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Donovan Brothers lead Westmont to 2A regional title

May 25, 2014

By Ryan Quigley
Area Scout

ELMHURST, IL- The Westmont Sentinels (24-7-1) captured the Timothy Christian 2A Regional Championship on Saturday afternoon with a 7-4 victory over the Immaculate Conception Knights (17-19) at Timothy Christian.

Westmont got on the board first thanks to a walk by leadoff hitter and freshman catcher Joe Donovan.  Donovan promptly stole second and advanced to third as the catcher’s throw sailed into center field.  Senior first basemen/pitcher Zach Moran (College of DuPage signee) promptly put the Sentinels on board 1-0. 

Westmont added three more runs in the second, as its bottom of the order benefited from an infield error, a hit by pitch, and a fielder’s choice that failed to produce an out. Nine-hole hitter and leftfielder Anthony Alessi came up big with a bases loaded two-RBI single down the right field line to make it 3-0 Westmont.  After a Joe Donovan sac-fly to center platrf a run, Moran once again came up big with an RBI double to left field.  Junior star shortstop Charlie Donovan capped the five run inning with a 2-run double down the right field line, giving the Sentinels a 6-0 advantage.

Westmont tacked on one last insurance run in the bottom half of the fourth thanks to the elder Donovan.  He walked and promptly stole second, eventually scoring on senior third basemen John Kelly’s single to right.

Despite the 7-0 hole, Immaculate Conception put together a two-out rally in the bottom half of the fifth.  The Knights scored four unearned runs off Sentinel starter Austin Loehman.  Right fielder Ryan Russ doubled home two runs to left center field, and scored on freshman catcher Austin Reed’s single to left field.  Starting pitcher Sean Sutton doubled down the line to right field scoring Reed to cut the Wesmont lead to 7-4.

During the rally, Moran relieved Loehman and stopped the bleeding with a back door curveball strikeout.  Moran then fired off 2.1 innings of scoreless relief, retiring seven of the final eight hitters to earn the win.   

Charlie Donovan, who’s the top-ranked 2015 prospect in Illinois, flashed his all-around game, finishing 1-for-1 on the day with the two-run double, two walks, two stolen bases, and a hit by pitch.  The Michigan commit also flashed the leather numerous times, making three SportsCenter worthy, crowd-pleasing highlight plays to back Moran.

Senior centerfielder Clark Brinkman (Dayton commit) led Immaculate Conception, going 2-for-3 with a single, double, run scored and walk.

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