Wave rolls to victory

Adam Gilles hits a single for the St. Edward Green Wave at Westminster Christian.
(Shauna Bittle/Staff Photographer)

ELGIN -- Ten runs in the first two innings and a strong effort from starting pitcher Julian Ramirez was just what St. Edward needed Thursday.

The Green Wave was without four players who were away on a religious retreat and one who was sidelined with an injury, but those absences hardly made a difference in a 13-3 non-conference win against crosstown rival Westminster Christian.

St. Edward (7-7) pounced on Warriors starter Mike Bruce from the start, tallying two runs in the first inning and eight more in the second. That was more than enough of a cushion for Ramirez, who went the distance as the Wave snapped a three-game losing streak against Westminster (8-4).

"If I could order up whatever I wanted today, it would have been a great game from the pitcher as well as some great hitting," St. Edward coach Gene Belmonte said. "That's what we got."

One day after stranding 11 runners on base in a loss to Wheaton Academy, St. Edward was clicking on all cylinders at the plate. The visiting Wave connected for 15 hits, 11 of which came in the first two innings.

Jon Godfrey led the way, going 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs. Mike Kondrath (2-for-4, 2 RBIs, 3 runs), Jim Fraczek (2-for-4, 3 RBIs), Adam Gilles (2-for-3, 2 runs, RBI), and Jordan Torres (2-for-4) also had multi-hit games.

Bruce (0-1) took the loss after lasting only 1 1/3 innings. He didn't get much help from his defense as several hard-hit balls eluded his corner outfielders during the second inning, leading to five unearned runs.

"When you don't make plays in the outfield, that's the No. 1 sin," Westminster Christian coach Jeff Moeller said. "Whether it goes in the book as an error or not, those are misplayed balls that have to be caught."

Westminster scored three times in the bottom of the third to pull within 10-3. Brandon Weingartner, who went 2-for-3, keyed the rally with two-run single up the middle.

Warriors reliever Steve Berglund kept St. Edward's bats quiet for much of his 5 1/3 innings of work, allowing only one hit and striking out seven from the third through sixth innings.

However, Westminster couldn't get much going against Ramirez (1-0). The St. Edward junior struck out five, walked two, allowed seven hits and remained sharp from start to finish.

"The pitches that were working for me were my four-seamer and my fastball, especially locating them low and outside," Ramirez said. "I'm in pretty good shape so I was pretty good at the end and still throwing pretty hard."