Wrap: Burns pitches Marmion over Montini

Even as the game turned from a pitchers' duel to a breeze, Marmion's Brian Burns maintained the same approach on the mound.

The reward was a 6-hit shutout for the junior right-hander.

Burns and the Cadets played complete baseball in Wednesday's 8-0 Suburban Catholic Conference win over Montini in Lombard to stay within two games of league-leader Driscoll.

Leading 1-0 after three innings, Marmion (8-8, 6-3) exploded for 6 runs in the top of the fourth. While Montini (11-5, 6-3) threatened to score late in the game, the Broncos never threatened the lead.

It didn't matter to Burns (2-2), who stayed focused regardless. He struck out eight and walked two in the complete-game effort.

"I just wanted to get ahead of hitters and throw strikes, and it worked out well for me," Burns said. "I knew I had some offense behind me, so that helped me get in a better groove."

Ryan Hoffman's second-inning RBI double gave the Cadets their first hit and run off of Montini starter Matt Beuke (1-1).

Three fourth-inning doubles -- Marmion smacked five two-baggers on the day -- helped the Cadets through their 6-run fourth inning. C.J. Foster drove in a run and Matt Milroy had 2 RBI on his double.

Small ball took care of the rest as a balk and a passed ball scored a pair of runs. A suicide squeeze bunt by Zack Young brought home another run as Marmion broke out to a 7-0 lead.

David DeSimone tallied the final run in the sixth inning when he walked and later scored on a wild pitch.

"They hit the ball pretty well, and we didn't," said Montini coach Bill Leeberg. "They certainly out-played us today. Their pitcher did a nice job."

Montini had its chances, but two double plays turned by the Cadets highlighted a fine defensive effort. The Broncos stranded seven runners including six in scoring position. They left the bases loaded in the fifth.

Foster and Hoffman each had 2 hits for the Cadets. Montini reliever Trace Headrick settled down after allowing Milroy's 2-run double, closing the game with 3½ solid innings.

"We had a tough game (Tuesday) against Marian, they beat us 11-3," said Marmion coach Dave Rakow. "I told the kids that getting beat will happen, but how you respond is what matters. They came out and responded well."

Kaneland 3, Yorkville 1 (10 innings):ŒDespite out-hitting the Foxes 14-3, the Knights (12-5, 9-4) needed 10 innings to take the WSC win. Nick Wagner collected 3 hits and Alex Norman pitched 9 innings for his fourth win.

Aurora Central Catholic 11, St. Francis 6: The Chargers (10-8, 2-7) snapped a 4-4 tie by scoring 7 runs in the fifth. Mark Adams went 3-for-4 and scored twice. Nick Czaja won his second game of the year.

Boys tennis

Batavia 7, West Chicago 0: Third singles Mick Collins as well as second doubles pairing Shane Svitak and Drew Slack both shut their opponents 6-0, 6-0. The Bulldogs are 10-6 in dual meets.

Geneva 5, Rochelle 2: Second singles David Ta won his match 6-0, 6-0 and third singles Collin Rapp took his match 6-1, 6-1.

Marmion 6, Yorkville 1: The Cadets swept all four doubles matches. Luke Brandt and Brian Vasquez added wins in second and third singles.

Softball

Kaneland 4, Rochelle 3 (8 innings):ŒBrianna Hurst's single in the bottom of the eight scored Jordan Herra as the Knights (13-3, 6-2) picked up a WSC win at home. Mallory Huml won her 10th game of the season.

St. Charles North 4, South Elgin 3 (8 innings): In the top of the eighth, the Storm scored the go-ahead run. But the North Stars (14-5, 8-3) countered with a pair in the bottom half for a walk-off win. Lisa Korth had 3 hits for the North Stars and Amanda Ciran pitched all eight innings for her fifth win.

St. Charles East 2, Streamwood 1:ŒThe Saints (10-10-1, 7-4) scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to defeat the Sabres in St. Charles. Saints' starter Gabby Moe (6-2) allowed 3 hits and 1 unearned run and struck out nine over seven innings.

Rosary 4, Montini 0: Audra Masters nailed a 3-run homer in the fourth inning for the Royals (10-9, 9-0). Both Andi DeKing and Kylie Schalz batted 3-for-4 and Schalz struck out 15 on the mound.

Aurora Christian 17-17, Luther South 2-3: For the doubleheader, Megan Cryder went 3-for-3, scored three runs and picked up the win Game 1. Shannah Morris batted 6-for-7 with 4 runs scored and 6 RBI for the Eagles (2-14, 2-8).

Bartlett 7, Lake Park 4:ŒBartlett softball coach Jim Wolfsmith stresses to his players an offensive philosophy he calls "two-out bingo."

With two outs in any inning, Wolfsmith looks for the Hawks to make solid contact and just put the ball in play, giving Bartlett even the smallest possible chance to make something happen.

Wednesday afternoon in Roselle, the Hawks played "two-out bingo" in a big way, downing the Lancers 7-4 to keep their Upstate Eight Conference record unblemished.

Bartlett (15-5, 11-0) didn't wait long to attack Lake Park starter Missy Mazur. With two outs in the top of the second, catcher Elizabeth Kay launched a 3-run homer over the left-field fence to give the Hawks an early cushion.

Center fielder Concetta Lampugnano followed Kay's example in the top of the fifth, driving a two-out Mazur offering to left field for a 2-RBI double to give the Hawks a 5-1 lead.

"What we did today is we got some big two-out hits. We call them 'two-out bingo,' " Wolfsmith said. "Timing is everything, and we hit well in the proper time.

"All season long, we've hit the ball well. We're pretty good up and down the lineup, and it's been something -- with the exception of our Ohio trip -- where we've had the hitting when we've needed it."

Though her home run cleared the fence by much more than a few feet, Kay didn't feel she got enough of the ball to warrant an easy jog.

"I didn't think it was going to be gone. I got a little too much under it for my liking, but I was hoping (it was gone)," Kay said.

Wednesday's win vaults the Hawks to 1.5 games ahead of Lake Park (14-4, 10-2) in the Upstate Eight Conference standings, with Bartlett now having won both of the head-to-head matchups this year.

"I'm glad we got past the two Lake Park games, because those were the biggest games probably for us," Kay said. "Now we've got to stay strong and not let up."

Lake Park coach Cray Allen felt the Lancers' youth gained some valuable knowledge Wednesday despite the loss. The home team rallied in the bottom of the sixth to load the bases with one out, scoring 2 runs and applying pressure to Hawks pitcher Lauren Wydra.

"We took a big step today from our young girls competing. Some of the sophomores and young girls don't know how good they are, and I think they've kind of been scared to let it show," Allen said. "I think today they started to see that … it's their turn."

-- Matt McClarey

Women's softball

Aurora 12-7, Elmhurst 0-3: In the bottom of the seventh inning of Game 2, Julie Beenes hit a game-tying homer. Dana Cebular then drilled a walk-off grand slam in the eighth.

The Spartans ended their regular season 32-6 overall and 23-1 in the NAC. They play their first NAC tournament game at 9 a.m. today at home.