by John Fanta ‘13
4th Inning Breakouts by the Wildcats are the story of the day from the First Pitch Classic at beautiful Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe.
CHILLICOTHE – Going into the day, Saint Ignatius Baseball was 0-2, but the winning ways are here for the 2013 Wildcats. After a 6-3 first win of the season over Bishop Watterson of Division II by the Wildcats, Coach Brad Ganor’s team out-did themselves.
Saint Ignatius 6, Bishop Watterson 3 – Facing a 2-0 deficit after one inning, the Wildcats faced their third straight deficit to try to fight back from after one inning. In each of the first two games, Saint Ignatius trailed 4-0 after an inning. The 2-0 deficit would get the Wildcats roaring to hit. In the top of the second, Saint Ignatius answered to tie the game off two throwing errors by the Eagles’ defense. Joe Khoury ripped an RBI double in the 4th inning. The 9-hole hitter slapped one right down the third base line into the corner. Next up was leadoff man Dan Rowbottom, who tagged a line drive into center to bring in two more runs to make it 5-2. Another in the 4th would give Saint Ignatius the 6-2 lead. Nick Margevicius settled down after giving up two runs in the first. It was his first varsity start after he threw a no-hitter at the JV level. He went four innings and gave up three runs.
Shane Skuhrovec locked up Bishop Watterson in the 5th and 6th, and earning the save was Miami (OH) commit Nick Longo. “The two wins that are toughest to get in the season are the first victory of the year and the finale of the year,” said Coach Ganor. The Wildcats had dropped two straight to Ashland and Amherst, but the burden is off now. “Ultimately, we want to win the last game of the year on June 8 (OHSAA State Final), but we know every other team in the state wants that one. I am fully optimistic in where we stand and what we can do going forward,” said Ganor.
Saint Ignatius 13, Grove City 2 – The first three innings of the game took a little over a half hour, but then the 4th came. Saint Ignatius went around the line-up twice in an inning in which the Wildcats scored 13 runs on 10 hits, with 10 runs being earned by the Greyhounds’ pitching. Three errors by the Grove City defense allowed the ‘Cats to keep on striking. Grove City led 2-0 heading into the bottom of the 4th, and then their lead sank, and then some. The game ended after five innings, which was very unexpected. A team that reached the Final Four last season, Grove City was stunned by the ‘Cats.
Nick Fabian won his first varsity start as Joe Khoury, Dan Rowbottom, Tyler Finkler, Kevin Hagen, Quillen Austria, Nick Longo, and a plethora of ‘Cats were part of a barrage. The Greyhounds were running sprints in the outfield after the game for a reason. The Wildcats ran over the 10-run limit to end the game after five innings. They won their second straight game with the victory, and now ready for a challenging Saturday.
The Wildcats eye their third and fourth straight wins as they meet Dublin Jerome.
Saint Ignatius Baseball Seeks to Keep Winning Ways Going at Dublin Jerome at 11 AM and 1:30 PM. BOTH GAMES ARE LIVE AUDIO on the SIBN. I have the call for each of them as I’ll fly solo. You be my color partner and tweet me @SIHSSports and e-mail at [email protected] or [email protected]
Pitching Probables:
Game 1 – Matt Lynch (0-1 on the season)
Game 2 – Tom Rolle (0-0 on the season)
Jerome is always a strong contender for a state title every year. The Wildcats seek to continue their explosiveness as it should be an interesting affair between SIHS and DJ.
