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Consistent attack sends Marmion to win
Updated: May 5, 2011 9:04PM
Aurora Central struck early, but the Marmion Cadets struck often at Joe Nardone Field Thursday.
The Cadets scored in five of their six offensive innings and topped crosstown rival Aurora Central 8-3 in a Suburban Christian Conference matchup. Marmion (14-5 overall) controls its own destiny as it leads the conference with a 10-2 mark, while the Chargers are 6-11 overall, 5-9 in league play.
Tallying a pair of runs in the opening inning, the Chargers held an early lead. The Cadets knotted the game at 2-2 in the bottom of second inning, yet the Chargers grabbed a 3-2 edge in their next turn.
Marmion starter Chris Simon halted the Chargers the next three innings, while his teammates put two runs on the board in the third, two more in the fourth and lone runs in both the fifth and the sixth.
“We played the way we wanted to today,” Marmion coach Dave Rakow said. “We chipped away and put up runs in every inning but the first. That’s the kind of baseball we want to play.”
An error and three straight singles had the Chargers on the board in the first inning. Ryan Harreld singled to left after Matt Miller reached on a fielding miscue, and Matt Czerak followed with a base hit before T.J. Ali — who went 4-for-4 — drove in Miller and Harreld with a smash to left field.
Third baseman Tyler Friel ended the inning when he snagged a liner off the bat of Geno Cabral and tagged Czerak before he could retreat to the base. Harreld pitched a perfect first inning, but a leadoff walk and a hit batter cost him two runs in the second inning.
Tim Tarter drew the free pass and Travis Siwiec took a pitch in the back before Friel walked to load the bases. Mike Pipp laced a double to left field to tie the score. The ball bounced over Czerak but his relay throw to Miller helped cut down Friel at the plate.
“We’re really looking to score a few runs every inning,” said Pipp, who was 3-for-3. “We’re not looking for a big home run or 10-run inning. Everybody did a good job at the plate today.”
The Chargers loaded the bags with one out in the third inning, yet managed just one run. Miller took a walk, Harreld doubled and Czerak was intentionally walked before Ali singled to left. Miller scored, but Harreld was gunned down by Jordan Meyer on a one-hop throw that Kyle Kozak secured just ahead of the tag.
Consecutive singles by Mitch Sterne (two hits), Andy Young and Kozak led off the Cadets third inning. Kozak and A.J. Friedman collected RBI in the inning. Sterne’s two-run single in the fourth put the Cadets ahead 6-3. Marmion added an unearned run in the fifth and another in the sixth.
Meanwhile, Simon blanked the Chargers in the fourth, fifth and sixth before Young struck out the side in the seventh inning. Simon allowed nine hits, struck out three and walked two while earning the win.
“The beginning was a little rough and my pitches weren’t falling the way they usually do,” Simon said. “I just had to stick it out and throw the best I could the rest of the game.”
“I don’t think (Simon) had his best stuff today, but when a pitcher can compete and stay in the game without his best stuff that’s a tribute to him pitching smartly,” Rakow said. “That’s a sign that he’s starting to mature and figure out what he’s doing out there.”
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