Marmion 11, Oswego 0
With the way the always entertaining, often unpredictable Marmion-Aurora Central rivalry has unfolded in the 2007-08 school year, there deserves to be one last chapter.
That's just what is on tap following the Cadets' dominating 11-0 victory over Oswego in four and a half innings Thursday in the Class 3A Aurora Central regional finals.
Aurora Central owned the bragging rights in a big way through the football and basketball seasons, with a 27-21 thriller in football followed by three hard-fought wins in basketball.
Marmion has turned the tables with two wins this spring in baseball.
"It's hard to beat a team three times but we'll try," said Marmion's Matt Milroy, who improved to 3-2 after allowing just 2 hits while striking out nine in 5 shutout innings.
Both teams bring plenty of momentum into Saturday's 11 a.m. regional championship. The fifth-seeded Chargers knocked off No. 1 Yorkville Wednesday, while nobody is hotter than the second-seeded Cadets.
Marmion (17-8) won its ninth straight game and 14th in last 17 games. The Cadets scored in all four innings, jumping ahead with two runs in the first, one in the second, and four in both the third and fourth.
"We told the kids to keep doing what you are doing and don't do anything different in the playoffs," Marmion coach Dave Rakow said. "We're real happy with them."
It's hard not to be happy with a lineup that produced from the top to bottom. Sixth hitter Ryan Hoffman went 3-for-3 and seventh hitter Allen Kus smacked a 2-run double, while the top of the order was nearly perfect.
David DeSimone, Robert Reder and Milroy combined to go 6-for-7 with 6 RBI.
"Everybody was on base. Eleven runs means everyone is hitting the ball," said Milroy, who threw 58 of his 90 pitches for strikes on the same ACC field that his brother Tim no-hit the Chargers earlier this year.
"I was just throwing strikes. We played great defense out there all-around win by the team."
The Cadets will need another similar effort Saturday. The regional winner advances to the Class 3A Rochelle sectional next Thursday.
"We'll know we'll be in for a fight," Rakow said. "We've got to keep it up."