Baseball: Montini rallies in seventh for victory

Michael Koszewski turned the notion of poetic justice from the theoretical to the practical.

After watching his otherwise strong pitching performance falter and appear on the verge of taking the loss, he found other ways to impact the game.

Koszewski ignited a 5-run seventh-inning uprising with a dramatic 2-run single past a drawn-in defense for the crucial run in the Broncos' 7-3 victory over host St. Patrick in a Class 3A sectional semifinal at Kerry Woods Cubs Park in Chicago on Wednesday.

Montini (19-11) advances to play Ridgewood for the sectional championship at noon Saturday. Ridgewood upset top-seeded Glenbard South 4-3 in the first semifinal.

Stymied through much of the game by the Shamrocks' skillful pitching, Montini found unorthodox ways to gain the lead, scoring runs on a throwing error and a dropped third strike.

Koszewski pitched 5⅓ strong innings only to watch a couple of walks, a balk and a wild pitch turn the Broncos' 2-1 lead into a 3-2 deficit to start the top of the seventh.

Outfielder Antoine Harris started the rally brilliantly by stroking a hard double down the third baseline. It was the start of a magical rally.

"The pitcher was trying to get fastballs in there, and I was ready for it," Harris said. "Being the leadoff hitter, I waiting back and read for that fastball and I drove it down the line."

Ryan Nelson drove Harris home with a sharp single. A couple of walks proved the perfect prelude to Koszewski, a hard-throwing left-hander who also bats left-handed.

He drilled a fastball up the middle for the 5-3 lead.

"I was just trying to hit the ball down," Koszewski said. "I saw the infield down, and I was just trying to do my job and get the runners in."

As a pitcher he understands the mentality and psychological games pitchers wage. He was biding his time.

"We have been in that position before of being down to our last at bat and needing to rally, so it was nothing new," he said.

"We were ready to come back and get that momentum."

Estevan Moreno followed with another loping single to left center for the final 2-run hit. By the time it was over, Montini collected 5 runs, 4 hits, 2 walks and also utilized another player hit by a pitch.

"I think we finally settled down in that situation," Harris said. "We didn't want our season to end. In that final inning our energy was up. We waited for the right pitch, and we did what we needed."

Justin Lazowski, the normal shortstop, came on in relief and threw 1⅔ innings to secure the victory. He coaxed a 1-6-3 double play to end the game in wondrous style.

The experience pulverized the Broncos' last two years where they were upset by lower-seeded teams.

This time they managed their payback.

"This is an amazing experience," Koszewski said.