St. Francis clobbers another playoff opponent

St. Francis continued its remarkable run through the Class 3A baseball tournament field in Saturday's Sycamore sectional final against Belvidere North.

The Spartans seized a 4-0 lead after three innings behind ultra-efficient pitcher Jason Sullivan, then sent 14 batters to the plate during a 10-run fifth to secure a convincing 14-0, 5-inning victory.

Having outscored the first four tournament opponents by a whopping 53-2 margin, St. Francis (25-9) advanced to face Metamora (31-7) in Monday's Rock Island supersectional at Augustana College.

Jason Sullivan and Foster Heise drove in four runs apiece while Jake Radel and Nick Dama each scored three times as the Spartans smoked five extra-base hits as part of a 10-hit attack.

"That's a testament to all these kids. They work so hard every single day. They keep applying pressure until something breaks, and when it does they take full advantage," said St. Francis first-year coach Nick Hall.

"We're pumped, so ready to go," Sullivan said. "Keep doing what we do. As one guy starts it, another guy goes, and as a whole unit that's when we start to produce."

Outside of the victory itself, the Spartans received an added bonus as staff ace Sullivan (11-1) needed just 36 pitches to get through four innings before giving way to lefty Colin Wisted, who worked a perfect fifth to close out the win.

"To come back for Monday, it's really what we needed, the short, quick innings," Sullivan said. "Our scouting report said they were very aggressive swingers, so my job was to throw as many first-ball fastball strikes and let my defense do the work."

"Jason's been our horse all year. In every one of his starts, he's never had more than two earned runs, which is pretty impressive," Hall said. "So for him throwing only 36 pitches, we'll see how his arm is, but that gives him a chance to throw in the supersectional."

St. Francis put pressure on Blue Thunder starter Ben Kolkmeyer from the first pitch when Tim Lilly and Sullivan reached scoring position in the opening inning. Brett Whelton drilled what looked to be a 2-run single to right, but second baseman Kyle Hauser snared the liner to keep the Spartans off the board.

The Spartans loaded the bases in the second and Sullivan delivered a single up the middle to score Dama with the game's first run, but Tim Sullivan was thrown out on a close play at the plate to end the inning.

Dama extended the lead to 3-0 in the third with a 2-run triple into the right-center gap in on a 3-2 pitch. Mike Beach followed with a RBI double into the left-field corner for a 4-0 lead.

"Coach always tells us to battle with two strikes. I was just looking to put something in play and do a job," Dama said. "If it doesn't happen for us one inning we know we'll get the runs sometime. We just have to stay positive."

The floodgates opened in the fifth as Belvidere North reliever Jordan Paulson walked the first four Spartans hitters. Jason Sullivan stroked a bases-clearing double and Whelton following with a RBI single for a 10-0 advantage. Heise added another 3-run double to complete the scoring.

"Hitting is contagious. One guy starts to hit and then next guy and the next. Once we get our bats going, it's very hard to pitch around that," Jason Sullivan said.

Belvidere North (16-22) made solid contact against Sullivan, but mustered just one baserunner the entire game when No. 9 hitter Hauser singled into right with two outs in the third.

Beach made on outstanding catch on Brandon Streed's liner to right in the fourth, and shortstop Tim Sullivan chased down a pop-up in short left field in the fifth.

"All year long our defense has been our backbone. They've been great," Hall said. "You don't give up the big inning. You really make them earn it and go base to base."

The Spartans could face their toughest challenge to date against Metamora, which defeated Geneseo 7-1 as a sectional final host. The Redbirds have outscored their tournament opponents 29-7 and have allowed just 1 run in each of their last three games.

"We always preach that we don't want to be the best team in March, we want to be the best team in June," Hall said. "Our goal is a state championship. I know it's not something you take for granted. It's a long road and a lot of wins."