battling the sun on a ball that was slicing away off the bat of Dellerman and an RBI single up the middle by Thomas knotted the score at 4.

 St. Xavier and its faithful then had plenty to cheer about after junior center fielder Mitchell Deitschel, who turned in a solid defensive game, delivered the winning run off an RBI double down the right-field line.

The final line score on the game was 4-5-1 for Saint Ignatius and 5-10-2 for the Bombers.

 FROM COACH GANOR: "It was tough to lose a game like that, but if we're able to put it behind us then we'll be okay. But if we're not, we might struggle as a result.

 "Those were two very good baseball teams out there," Coach Ganor continued. "We had opportunities to score and extend the lead, and it just didn't happen. That's high school baseball. It's a short season, that was an emotional game and there are ups and downs, all of those things that go into winning and losing a game.

 "We have to take it for what it is worth and move on to the next day. We have a chance tomorrow (Sunday) to come out, take care of business and go home 1-1 (in the OJT)."

 Just a reminder that along with coverage of the Wildcats versus St. John's Jesuit game on Sunday, this corner will have a report on the annual OHSAA postseason tournament seeding. Saint Ignatius will again be competing at the Strongsville District.

 Have a great Sunday!