Sabatino shuts down Benet

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Benet is a program stocked with talented juniors, who figure to make another strong playoff push next season.

But they take their cues from senior pitcher Bryan Roberts, who on the final day of this season was impressive but not invincible. It ended Thursday in Naperville with an emotional 4-2 loss to Lockport in a Neuqua Valley Sectional semifinal.

Joe Martin's two-out, two-run triple in the sixth inning, which fell inside the right-field line just out of Mike Cunningham's reach, snapped a tie game and lifted Lockport (22-9) into Saturday's final against top-seeded host Neuqua (30-6).

In a game with little margin for error, Roberts would later question that pitch, along with another first-inning sequence. Two throwing errors put runners on for Notre Dame-bound Steve Sabatino, who bounced a two-run single up the middle.

"I felt like I had good stuff. (I'm) just kind of regretting the pitches I threw," Roberts said. "Called fastball on both of 'em. (I) second-guessed it, thought about throwing the curveball, shook it off. ... Can't really get back what you did.

"I felt really good. I felt like I had control of everything I had."

Roberts allowed four runs on five hits in six innings while striking out six and retiring 12 straight batters at one point.

Alex Staehely's two-out, two-run single in the second tied the game, and that's how it remained until the sixth, when Benet (23-14) missed a chance to move ahead.

With courtesy runner Larry Coffey on first and no outs, Connor Reilly bunted and the ball bounced away on the throw. Coffey got caught between second and third on the play, and Benet wouldn't rally again. Sabatino came on in the seventh and struck out the side in his first pitching appearance of the season and earned the save.

"They beat our best," Benet coach Jeff Bonebrake said. "Nothing to be ashamed of."