Ferraro, Libertyville save their best for last against Stevenson

Libertyville senior Sean Ferraro had not yet joined in the fun for his Wildcats on a very cold Tuesday at rival Stevenson.

While his team had scored 4 first-inning runs and added another tally in the second, Ferraro had only made outs at the plate. No matter that his Cats were off and running in this NSC Lake Division baseball clash.

And then the host Patriots chipped away at what seemed a certain Wildcats win. By the top of the seventh, the Cats' lead was gone. Three more outs and the Pats would have a fine comeback win.

But there was that Ferraro fellow, up for the fourth time in the game.

"I was O-for-3,'' Ferraro said. "I figured it wasn't my day. It was so cold. I thought this game might be over, but then I thought, 'Just be a baseball player.' "

Ferraro put one in the gap and the winning runs scored. The Cats (5-2) had a sure win vanish, only to get it back as Libertyville held on for a 7-6 win over that other 5-2 team, Stevenson.

"We had great plate appearances in the first two innings,'' said Libertyville coach Jim Schurr. "And then it looked like we had no idea of what were doing."

"We hit a brick wall,'' Ferraro said.

The first at-bats for the visitors paid immediate dividends. The first five batters in Schurr's lineup combined to plate 4 runs. Sean Lees singled and scored. Jake Vogt doubled and scored. Jimmy Govern walked and scored. Mitch Townsend's sacrifice fly drove in a run. And then catcher Ryan Jackson cracked a solo homer over the right field fence.

It was 5-0 Wildcats before the Patriots had a base runner. Stevenson's Patrick Loeffler had his team's first hit of the game in the second, and 2 Cats errors helped Stevenson plate 2 runs.

Libertyville's offense wasn't totally quiet at this point. The Cats put runners on base in the third, fourth and fifth innings, and ninth-place hitter Chase Patterson had 3 hits on the day.

In the meantime, though, the Pats kept coming closer. Sophomore Christian Dutler supplied the key two-out hit in the fourth, chasing the third run home against effective Libertyville southpaw Andrew Plunkett.

Stevenson's big inning was the sixth. Jim Marchese opened the frame with a basehit. An infield error and a Jack Trotter single loaded the bases before a bases-loaded walk brought in 1 run. Carter Baretz's sacrifice fly knotted the game at 5-5, and then pinch hitter Jack Cappalli brought in the go-ahead run.

All the Pats needed was three outs to secure a come-from-behind win. The Cats got two outs before Ferraro's big two-out hit.

"We didn't really execute well in that seventh inning,'' said Stevenson coach Paul Mazzuca. "Against a team like Libertyville, you have to execute."

Libertyville's Jackson doubled and homered but was lifted for a pinch hitter in seventh. No, it wasn't a strange coaching move by Schurr. Jackson's hand been banged in a collision at the plate in the sixth.

No matter - pitch hitter Tim Calamari came through with a single in the decisive seventh inning.