Marmion 12, Belvidere North 3
Marmion baseball coach Dave Rakow couldn't remember seeing it done since his best friend Justin Kochen did it for Batavia nine years ago in a playoff game against Geneva.
Marmion junior Matt Milroy said he hadn't done it since knocking whiffle balls onto Manchester Avenue growing up in Batavia.
And what would that "it" be?
Hitting 3 home runs in a game, which Milroy accomplished at a most opportune time for Marmion Thursday during a rainy Class 3A Rochelle sectional semifinal victory over Belvidere North.
Behind Milroy's 3 home runs and 5 RBI, the Cadets won 12-3 in a game that lasted only five and a half innings because of the weather.
"It's a rare feet but we're happy Matt came out and did it today," Rakow said.
As rare as a 3-home run game is, the Cadets now have a chance to do something even more unusual. Marmion (19-8) will play Rock Falls (30-2) in the sectional championship game at 10 a.m. Saturday gunning for the first sectional title in school history.
The Cadets will bring a 12-game winning streak into the game. They have won 17 of their last 20.
"If we can go out there and get that Saturday it would be huge," Milroy said.
"We've been playing great right now. They (Rock Falls) are supposedly one of the teams favored to win state so it will be a big game."
Milroy hit his first home run the opposite way over the right field fence, giving Marmion a 2-0 lead in the first.
After a 45-minute delay because of rain and lightning, Milroy led off the third inning by driving the second pitch he saw again to right-center for his second home run.
"I usually try to go to the right side because I can stay on the ball better," Milroy said.
The Cadets led 9-2 in the fifth inning when Milroy hammered his third home run, this time a blast to dead center.
Milroy's 3 home runs give him 7 for the season, tying the school record. He also has 41 RBI.
"He's a weight room rat in the off-season," Rakow said. "He's worked out real hard almost every day throughout the winter. Had we played a full schedules, who knows how many home runs he might have it."
Milroy had plenty of help from his teammates. The Cadets pounded 16 hits off three pitchers, including a 4-hit day by leadoff hitter David DeSimone, 2 hits and 3 RBI from Robert Reder, 2 hits and 2 RBI by Allen Kus and 2 hits and 2 runs for Tim Milroy.
DeSimone also was part of an error-free defensive day for the Cadets. The shortstop sprinted 40 yards to make a sensational diving catch on a ball that looked to be either dropping for a bloop hit along the left-field line, or falling just foul.
"Our leadoff man is getting on like that sets the table for guys like Matt," Rakow said. "He's a very solid shortstop. For him to make plays like that is not that uncommon."
Starter Brian Burns improved to 6-2 by tossing his fifth straight complete game. He threw his best inning, a 1-2-3 third, after the long delay.
"The rain delay was fine," Burns said. "The umpire gave me as much time as I needed to warm up.
"It gave me confidence for sure coming out with that early lead," Burns added about Milroy's first-inning home run. " He had a heck of a game."
Belvidere North, a first-year school, ended its season at 16-14.
With the roll Marmion is on, it's hard to believe they were once 2-5 this year. Rakow pointed to a win over Driscoll that helped get the Cadets on the right track.
Now the Cadets, who only a week ago won their first regional title since 1969, are one win away from their first sectional.
"It hasn't sunk in yet. After the season it will. We've been on a pretty good tear," said Rakow, who will start Milroy against Rock Falls.
"They (Rock Falls) are very good. They have two really good pitchers. They have only lost two games so they are a very, very good team. It's going to be a good test for us."