SAN FRANCISCO - Nikolas Schuman stepped up to bat in the bottom of the fourth inning a pinch hitter, simply trying to make contact.
What ensued would turn out to be the game’s most memorable hit, the defining performance in Sacred Heart Cathedral’s 4-2 win over archrival St. Ignatius Saturday in the Bruce-Mahoney game at AT&T Park.
The Irish trailed 2-1, but were in the midst of a two-out rally that began with a Joe Rinaldi walk. Jonathan Hernandez, the Wildcats' starter, had thrown a beautiful game so far, striking out five batters in just 3.2 innings, but was in a bases-loaded jam.
One regrettable fastball later, and the entire dynamic of this year’s storied rivalry game changed. Schuman smacked an 0-2 fastball in between the gap in left center, bringing all three of his teammates home, and rejuvenating a raucous Fightin’ Irish crowd.
“Honestly, I was just trying to make contact with the ball,” Schuman said. “The pitcher supplied most of the power on that one.”
The craziest aspect of Schuman’s clutch hit was that he mistakenly interpreted his coach’s wishes, but it certainly worked out for the Irish.
“When I was rounding second, I was actually supposed to stay there, but I didn’t read the sign correctly, he told me to stop at second,” Schuman went on to say, laughing with a warranted sense of pride. “Just being the ambitious person I am, I just wanted to make it to third.”
For Hernandez, there was nothing he could do but look back on that pitch and wonder if he could have done anything differently.
“It really just came down to that one pitch,” Hernandez said about when the game turned in Sacred Heart Cathedral’s favor. “I threw a fastball instead of an off-speed pitch that I should have, and it ended up in a bases-clearing triple to basically win the game for them. If I could have taken that fastball back, I would.”
Despite the loss, the Wildcats were not without opportunities to put more runs across the board.
They started strong, and took the advantage early in the game on a Joe O’Bryan single in the second, knocking in senior David Bustillos. Then again in the third they capitalized on the Irish, when Logan Steinberg smacked a triple into right field with just one out, bringing home Dylan Holborn-Welsh.
Steinberg, who will play baseball at St. Mary’s next year, was stranded thanks to the stellar pitching of SHC pitcher Justin Marquez, who struck out the next two batters.
Again in the top of the fourth, St. Ignatius had chances to add to its lead, but couldn’t bring home O’Bryan or Bustillos when the Wildcats had runners on second and third with just one man out.
Even following Schuman’s triple, SI had runners again on second and third following two Justin Marquez walks, but sophomore Diego Gonzalez came into the game and shut down the Wildcats, leaving runners stranded yet again.
For the Fightin’ Irish, they visibly settled down after taking the lead. It also helped having their top pitcher, Tyler Martinez, available for the sixth and seventh innings.
“Tyler Martinez is definitely [Sacred Heart Cathedral’s] ace, and all the power to him,” Hernandez said. “He’s a great pitcher, but we definitely started pressing once we got down 4-2.”
Martinez ended this game by striking out three St. Ignatius batters with Wildcat junior catcher Rob Emery looking on from first base. His ability to maintain a high first-pitch strike count led to his dominance during the final two innings, and kept SI hitters off guard.
In many at bats, St. Ignatius batters were able to claw their way back into a 2-2 or 3-2 count after going down 0-2, but it gave Martinez the ability to utilize all his pitches and control the game’s tempo.
The Bruce-Mahoney trophy is annually awarded to whichever team, St. Ignatius or Sacred Heart Cathedral, that wins two out of the three meetings in football, basketball, and baseball. While SI can proudly say that the trophy will be staying with them this year after defeating SHC in the first two meetings, Schuman doesn’t feel that the pride or honor by winning Saturday’s third and final leg is any less special.
“All I was doing this entire game was waiting for that last out, that opportunity to go out onto the field and celebrate with my teammates," Schuman said. "Now that it’s happened, it just feels great.”
