St. Laurence pulls off another comeback

A three-run deficit may prove too big an obstacle for most teams to overcome during the pressure-packed state playoffs. Not battle-tested St. Laurence, which posted its fair share of come-from-behind victories, including one against preseason No. 1 St. Rita, this spring.

After Shepard scored three runs in the top of the second inning during Thursday’s regional semifinal, St. Laurence countered with a four-run flurry in its half of the inning and went on to post an 8-3 victory in Burbank.

The Vikings will take on Oak Lawn for the Class 4A St. Laurence Regional championship on Saturday.

“We’ve come back against a bunch of good teams all year,” said St. Laurence coach Pete Lotus, whose Vikings improved to 25-9. “Playing the competition we have, I don’t think falling behind early really affected us.”

Dan Brott’s three-run homer off Vikings right-hander Mike Chimera cleared the right-center field fence and staked Shepard to a 3-0 lead.

It was a short-lived advantage, as the Vikings responded with four runs off Astros lefty Brendan Spongberg. The big blow came off the bat of Billy Wood, whose two-run single provided the Vikings with a 4-3 lead.

“Good teams, when you punch them, they punch you right back,” Shepard coach Frank DiFoggio said. “That’s what they did.”

Shepard (19-15) had a chance to punch back in the top of the third. But a pair of base-running mistakes, which saw Astros being thrown out at third base and home plate, proved fatal.

“We made mistakes on the bases,” DiFoggio said. “The kids got a little too risky.”

St. Laurence gave itself some breathing room with three runs in the fifth. Kyle Wood’s double down the right-field line plated Jim Topps (single), and Jake Rotkvich roped a two-run double to make it 7-3.

The Vikings added a solo tally in the sixth, thanks to some heads-up baserunning by Topps, who scampered home from third on a dropped third strike.

Chimera earned the win for St. Laurence, and John Rafferty was stellar during 2 2/3 innings of relief. The side-arming righty got out of a two-out, bases-loaded jam in the fifth, and induced pinch-hitter Justin Madrigal to hit into a 4-6-3 double play in the sixth.

“Chimera didn’t have his good stuff today,” Lotus said. “He beat St. Rita and Loyola during the season, but he had to battle today. Rafferty did a great job.”

Spongberg took the loss, but really deserved a better fate. The Vikings didn’t hit a single ball on the nose during their four-run second, but they did find the holes.

“We didn’t have too many good swings today,” Lotus said. “We put the ball in play and we ran the bases effectively.”

DiFoggio thought the Astros, who were ranked in the SouthtownStar’s Preseason Top 10, put too much pressure on themselves throughout the season.

“What I noticed this year is that we try too hard at times,” DiFoggio said. “This group of seniors was outstanding for four years. They wanted so bad to make their own mark. I think it backfired on us at times.”