By Drake Skleba
CHICAGO - A long blast by Mike McQuillan, a gritty pitching performance by Pat Gannon and Ricky Palmer’s suicide-squeeze bunt led Brother Rice to a critical 9-5 Catholic League Blue victory at St. Rita Thursday.
With the win, No. 10 St. Rita (24-6; 9-4) and No. 16 Brother Rice (22-6; 9-4) share the Catholic League Blue lead heading into Saturday’s game at Brother Rice, which will decide the champion. First pitch is 10 a.m.
A huge crowd gathered at the corner of 79th and Western on the southwest side of Chicago to witness this battle between the two of the top teams in the state. Louisville-bound senior Tony Zych (6-2) toed the mound for Rita; junior ace Pat Gannon (7-1) was on the hill for Rice. There were two world-wide webcasts of the matchup being streamed to everyone on the planet. Then Mother Nature, who has been quite a witch this spring, complied by providing us with sunny skies and warmer temperatures.
St.Rita picked up a run in the first inning. Leadoff man Dan Dispensa (3-for-4; 2B) led off with a double. Dispena went to third on an error and scored on a force play off the bat of sophomore Mark Payton (1-for-3; RBI). Rice answered with two unearned runs on a passed ball and a Mustang miscue. Rita tied things up in the third. With one out, Dispensa singled, stole second and scored on a single by Payton.
With one out in the fourth, Brother Rice regained the lead, 3-2, when University of Iowa-bound second baseman Mike McQuillan hit a rocket out into 79th Street, well beyond the right field fence. We received no reports from “Chicago’s Finest” if any passing motorist were injured by the blast.
“Tony (Zych) struck me out the first two times up,” said McQuillan. “I got Tony (Zych) back on that one. It was good to come through tonight. We have struggled a little recently. It was a lot of fun today.”
St.Rita put the first two hitters on in their half of the fourth. Diego Martinez reached on an error and Kenny Stoklosa (1-for-3; BB) singled. But Gannon showed his grit by striking out the next three hitters to end the Mustang threat.
“My fastball isn’t going to blow anyone away. I hit my spots well and change speeds, said Gannon. “That is how I have to pitch to be successful.”
The Crusaders put the game away with a six-spot in the fifth. After one out, Doug Schumacher (1-for-2) got plunked for the second time in the game. Ryan Wischhover (2-for-4; 2R) singled. Bob Schuch (1-1; 2BB; RBI) hit a long single to center, scoring Schumacher, to increase the Crusader lead to 4-2.
Then Crusader catcher Ricky Palmer laid down a beautiful suicide squeeze bunt which Zych fielded and fired wildly past his catcher Toomey. Wischhover and Schuch both scored on the play. After Tom Rynne drove the fourth run of the inning in on a force play, McQuillan (single) and Cam Anello (double) finished the scoring with RBI hits.
The Mustangs would pick up single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh. Gannon (5 IP; 4R; 8H; 3ER; 8K; 1BB) left with two on and nobody out in the Rita sixth. John Zawaski (1 IP; 1R; 1H;1ER) came in and pitched out of trouble. Sophomore Kevin Koziol (.2 IP; 0R; 0H; BB) would close out the Crusader victory by getting the last two outs of the game.
“Tony (Zych) throws very hard. I dialed up tonight looking for his fastball and I was able to get a couple of hits,” said Ryan Wischhover. “Saturday’s game is for the championship. If we play to our ability we can get the job done and win the Catholic Blue crown.”
“Pat (Gannon) really battled. He had big shutdowns in the fourth and fifth innings to give us momentum,” said Brother Rice coach Tim Lyons. “Mike’s (McQuillan) home run gave us the lead for good. It really picked us up and gave us the momentum to win this game.”