No. 1 SLUH finishes season 21-0 with win over No. 5 CBC

May 13, 2011

By Mike Rosenbaum

ST. LOUIS - As the lone undefeated team in the state, the only thing separating No. 1 St. Louis High University (21-0; 7-0) from a perfect regular season record was a contest against No. 5 CBC (17-6; 5-3) on Thursday night. Played in front of packed house, SLUH beat the visiting Cadets for the second time this week, 8-4, to cap a 21-0 season and secure the Metro Catholic Conference title

CBC jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first when 1B Mike Ehrhard drove in DH Derek Cornell with a single through the left side. The Cadets seemed destined to score a few more times in the frame, but were denied when SLUH turned a clutch 1-2-3 double play to end the threat.

The Cadets added another run in the second to extend their lead to 2-0. After SS Mike Ventruella singled with two outs, Cornell lined a single to right field. The throw back into the infield was off-line and allowed Ventruella to score while Cornell coasted into second.

That would be the last time SLUH trailed in the game, however, as the Jr. Billikens responded by tying the game in the home half of the inning. DH Andrew Pitts collected SLUH?s first hit of the game, punching a ball into right-centerfield, and advanced to second on a passed ball. RF Kaleb King followed with a two-out, RBI single ahead of LF Sam Knesel, who hammered an RBI double to left field.

The Jr. Bills took the lead in the following inning, as Iowa-bound 1B Sasha Kuebel plated the go-ahead run with a double and CF Paul Simon came through with a two-run double.

CBC added a run in the fourth on a bases loaded walk by CF Danny Chastain, but failed to significantly cut into SLUH?s lead as they left the bases loaded.

SLUH?s relentless offense immediately went back to work in the bottom half of the inning, scoring three runs with two outs and increasing their lead to 8-3. 3B Willie Floros belted a two-run double off the left field wall and Kuebel picked up another RBI single.

The Cadets pushed across one final run in the top of the sixth on an RBI single by Ehrhard, but ultimately were unable to mount a serious comeback against the Jr. Bills.

?It really doesn?t matter who the opponent is,? said SLUH coach Steve Nicollerat on having to face a tough CBC squad for second time this week. ?We still have to go out and play the game the right way, the way we practice.?

?We know that any team can beat St. Louis University High; we know that,? said Nicollerat when asked about the upcoming district tournament. ?We?re not going in thinking we are this or that. We know we better come to play or else we?re going home early.?

Sophomore RHP Brian Howard improved to 8-0 this season after recording the win against CBC. The 6-foot-6 right-hander allowed one earned run on five hits over three innings, and fanned, walked, and hit a batter. Howard featured a fastball that sat between 82-84 mph and topped out at 85 mph, as well as a 63-64 mph curveball and 75-76 mph change up.

?Brian did a nice job,? Nicollerat said of his starter. ?It was a great experience for him and now he?s ready to go next week.?

Simon, RHP Trevor Dorand and RHP Andrew Clark hurled the final four innings for SLUH. The trio of relievers allowed two runs on six hits, and more importantly, recorded big outs when they were needed.

Floros and Kuebel both finished the game with a double, two runs scored and two RBI, and Knesel was 3-for-3 with a double and RBI. Simon and King also had run-scoring hits in the contest, and Pitts had two hits. Although SS Mitch Klug was 0-for-2 in the game, he worked several counts, drew a pair of walks, and scored two runs.

?By and large I was happy with their approach given the situation they were in,? Nicollerat said of his offense on Thursday night.

Ehrhard finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and Chastain was 1-for-2 with a walk and RBI in the loss for CBC. Ventruella was also 2-for-2 with a run scored, while Cornell, RF Brennan Devers, C Parker Stewart each collected two hits.