4A Wilmette Sectional Final: Loyola's Wagner boosts Ramblers to a Sectional crown over Evanston

GLENVIEW, Ill. – The Loyola Academy Ramblers are champions of their own Sectional after they defeated Evanston, 9-3, on Saturday morning. For the first time since 2008, Loyola earned themselves a Super-Sectional berth and they couldn’t have done it without their rotation’s leader in innings (47), wins (8), and strikeouts (35): Ben Wagner.

The Ramblers’ senior righty threw a complete game to lift his team to the Sectional title. He weaved in and out of trouble and only allowed the Wildkits to score three runs on their nine hits – and Wagner didn’t help them out, either, walking no one. He finished the day having thrown seven innings and allowed those three runs (only one earned) on three hits, walked none, hit one, and struck out three. He successfully pitched to contact with his two-seamer that consistently dodged Evanston’s barrels, as the Wildkits only managed one extra-base hit all game, off the bat of Adam Geibel.

Wagner’s bumpiest inning came in the third when Evanston scored the game’s first runs.

After a groundout to start the inning, Loyola’s first baseman Dan Hrvojevic fielded a grounder his way but his underhand toss to Wagner covering the base was a little too strong and it allowed Tommy Barbato to reach base safely. Wagner hit Jake Snider in the next at-bat and, after getting Fletcher Brown to fly out, allowed a run-scoring soft single to left from Geibel. Sophomore first baseman Noah Leib slugged a rocket single into right to drive in his team’s second run.

That Wildkits lead was short-lived though.

Evanston’s starter Henry Haack had glided through the first three frames with his fastball-curveball combo, keeping the Ramblers totally off balance. But all that unraveled in the fourth. Matthew Raymond led the inning off with a single to a right, followed by a walk to Will Jackson. Then, Hrvojevic made up for his error last half inning and pulled a double into the left field corner to score the Ramblers’ first run, putting the tying run on third and the go-ahead run on second with no outs. Junior shortstop Jack Moran dumped a single in front of Wildkits left fielder Chris Wolfe to tie the game at two.

With Haack still on the mound, Jonathan Mejia and Trey Torain both worked walks that pushed across Loyola’s go-ahead run. Junior outfielder Jake Novak further separated his team from Evanston with his bases-loaded, two-run single to left center. In his second turn at the plate in the inning, Raymond smacked a sacrifice fly to center to score Loyola’s sixth and final run of the frame.

The Wildkits used their opposition’s big half-inning as fuel. Their first three batters – Harry Porter, Wolfe, and Matt Barbato – in the bottom of the fourth all reached base on singles. But Wagner dug in here, and got the next batter to pop out in the infield. Wagner then got the lead-off man Snider to ground into a run-scoring fielder’s choice, and a fly out to right limited Evanston’s big bases-loaded, no-out threat to just a lone run scored.

Jay Moore relieved Haack in the fifth and worked a scoreless inning, as did Wagner, and the two squads went on to the sixth, where the Ramblers padded their lead. Senior catcher and University of Chicago commit Jason Vrbancic scorched a base hit to left that scored his team’s seventh run and a passed ball later in the inning plated their eighth. And with Wagner on the mound, this was plenty of support.

Wagner did not allow Evanston to score, nor threaten to score, in the final two innings of the game as Loyola ultimately cruised to the finish line of this game, winning by a final of 9-3. Each member of their lineup reached base safely in the victory.

The Ramblers will be back in action on Monday when they take on a Huntley baseball team that just downed Barrington today in the McHenry Sectional final, 7-1. Loyola and Huntley will play at 5 p.m. at Boomers Stadium in Schaumburg, with a State tournament berth on the line.

STATISTICAL HIGHLIGHTS

• Jake Novak, Loyola Academy, 2019: 2-for-4, BB, 2B, 2 RBI, R

• Jason Vrbancic, Loyola Academy, 2018: 2-for-3, BB, 2 2B, RBI

• Ben Wagner, Loyola Academy, 2018: CG, 7 IP, 9 H, 0 BB, 3 R (1 ER), 3 K

• Adam Geibel, Evanston, 2018: 3-for-4, 2B, RBI
  

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