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Irish steal the show
With two-time defending champion Steinert holding a one-run lead entering the seventh inning, the bottom fell out on the Spartans. The usually sure-handed Steinert players committed five errors from that point on, and Notre Dame came back to tie the game with two outs in the seventh, then win in the ninth inning by scoring five runs without the aid of a hit to stun the Spartans, 10-5. The victory gave the Irish their first MCT title since 1995. The loss snapped Steinert's 10-game winning streak. "The baseball gods were with us," Irish senior catcher Chris Kinnevy said after being named as the tournament's Most Valuable Player. "This is a huge confidence builder for us. We were on the ropes almost every inning." Despite being the top seed, Notre Dame (17-3) served as the visitors in the game and found themselves trailing, 4-0, after one inning when Steinert came out hitting Irish pitcher Eric Reilly. But Reilly gutted it out and never left the game. After giving up four runs on four hits in the first inning and two more hits in the second inning, Reilly held the Spartans (18-6) to three hits over the final seven innings, including one over the final four. "I thought Eric threw the game of his life," Kinnevy said. "It was the most incredible game I've ever caught. Think about it. The kid gave up four runs in the first inning, then went eight more innings and only gave up one run." Steinert took control in the first inning on Rob Nosari's two-run single and Jeff O'Connell's RBI single. When Craig Rich crossed the plate on a passed ball by Kinnevy with two outs, Notre Dame found itself in a 4-0 hole. "Coach talked to me after the first inning, and I told him I just had a rough start," Reilly said. "Everything they were hitting in the first inning went to right field, so I stayed away better after that and moved the ball inside and out." As Reilly gained momentum, his teammates used patience at the plate to begin hitting Spartans starter Greg Hough. Bill Birch, Devon Quaglietta and Bob Nairn drew consecutive walks off Hough to open the third inning, then Dan Castrogiovanni ripped a two-run double to left field to cut the lead in half. Andrew Riexinger followed with a sacrifice fly. Jim Farrell bunted down the third-base line for an infield hit to put runners at the corners, then Kinnevy launched a 390-foot single to center field, which plated Castrogiovanni and tied the game, 4-4. "After the first inning, our captains pulled us together and gave us a little speech," Reilly said. "They told us that we could turn this into a close game." What the Irish and the 2,500 fans in attendance could not have expected was the way Steinert self-destructed after taking a 5-4 lead on Nosari's RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning, which chased home Keith Field. Things seemed fine for the Spartans as sophomore left-handed pitcher Sam DaBronzo relieved Hough and kept Notre Dame at bay for 1 1/3 innings. But when DaBronzo walked Castrogiovanni to start the seventh inning, head coach Brian Giallella called upon closer Patrick Johnson and things got interesting. When Riexinger laid down a sacrifice bunt, Johnson threw wildly into center field to put runners at the corners. But on Farrell's ensuing ground ball, Steinert shortstop Keith Field gunned Castrogiovanni down at the plate. Johnson then got Kinnevy to pop out, but when Joe Giaquinto did the same one batter later, Johnson crossed paths with first baseman Greg Tweedly as he was about to make the catch. The resulting error allowed pinch-runner Tom Lanigan to score the tying run. Notre Dame would have had the lead if not for the alertness of Spartans catcher Chris Ewaskiewicz, who got back to cover the plate before Farrell could score. Instead he was tagged out as he lunged for the plate. "These are two great teams, and it was a great game," Tweedly said. "Sometimes (errors) happen. This was a tough game to lose." The Spartans' problems continued as an error by center fielder Anthony Cortina on a one-out fly ball by Quaglietta in the eighth put at second and third base before Johnson worked out of it. But when Johnson walked Farrell and Kinnevy to open the ninth, then threw high to first base on a sacrifice bunt by Giaquinto, it opened the door for the Irish, who only had five hits. Matt Bramley took over on the mound, but walked Chris Gray and Birch to force in two runs before hitting Castrogiovanni with a pitch to force in another. When Field booted a two-out ground ball by Riexinger, Gray and Birch came around to score to seal the Spartans' fate. Reilly closed the door by striking out three of the last four batter he faced to give Notre Dame its fourth MCT crown.
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Copyright © 2005, Hamilton
Lou Gehrig Baseball League