Baseball: Marmion wins slugfest over Loyola

It was the wild, wild West offensively between the Marmion Academy and Loyola Academy baseball teams for a second straight day Tuesday.

Then Marmion reliever Nick Talarico restored order like Wyatt Earp cleaning up Tombstone to notch a 10-9 victory in Aurora.

Loyola walked off Marmion 17-15 a day earlier on a 3-run home run and jumped to a 7-3 lead in the second and final game of the Chicago Catholic League Blue series via a 6-run third inning.

Marmion (8-8-1, 5-5) roared back with a 7-run fourth to grab a 10-7 lead.

Could any pitcher survive for long in a strong crosswind on the warmest spring day yet?

Enter Talarico.

Pitching for the first time this season after dealing with a bout of biceps tendinitis, the junior right-hander earned the win by holding the potent Loyola lineup to 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits and a walk over the final 4 innings. Talarico (1-0) struck out 6, including Loyola cleanup hitter Dan Hrvojevic with the bases empty to end the game.

"I've been feeling pretty good lately and I was hitting my spots," said Talarico, a second-year varsity player. "(Catcher) Chase (Stanke) called a good game back there and I was able to let the defense work by putting it in the zone, attacking hitters."

Loyola (12-7-1, 4-6) trailed 10-8 in the sixth and had two runners in scoring position with one out but did not score. Talarico struck out the No. 7 hitter for the second out. After Jack Moran's single loaded the bases, Marmion's pitcher induced a two-hopper to first baseman Jack Molenhouse to escape.

Talarico faced more trouble in the seventh. Loyola's Jake Novak, whose 3-run home run won Game 1 of the series, singled and reached third when the ball skipped past the right fielder for an error. Marmion coach Frank Chapman visited the mound and told his pitcher to forget about the runner on third.

"Go attack the hitter and get him," Talarico said was Chapman's message. "That run means nothing."

Marmion's offense played a large part in ending a 3-game CCL Blue skid. The Cadets scored twice in the second inning to take a 3-1 lead against Loyola No. 1 pitcher Henry Haracz (1-2). The rally was aided by 3 of Loyola's 6 errors, all on high infield throws.

"It's going to be tough for our pitchers to fill up the strike zone if we get down-angle swings that we can't handle and make plays on," Loyola coach Nick Bridich said. "There are a lot of ways to win and lose games but we lost this one early on by making errors on routine plays."

Marmion erupted for 7 runs on 5 hits in the fourth inning, a rally ignited by the bottom of the order. After No. 6 hitter Brandon McPherson reached on an error and Jackson Best was hit by a pitch, the Cadets delivered 5 straight run-scoring hits. Jack Liesen, starting pitcher Bryce Burton, Jake Carlson and Jack Molenhouse each singled and Stanke, a Minnesota recruit, doubled to give Marmion an 8-7 lead.

"We get a time through (the lineup) on a guy and the next time through everyone's on, everyone's checking pitches in the dugout," Molenhouse said. "Next thing you know we're hitting the ball and getting the job done."

Carlson had the only multihit game for Marmion. He went 3-for-3 with 2 RBI.

Novak went 3-for-5 with a double, scored twice and drove in a run, and Will Jackson went 2-for-4 for Loyola.