No. 2 St. Laurence crushes No. 5 Oak Park in five

April 2, 2014

By Drake Skleba
Senior Writer

BURBANK – The first-round matchup of the Third-Annual Steven M. Bajenski Memorial Tournament between No. 2 St. Laurence and No. 5 Oak Park looked to be a classic early-season matchup.

On paper, that is.

Oak Park’s bus got lost going to St. Laurence’s field, arriving 15 minutes late for the game, and things only got worse for the Huskies after that. St. Laurence scored five times in the first inning, eight more runs in the second, and the Vikings didn’t stop until this 17-2 whitewash ended after five innings.

After starting and winning right-handed junior Frank Greco (2-0) retired the Huskies in order, the Viking (7-0) onslaught commenced. NIU-bound Brad Wood tripled over Oak Park centerfielder Jeremy Gaines. Senior third baseman Nate Tholl followed with a shot over Gaines again for an RBI double. With two out, Austin Peay-bound C TJ Marik ripped an RBI double. Senior Roger Wilson crushed an RBI triple and senior Kevin White, who was 3-for-3 with three RBI, doubled home the fourth run of the inning. The Vikings would add a fifth run on a Huskie error.

“Everyone was really hot today at the plate,” said White. “To go three for three with three RBI is really an awesome feeling. Once Brad (Wood) set the tone with his big hit, we all just got rolling.”

The eight run second was highlighted by a two-run double from senior Roger Wilson. Wilson tripled and doubled in three at-bats with three RBI.

“We were really prepared for them and were on every pitch,” said Wilson. “To win the Moon Classic in Tucson, Arizona was an awesome experience for us. Being the only team from Chicago and defeating all of those quality teams, from Colorado and Arizona, was quite a thrill for us.”
Greco allowed five hits and one earned run in his game-winning performance on the mound.

“TJ (Marik) called a great game for me. I really trust his ability to call the right pitches,” said Greco. “I had things under control and had my pitches working well. The 13 runs in the first two innings were great. My teammates really made it easy for me.”

Purdue-bound 2B Mike Kornacker had two singles and three RBI while junior pinch-hitter Sean Burnette joined the party with a booming triple.

“We obviously hit the ball well today, which was the key to the game,” said St. Laurence head coach Pete Lotus. “Oak Park made some mistakes and we really took advantage of them. We hit well with men in scoring position and Frank Greco was great on the mound for us.”

Oak Park (2-3) was led at the plate by Black Hawk College-bound Alex Rice and Huskie leadoffman Patrick Rumoro, who each had a double.

No. 2 St. Laurence crushes No. 5 Oak Park in five

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