Third time no charm for Benet

Benet and Nazareth met for the third time this spring on a baseball diamond Saturday morning in LaGrange Park.

But there was far more on the line for the East Suburban Catholic Conference rivals than their two regular-season matchups.

The Class 3A Nazareth sectional championship mirrored the Roadrunners' sweep earlier this spring as the Roadrunners battered four Benet pitchers for 13 hits.

Nazareth starting southpaw Donald Kelly limited the Redwings to but a pair of harmless singles in the Roadrunners' 10-1 victory.

The second-seeded Redwings closed their season at 20-18; top-seeded Nazareth improved to 29-8.

"I really thought we had a chance," said Benet center fielder Connor Hickey, who singled to open the game for the Redwings. "They came out and hit the ball."

But it was the Roadrunners' collective offensive mindset that proved insurmountable for Benet.

"It's all about putting the ball in play," Hickey said. "Going the other way has always been a huge thing in high school baseball. I can't even count the number of times they went the opposite way with two strikes."

"Our coaches preach to hit the opposite side with two strikes," Nazareth junior Richie Kiernecki said. "It's a good approach, and that's what we did today."

Four hit batsmen was the undoing of Benet starter Mike Powers.

Joey Muscolino delivered the first plunked batter to open the scoring for Nazareth with two outs in the second inning with a flared single.

The Redwings' misfortune only intensified in the Roadrunners' third when a ball lost in the sun by a Benet outfielder resulted in two more crossing the plate.

"I tip my cap to Nazareth," Benet coach Scott Lawler said. "They scored runs when we made mistakes."

Lee Barnes' leadoff single gave Benet a glimmer of hope in the fourth, but Kelly stranded the Redwings' second baseman, as well as Danny Sobolewski, by ultimately striking out the side.

Barnes' hit was the final one of the game for Benet.

Nazareth had opportunities to end the game via the slaughter rule in both its fifth and sixth at-bats with a two-out basehit.

But Benet reliever Dan Minik ended the Roadrunners' sixth with a strikeout, and shortstop Cole Channell made a leaping grab to end the final Nazareth at-bat.

Benet averted the shutout when Hickey, Channell, Evan Plonis and Sobolewski all coaxed walks in the sixth.

"I am very proud of my guys," Lawler said. "Benet hasn't won a regional championship in seven years. Our seniors did a great job of getting us this far."