DeKalb's 6th-inning rally tips Marmion

For five innings in the Class 3A DeKalb sectional championship game Saturday, Marmion made one play after another to maintain a 2-run lead over the host Barbs and was just six outs away from its first sectional title.

Then came the sixth. The Cadets committed a couple costly errors, DeKalb scored three runs and after Marmion went down quietly in the sixth and seventh innings, the Barbs were the ones celebrating a 6-5 victory.

DeKalb (25-10) will play Galesburg or Streator at the Class 3A Rock Island supersectional Monday. Marmion ends its season at 22-12.

"I know that was one (inning) these guys would like to have back," Marmion coach Dave Rakow said. "(But) we had other opportunities to score runs."

The Barbs took a 1-0 lead in the first against Marmion starter Mark Peters, who returned to the scene of his game-saving catch in Thursday's 7-6 win over Burlington Central.

Peters showed he can influence games with his bat when he delivered a 2-run double in the bottom of the first. That followed Tim Tarter's RBI single and Marmion had a 3-1 lead after one inning.

After DeKalb cut the Cadets' lead to 3-2 in the second, Marmion made it 4-2 and knocked DeKalb starter Cody Varga from the game in the third. Will Sterne started the rally with a single, Bobby Winkel walked on 4 pitches for the second straight at-bat and Peters also drew a walk.

That was all DeKalb coach Justin Keck needed to make a pitching change, removing Varga after he had walked 5 batters in 2 1/3 innings. Keck turned to Jake Lemay, and Marmion greeted him by calling a suicide squeeze, executed perfectly by sophomore Kyle Kozak to make it 4-2.

But while the Cadets had success being patient against Varga, it didn't work against Lemay who didn't walk a batter over the final 4 2/3 innings and allowed just 1 run.

"Our strategy early on was to hit in counts and take pitches," Rakow said. "You've got to give the pitcher credit. He threw strikes and kept the ball in the zone and shut us down. Sometimes you have to give credit to the other pitcher."

Lemay was pitching for the first time since a loss to Kaneland that ended the regular season May 20 and denied the Barbs the outright Western Sun title. He pitched similarly to a win over Geneva earlier this season when he also entered early in relief and wound up striking out 14 before losing on a Chris Hipchen homer in the 10th.

"I just wanted to throw strikes and get some kind of an out," Lemay said. "Today we graduated this morning and now this, two big highlights of my life."

As sharp as Lemay was on the mound the Cadets were still playing with the lead, thanks to slick plays at third from Kozak, shortstop by Chris Tydd and Sterne at second base.

Peters set DeKalb down in order in the fifth recording 2 of his 7 strikeouts, and Tarter extended Marmion's lead to 5-3 in the Cadets' half of the inning with a home run to left center.

"My first at-bat they threw me inside and my second started throwing all outside so my third at-bat I stepped up at the plate and knew he was coming with a fastball and just swing," Tarter said.

"I thought it was a pop-up so I was mad but then I heard coach say you have to get three so I turned on the jets. Then he goes 'it's over.'"

The fateful sixth inning started harmlessly on a groundout to Tydd. Frank Petras followed with a single and took second on an outfield error.

Peters fanned Jake Jouris but No. 8 hitter Luke Hayes stayed with a 1-1 pitch and drove it the opposite way for an RBI single, cutting Marmion's lead to 5-4.

Varga followed with a high fly to deep center that Marmion couldn't catch, scoring Hayes to tie the game. An infield error on the next batter plated Varga and put DeKalb up 6-5.

"They made some mistakes at costly times and we were able to take advantage of them," Keck said. "I feel bad for them because I think they are a real solid team. The ball didn't bounce their way. But at the same time I'm happy as heck for ourselves."

In its last two chances to tie the game Marmion managed just one single by Steven Bryant who was quickly erased on a double play. With Western Sun Conference MVP Ben Dallesasse warming in the bullpen, Keck stayed with Lemay in the seventh and he retired the Cadets in order.

"We knew that contrast between them (Varga and Lemay) would work in our favor," Keck said. "He (Lemay) battles and does a real nice job of keeping the ball low."

Tarter led Marmion with 2 of their 5 hits.

"It (the sixth-inning errors) was just a big momentum shift for them," Tarter said.

"It (the postseason) was a fun run. I didn't know we would make it this far. We stepped it up in the playoffs this year."

Marmion started six seniors Saturday: Peters, Tydd, Joe Wulff, Sterne, Winkel and Jake Gunderson. While they fell a run short of their first sectional championship, they were a group that won regional and conference titles in the same season and repeated as conference champs - both firsts for the program. They also did it while regrouping from a slow 2-5 start.

About the only thing the Cadets couldn't do this year was beat a Western Sun Conference team. Saturday's loss to the Barbs left Marmion 0-5 against the WSC this year.

"I didn't think of that," Rakow said. "Except Geneva I think they were all 1-run games.

"I know the kids wanted it bad to say they have gone the farthest in school history. It hurts because there was so much on the line but these kids will look back in a year, maybe two years and realize this is a heck of an accomplishment to make it this far. Especially after the start to the year they had. A lot of teams would have folded it in and said we are not a very good team. These guys continued to come to work and got better and better. It hurts to lose a close game like this but the kids will look back at this season and have fond memories."