Saints fall short

Up by a run in the top of the seventh inning, with the bases loaded, two outs and a full count, St. Anne’s-Belfield was just one pitch away from advancing past Benedictine in the VISAA Division I quarterfinals.
But after a nine pitch at-bat, Mark Measell was able to draw a walk to tie the game before the Cadets scored four runs in the top of the eighth to beat the Saints 6-2.
“I can’t say how much I respect STAB’s program for the way they make us eke out a win,” said Benedictine coach Sean Ryan. “It was tough and we faced a lot of adversity.”
Before the Cadets (16-7) picked up the game-tying runs in the seventh, STAB ace Brett Goodloe had given up nine hits, but surrendered no runs, working his way through three different jams unscathed.
“Brett was not at his best, giving up a lot of hits which is not like him,” said STAB coach Alan Swanson. “But he battled extraordinarily well. He kept them off balance. He did not have his best stuff but he is a competitor and gives you all he’s got.”
The Saints picked up their runs in the first inning with the first coming when Goodloe took home on a throwing error, and the other when Brian Yeagle knocked in a run on a single to the outfield.
“We’ve played them twice this year now, and we went into extra innings both times,” Swanson said. “Two evenly matched teams, but they got us both times and deserve to go on.”
The Saints’ bats were quiet after the first inning as STAB (17-7) picked up just three more hits throughout the game.
“We did not hit the ball great today,” Swanson said. “Credit their pitchers. They were mixing it up pretty well. Our guys just didn’t put the bat on the ball.”
Marc Rosen was 2 for 4 with two RBI singles and knocked in the go-ahead run.
“He’s a senior and you just hope that those guys put the bat on the ball,” Ryan said. “They weren’t pretty hits, but that’s the name of the game sometimes — putting the bat on the ball in the clutch.”
Will Swoop went 3 for 3 for the Cadets including a two-run triple in the bottom of the eighth.