Hilltoppers hold off pesky Eagles

Joliet Catholic's Nate Ruzich (22) is greeted by teammates after his grand slam against Jones.
(Michael R. Schmidt/Herald News)

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The Class 3A Crestwood Supersectional did not go exactly as No. 3 Joliet Catholic planned.

But in the end, the Hilltoppers advanced to their second straight state semifinal with a 13-8 victory over Jones on Monday at Standard Bank Stadium.

It was anything but easy – or pretty. JCA (30-5) actually trailed 3-1 after the first inning. But the Hilltoppers captured the momentum in the third inning when they erupted for seven runs behind five hits.

Junior catcher Nate Ruzich delivered the biggest blow with a grand slam. Steven Fehrenbacher had two doubles and two RBI in the inning.

"That felt good," said a grinning Ruzich about his first home run. "After that I think we all loosened up."

The Hilltoppers, however, could never quite pull away from Jones (26-7), which was making its second straight supersectional appearance. The Eagles lost to JCA in the same game last year, 5-1.

Jones came right back with three more runs in the third to make it 8-6. James Owen-Leary (2-for-4, two RBI) drove a two-run double in the inning.

"Expect the unexpected in the playoffs," said JCA coach Jared Voss. "We just had to battle this one out."

Dave Cladis (2-for-3, two runs, RBI), John Gerl (2-for-3, two runs) and Kevin Hulbert (2-for-4, two runs) led JCA.

Second baseman Kevin DeLaRosa had two hits and three RBI for Jones, which committed seven errors.