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Mount Carmel routs Rita — again
Updated: May 16, 2011 5:41PM
Thirty to two.
That’s what Mount Carmel outscored St. Rita by during its two-game dismantling of the consecutive Class 4A runner-up.
The Caravan followed up its 18-1 walloping on Wednesday with a 12-1 victory on Saturday at St. Rita.
The win improved No. 4 Mount Carmel’s mark to 24-5 and capped its Catholic League play at 12-4. No. 5 St. Rita fell to 24-6, 11-5.
“No, I didn’t expect that,” Mount Carmel coach Brian Hurry said of the lopsided win totals. “They’re a good ball club. We had the one big inning (Saturday). The game was closer than the final score indicated.”
Indeed, it was a 1-1 game heading into the sixth. The Caravan erupted for seven runs in the frame, turning a nail-biter into a rout.
Mount Carmel registered six hits in the sixth against St. Rita pitcher Eddie De La Riva, who suffered his first defeat of the season against 10 wins.
The junior right-hander didn’t receive much help from his defense, which committed a costly error that opened the flood gates on what should have been a double play ball and misplayed two others.
It was a fielder’s choice by Tyler Laurisch that broke the stalemate and gave the Caravan a 2-1 lead.
Beau Filkins added an RBI single and Dan Pappas had a run-scoring double on a ball St. Rita left fielder Connor McLain and center fielder Mike Zunica allowed to drop between them for a 4-1 lead.
Jerry Houston (2-for-5, 3 RBI) provided the back-breaker moments later, hammering a three-run double to center field that made it 7-1.
“We didn’t execute,” St. Rita coach Mike Zunica said. “You’ve got to make plays.”
Chris Sujka (2-for-4, 4 RBI) clubbed a pair of home runs — a solo shot to start the game and a wind-blown three-run blast that widened the Caravan lead to 12-1.
It was Sujka’s 10th and 11th home runs of the season.
“Chris is a special player,” Hurry said. “I’ve been fortunate to coach some special players, but he’s as special as I have coached. Just a complete player.”
Jeff Boehm (3-for-4), Sam Kint (2-for-4, RBI) and Tom Hayes (2-for-4) also starred at the plate for Mount Carmel, which banged out 14 hits.
The beneficiary of the offensive explosion was John Kravetz (8-2). The senior right-hander allowed seven hits and three walks and struck out six during a 125-pitch effort.
“I knew we would get hot with the bats eventually,” Kravetz said. “After the third inning, I got into a groove.”
Stefano Belmonte’s RBI single in the third tied the game 1-1.
Zach Soria was 2-for-4 for St. Rita.
Another bright spot for St. Rita was a magnificent catch by center fielder Mike Zunica in the seventh. The son of the Mustangs coach made a head-first diving catch into the left-center field wall on a drive by Boehm, which he turned into an inning-ending double play.
“I still believe in this group,” coach Zunica said. “Don’t count us out.”
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