Baseball: Montini outlasts Benet

Montini and Benet started a literal and figurative game of last team standing.

Montini finished it.

Scoring the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Broncos emerged with a grueling 8-7 victory over Benet in Friday's Class 3A Fenwick sectional semifinal baseball matchup in River Forest.

With its fourth sectional title in reach, No. 2 Montini (23-14) faces No. 4 Fenwick (19-19) in the final at 10 a.m. Saturday. The teams split their two Chicago Catholic League White games in the regular season.

"We just had to keep hitting and keep the ball alive, and we knew we'd come out on top," said Broncos catcher Nick Malik. "It was a great team victory."

After a wild couple of innings to start the game - two innings that saw a combined 111 pitches, 13 hits, 29 batters and 12 runs - the score was knotted at 7-7 heading to the sixth. Broncos reliever and winning pitcher Alex Luka set down the sixth-seeded Redwings (14-20) in order in the top of the inning, setting the stage for the winning run in the bottom of the sixth.

Jack Walsh led off by being hit by a pitch and moved to second on a bunt single from Cooper Hynes. An error loaded the bases, and then a fielder's choice from Luka scored Montini's eighth run when Walsh beat a throw to the plate.

Another 1-2-3 inning for Luka, who retired eight straight, ended the game in the seventh.

"It was literally a boxing match that whole game, going back and forth," Luka said. "The first couple of batters were a little shaky, but I got into my rhythm. Just going up there, throwing strikes and getting outs."

Alex Tassos and Dan Sobolewski RBI hits staked Benet to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but Montini answered with 3 runs in the bottom of the first on Hynes' run-scoring single and Jack Gerberich's 2-run single.

The second inning was much like the first as C.J. Birck singled in the game-tying run and Erik Jones tripled in 2 more runs to give the Redwings a 5-3 lead. Moments later, though, Montini surged to a 7-5 lead behind Malik's 2-run double and Luka's RBI single.

"We gave them too many chances," said Benet coach Scott Lawler. "We fought all the way through, and I'm proud of them for that, but you can't give them that many chances."

Montini starter Jake Rosley, who went 4 innings, Luka and Benet reliever Mark Moran settled down the action after the second inning. A fourth-inning error pulled Benet within 7-6 and the Redwings tied it in the fifth on Jake Barnhart's run-scoring groundout.

"Sometimes you prepare for a 1-0 game and sometimes you prepare for a game where you know there's going to be some runs on the board," said Montini coach Rich Janor. "We told our guys to keep their composure and we knew we'd have a chance to punch back."

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