Green Wave has confidence back
The St. Edward baseball team is proving a loss can be a good thing. Or, as in the case of the Class 2A regional champion Green Wave, two losses.
St. Edward squared off in a doubleheader against eventual Suburban Catholic Conference champion Marmion on Saturday, May 16. Ace Riley Coleman (8-1) went head-to-head with Marmion's Illinois-bound ace, Matt Milroy (9-0), in a true classic.
Marmion led 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning until a run-scoring double off Milroy by Julian Ramirez sent the game to extra innings. However, Milroy had the last laugh when he smacked a 3-run home run against Coleman in the eighth to lift the Cadets to a 4-1 victory. Game 2 was tied 8-8 until Marmion's 2-run fifth inning led to a sweep.
Despite the two losses the the St. Edward players left the field with renewed confidence.
"I really think the Marmion doubleheader was the turning point," St. Edward coach Gene Belmonte said. "We played them toe-to-toe, including the game with Milroy. Coming out of that I think the kids really believed they could compete against anybody and, therefore, had a chance to win against anybody."
St. Edward (17-12) parlayed that confidence into the program's first regional title since 2005. The Wave pounded Harvard 17-3 in a semifinal last Thursday, and Coleman was in control throughout the 5-1 regional title game victory over Northridge Prep on Saturday.
Junior T.J. Madzy, who entered the postseason hitting .372, went 3-for-4 with 2 triples and 2 RBI against Harvard and doubled twice against Northridge.
St. Edward will play Chicago Latin in a Class 2A Driscoll sectional semifinal today at 4:30 p.m. A victory would advance the Wave to Saturday's 11 a.m. title game against Aurora Christian (24-10), which defeated Walther Lutheran 9-7 in eight innings Wednesday.
Either Jim Fraczek (3-3, 3.08 ERA) or Jon Godfrey (2-0, 4.04) will pitch against Latin. Fraczek held Harvard to 5 hits in 5 innings and struck out five. The idea is to save Coleman for the title game, but Belmonte won't hesitate to use him Thursday if necessary.
"We'll keep our pitchers on a short leash and we'll play whoever the hot hand is, whatever it takes to get to Saturday," Belmonte said.
Today marks the first time St. Edward has competed at the sectional level since making consecutive trips in Class A in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
"We haven't really been winning the last three seasons, although last year we had a good team," said Anthony Bauer, who drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the regional title game. "This is the best team I've been on by far. We're just having fun."