Driscoll gets victory in rivalry's finale

When Driscoll's baseball game against Montini ended Saturday night, the Highlanders posed for a team picture.

They wanted to savor a special moment.

In the final athletic meeting between the two rival schools, Driscoll rallied for a 12-6 Suburban Catholic Conference victory over the Broncos at Lisle's Benedictine University.

Driscoll will close its doors for good next month, meaning after four decades one of the state's best high school rivalries is now over.

"This is the last time we're going to play Montini in any sport so we wanted to end on a win," said Driscoll winning pitcher Rick Divito. "We take a lot of pride in this, and it's for everybody at our school."

Trailing 4-1 in the fifth inning, Divito blasted a 3-run homer to tie the game for Driscoll (18-11, 8-6). Montini (14-7, 8-5) claimed a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the inning on a solo home run by Jeff Spokas, but the Highlanders exploded for 5 runs in the sixth.

Jeremy Abernathy's RBI single started it off. Pierre Washington-Steel's run-scoring groundout was followed by an RBI double by Gabe Tumlos and Mike Romito's 2-run single.

The Highlanders had 6 of their 12 hits in the sixth while snagging a 9-5 lead, but they also took advantage of Montini's wildness on the mound. Four Broncos pitchers combined to walk eight batters and hit two in the game.

"They hit our best pitching, and they hit us hard," said Montini coach Bill Leeberg. "That's 10 guys we let on base, and you combine that with their hitting and you're going to see them score 12 runs."

Montini pulled within 9-6 in the bottom of the sixth on Colin Meister's RBI groundout, but Driscoll tacked on 3 runs in the seventh to build its 12-6 lead as Tumlos smacked a 2-run single.

Jared Jayne, who went 3-for-3, singled home Montini's first run and Spokas added a bases-loaded walk in the first inning. Washington-Steel laced the first of his 2 triples in the third, leading to Divito's RBI groundout that halved the gap to 2-1.

Tom DiCristina gave the Broncos some insurance in the bottom of the third inning with a 2-run homer that boosted the lead to 4-1.

Divito pitched 5 innings to improve to 8-0 on the season. Anthony Reaber closed the game with 2 innings of relief.

"The second we got out here we were jacked up and ready to play, but I think we let our emotions get the best of us early," said Highlanders coach Sean Bieterman. "I'm very proud of our kids. This is a great end for us to a terrific rivalry."