Prep Baseball Report

No. 6 St. Laurence Cruises Past No. 24 St. Rita


By Drew Locascio
Illinois Scouting Director

CHICAGO, IL - In game one of a two-game Chicago Catholic League - Blue matchup, No. 6 St. Laurence went into No. 24 St. Rita and came away with a 6-2 win.

The Vikings of St. Laurence (24-5) jumped ahead 3-0 after the top of the first inning and never looked back. Matt McCormick (West Virginia commit), Matt Dornbos and Alex Gasbarro each collected an RBI single in the frame. The Vikings tacked on one more in the third inning and two more in the fourth to open up a 6-1 lead at the time. Justin Rios (Lewis University commit) singled and later scored in the fourth on a two out double down the left-field line by McCormick. Gage Olszak (Saint Xavier commit), the very next hitter, delivered a run-scoring single to left field to cap off the two-run frame.

Down 6-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh, St. Rita was able to cut the lead to 6-2 and bring the tying run to home plate with two outs. Vikings reliever, sophomore right-hander Matt Zahora, was able to induce a fly ball to end the threat and close out the victory for St. Laurence.

St. Rita scored a run in the first on three consecutive two out base hits. Jake Zylman (Heartland CC commit) delivered the final single, a line drive RBI to center field which scored Jalen Greer (Missouri commit) who reached on an infield hit.

Rios, who finished 1-for-4 with two runs out of the leadoff spot also started on the mound for the Vikings. The left-hander battled throughout and ended up going 6.1 innings before being pulled due to the pitch-count limit. Rios scattered eight hits, two runs, one earned, struck out three and walked three.

Olszak and McCormick led the offensive attack for St. Laurence. McCormick finished 2-for-3 with a double, run scored and an RBI. Olszak finished the day 2-for-4 with two RBI’s.

Mike Skoraczewki (Calumet-St. Joseph commit), Frank Napleton (St. Leo commit) and Zylman all had two hits to lead the way for St. Rita.

For more in-depth notes from the game - and all other games that we cover - visit the Illinois Scout Blog later.

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