Marmion’s depth keys win over W. Aurora

If Alex Troop keeps hitting like this he’s going to make it hard on Marmion coach Dave Rakow to take him out of the lineup.

With six Marmion seniors at a retreat, the sophomore Troop was one of the players who filled in during the Cadets’ 8-5 win at West Aurora Thursday.

Troop, who is from Batavia, went 3-for-4 with 4 RBI in his first varsity game including a home run.

“I just want to stick with what I have been doing,” said Troop who also blasted a game-tying 3-run home run at the sophomore level last week. “Everything finally paid off after all the work in the off-season. It really felt good.”

Troop started with an RBI single in the Cadets’ 4-run first inning. His homer came in the third over the fence in right, and he ended his day driving in Connor Medernach with an insurance run in the seventh.

“I was just trying to put the ball in play,” Troop said of his home run. “I got under it a little bit but it went over the fence. It’s what we needed.”

Marmion (1-1) also brought up a freshman to pitch, Jake Esp from Sugar Grove. Esp held West Aurora to 1 run in his 3 innings to earn the win.

A key moment came when the Blackhawks (1-1) loaded the bases with 1 out in the third. Esp induced a pop-up and then came back from 3-0 down in the count to get a called third strike.

Down 6-1 West Aurora got back in the game with a 4-run fourth capped by Alex Pope’s two-out, two-run single. Pope also made several good defensive plays at third base.

Trailing 7-5 the Blackhawks loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth. Marmion’s Connor Riley fanned a pair to escape with no runs.

“We didn’t move the ball, we didn’t give ourselves a chance,” West Aurora coach John Reeves said. “We hit too many balls in the air, too many strikeouts.”

West Aurora starter Ottavio Dattolo settled down after allowing 4 runs in the first and worked six innings.

Mitch Sterne (2-for-3, 2 steals) and Medernach (2-for-4, 2 runs) joined Troop in leading Marmion’s 13-hit attack.

Those Marmion seniors will miss Friday’s game at Wheaton Warrenville South before returning Saturday for Kaneland in a rematch of last year’s Class 3A sectional championship game. Troop’s hot hitting and solid play in the field could make Rakow’s lineup decisions a little bit tougher.

“He’s earned himself a little bit of playing time,” Rakow said. “We’ll see if he can do it again tomorrow. He can field his position too. He’s a good athlete.”