Eagles' late rally falls short vs. St. Edward

SUGAR GROVE -- The upstart St. Edward Waves took advantage of some early Aurora Christian mistakes and then held on for a 7-6 upset victory Thursday at Waubonsee Community College.

The third-seeded Eagles (15-8) committed four early errors and stranded nine runners in the loss to No. 5 St. Edward.

"It's frustrating. For the past three weeks we've been playing phenomenally, defensively, pitching," Eagles coach Andy Zorger said. "I don't know. It was nerves I think."

Eagles ace David Zielke (4-2) lasted just 2.1 innings and gave up six runs, but only four were earned as errors in the second and third inning led to extra runs for the Waves.

Offensively, the Eagles weren't capitalizing either as they managed 13 hits against St. Edward's Ricky Coleman (3-4), but they didn't plate more than one run until the seventh.

Scott Minta was doubled off second base to end a threat in the third and in the fourth, leadoff hitter Eric Andersen was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double after he was slow to leave the batter's box following a long fly to right. Zielke singled right after that and eventually was advanced to third, but he was left stranded.

"It took us a couple innings to get into a rhythm," Zorger said. "And by then we were in too much of a hole. It was just mental errors that plagued us early on that I thought we were over and they kind of crept back today."

Matt Morse came on in relief of Zielke to get the last two outs in the third, and was stellar for the rest of the game.

"He threw the ball extremely well, giving up one run in four innings to give us a chance," Zorger said. "That's all you can hope for."

The Eagles scratched out runs in the fifth and sixth innings off Coleman and trailed 7-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh, and it was some shaky defense by the Waves that let Aurora Christian back into the game.

Tony Romero scored when David Hoebbel misplayed a double by Scott Minta. After a walk to Morse, Coleman induced Andru Ubert to tap back him. Coleman fielded the ball cleanly and turned to force Minta at third, only he lobbed his throw down the third base line. Minta and Morse scored to make it 7-5.

"That's a good example of what baseball is all about," St. Edward coach Gene Belmonte said. "When you get out of a routine and out of your comfort zone, namely you make a play you never make -- here's a pitcher throwing the ball to third base, which is the play you never make. That's usually when it happens."

After an Andersen strike out, Zielke scored Ubert on a single to left. Michael Friend followed with a single, at which point Coleman was pulled for Jim Fraczek.

Nate Hill tapped back to Fraczek, but the ball ticked off his glove. Fraczek recovered in time to catch Zielke in a rundown between third base and home. Stephen Clancy walked to load the bases, but Romero grounded into a fielder's choice to end the game.

"We could have rolled over, we could have given up (down) 6-0," Zorger said. "We really battled and had a chance to win, should have won. But that's baseball."

Baseball: Class 2A Aurora Christian Regional