The St. Ignatius Wildcats jumped on the Branham Bruins early for a seven-run first inning on their way to an 11-2 victory Thursday afternoon. The win sends Saint Ignatius to the CCS Division II final Saturday afternoon.
SI's first four batters reached base and scored in the first inning, which all began with a walk to leadoff hitter Logan Steinberg. The junior shortstop, who later scored on a double by big-league prospect Matt Krook off Branham starter Alex Zarate, finished out the day 2-for-3 with a walk, run scored, and two RBIs.
“We were just trying to stay relaxed up there, we knew we were going to get the lefty, we were trying to take it the other way and we did a good job,” said Steinberg.
Other big producers for St. Ignatius include senior Dylan Foster, who went 3-for-4, with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored, and third baseman Stephen Ostrowski, who also reached base in three of his four plate appearances, putting up three base hits and three runs scored.
“Things kind of fell in place for us. We scored some runs early, had some guys struggling in the lineup, but we had other guys pick ‘em up,” said St. Ignatius coach Matthew Stecher.
The defensive effort for Branham was not solid enough to stop the hot offense of SI. Wildcat pitching also shut down the Bruins’ offense, as starter Matt Krook was perfect in three innings of work, striking out six of the nine batters he faced.
“We knew they were a good hitting ball club going in. We anticipated that," Branham coach Landon Jacobs said. "Obviously had some hits fall in that first inning, and they were able to push a few runs across and it was an uphill battle from there."
The Bruins’ two runs came in the fourth inning off of St. Ignatius reliever Jack Schoenberger. With two runners on and two outs, third baseman Drew Cooper tripled down the right field line to bring home the runs. Cooper was stranded at third and Branham was unable to score again.
Branham’s season ends with the loss, but Jacobs is still content with his team’s season.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these guys. A great team, and a pleasure to coach. We had zero discipline problems all year long, every kid in the organization made grades the entire season,” said Jacobs. “To make it this far and for them to see the success on the field is a bonus.”
Stecher and his Wildcats look forward to the Division II final Saturday.
“We were able to let Matt [Krook] get some work in, but also pull him and save him for a couple innings on Saturday,” said Stecher. “Our bats are still hot, hopefully we can keep them that way.”
St. Ignatius will face Willow Glen, a 1-0 winner over league rival Westmont in the other semifinal Thursday. Jonathan Hernandez (2-0, 0.42) of St. Ignatius is expected to take on Willow Glen’s Kenny Corey (6-1, 0.99). Krook will most likely throw a few innings of relief.
