St. Edward 17, St. Francis 14

It's the kind of baseball game where you don't feel safe until the final out's recorded … and even then you're not so sure.

St. Edward survived a 17-14 Suburban Catholic Conference slugfest at St. Francis Monday in Wheaton, getting just enough at the plate to sneak by.

After a 9-run top of the fifth didn't finish off the Spartans (9-11, 1-8), the Green Wave (6-10, 4-7) finally put the game to rest with a 5-run seventh to break a 12-12 tie.

Not surprisingly, the game still held drama until winning pitcher Jim Fraczek (3-2) notched the final out in the bottom of the seventh. With 2 runs in, St. Francis had the tying run in the on-deck circle before Fraczek struck out the last batter.

The teams combined for 39 hits including 21 by St. Edward. The Green Wave's T.J. Madzy and St. Francis' Michelangelo Consiglio each had 4 hits.

"We've had games like this before, and we just try to battle back as best we can," said Green Wave catcher Kyle Horn, who drove in 4 runs along with Jordan Torres. "It's fun, I think it's exciting that way. I like seeing high-scoring games."

St. Francis took a 5-3 lead in the third inning thanks to run-scoring hits by Jason Lombardi and Consiglio -- a duo that combined for 7 hits and 4 RBI.

St. Edward sent 13 batters to the plate in its 9-run fifth inning. Among 7 hits were 2-run doubles by Torres and Julian Ramirez.

Three runs in the bottom of the fifth narrowed the gap to 12-8. Ben Stefely, who had 3 hits and 3 RBI, drove in a run with an infield single. The Spartans tied the game 12-12 with 4 runs in the sixth, 2 runs scoring on a single by Kenny Schatz.

"We always feel like we've got a chance," said Spartans assistant coach Terry Eick, speaking for head coach Rich Janor after he was ejected from the game by the home plate umpire in the top of the seventh for vigorously arguing calls on balls and strikes.

"Unfortunately, there are too many of those games where we're chasing," Eick said. "Hopefully we can put things together in time for the playoffs."

Every player in St. Edward's starting lineup had a hit, including three by starting pitcher Riley Coleman. The top four hitters for St. Francis -- Ryan Snyder, Mike Pugliese, Lombardi and Consiglio -- all had at least 3 hits.

"This is by far the most runs and hits we've seen in a game this year," said Green Wave coach Gene Belmonte. "For whatever reason, we always seem to bring the bats when we play them."