Heartbreak, again, greets St. Viator

So many heartbreaking losses like this would leave most people who endured them lost for an explanation.

But sophomore Jack Czeszewski was able to find one after St. Viator's most bitter ending of this season Wednesday at Tigers Field in Johnsburg.

A two-out, 2-run double by Karl Steiger in the bottom of the 10th inning gave Marian Central Catholic (25-9) a 7-6 victory in the Class 3A sectional semifinal.

And this was the most gut-wrenching of the eight 1-run losses suffered by the Lions (18-19).

"I'm convinced we're just unlucky," said Czeszewski, whose two-out RBI double in the top of the 10th gave Viator its first lead. "We had so many opportunities. An error, a big hit, a bloop hit, it all adds up to be really disappointing.

"We could have had seven or eight more wins."

The other ones would have been forgotten if Viator could have completed a comeback from a 5-1 deficit after five innings and advanced to Saturday's 10 a.m. sectional final.

Instead, Marian will be there against the winner of today's 4:30 p.m. semifinal between Grayslake Central (29-7) and Montini (17-17).

"It's the story of the year - that's been our year," said Viator coach Mike Manno. "I can't explain it. We've been snakebit all year."

Viator was in position to join the 1965 state runner-up as the program's only teams to reach a sectional final against Marian left-handed ace Dave Luczak (9-1). David Alameda drew a walk to start the 10th, the sixth issued by the Elmhurst College-bound left-hander in his fifth inning of a gutty 107-pitch relief stint.

Alameda moved to third on Rick Perotti's sacrifice and Brian Wilhite's right-side grounder. The lefty-hitting Czeszewski then split the left-center gap for a double and the only hit off Luczak.

"I felt we had it in the bag," Czeszewski said.

Luczak limited the damage after Julian Sipiora reached on an error with his 10th strikeout. Viator senior lefty Brendan King got the first out of the 10th to give him 41/3 perfect relief innings on just 32 pitches.

Then Scott Franzgrote reached on an infield single, Eli McGuire lined a single to left and starting pitcher Dave Parr, who was 3-for-4 with a homer, double and 3 RBI, blooped a single to short right.

Manno brought in hard-throwing junior righty Robert Romano and he blew away Steve Zubryzcki on three pitches. But a 1-1 pitch was right where Steiger wanted it and he drilled it into deep left-center to set up a Marian mob scene near second base.

"I'm much more of a fastball hitter," Steiger said. "I have quick hands so the faster the better for me.

"I was zoning him up on deck and just looking for a fastball. I got lucky and got it. Man, that felt good."

Viator tied it at 1-1 in the second when Jake Mastrangeli (2-for-4) swiped home on a two-out, first-and-third play with Alameda. But it came up empty with the bases loaded and one out in the third and runners at second and third and one out in the fourth.

Parr's homer to right put Marian up 2-1 in the fourth and four Viator errors led to 3 unearned runs in the fifth.

"All three guys were good enough and I've felt that way all year," Manno said of Sipiora, who went the first 5 innings, King and Romano.

But singles by Kevin Gannon and Brendan King led to a tying 4-run sixth where Alameda, John Scully and Czeszewski drew bases-loaded walks.

"A lot of teams would have packed it in," Manno said. "That's how we've been. The kids have battled back all year."

But there was more eerie foreshadowing when Viator left the bases loaded in the inning. Sipiora's bid for a tiebreaking homer to right in the eighth was hauled in at the fence.

"We've lost close games all year," Czeszewski said after eight of the 12 runners the Lions stranded were in scoring position. "I thought for sure we were going to close it out today."