Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

Bishop Eustace roars back in 7th to beat Audubon

Down to its last strike, the Bishop Eustace Prep baseball team rallied for four runs in the top of the seventh inning Sunday en route to a 6-3 victory over Audubon in the title game of the 21st annual Ralph Shaw Classic.

Down to its last strike, the Bishop Eustace Prep baseball team rallied for four runs in the top of the seventh inning Sunday en route to a 6-3 victory over Audubon in the title game of the 21st annual Ralph Shaw Classic.

Freshman Matt Orlando tied the score with an RBI single and senior Nate Steele gave the Crusaders a 4-3 lead with an RBI single on the next pitch.

Sophomore Ryan Colbert added a two-run single to complete the rally for Bishop Eustace (5-0) on a bright, brisk afternoon at Hank Greenberg Field.

"It didn't look good for a long time," Bishop Eustace coach Sam Tropiano said. "We were fortunate to get this one."

Winning pitcher Brian Bernetich, a junior righthander, settled down after a shaky start. He allowed three runs in the first two innings but shut out Audubon over the next four to give his team a chance to come back.

"I was overexcited [early]," Bernetich said. "I just needed to settle down."

Sophomore Dylan Decker, who had a two-run double for Bishop Eustace's first hit in the fourth, struck out the side in the seventh for the save.

Strong pitching carried Bishop Eustace through the day as senior Shane Clower pitched a four-hitter with 11 strikeouts in a 2-1 win over Cedar Creek in the semifinals.

Audubon (3-2) got dominant pitching from junior Dan Wilson in a 1-0 win over Riverside in the semifinals and a strong performance from junior Andrew Fehr in the title game.

"That's baseball," Audubon coach Rich Horan said of his team being one strike out from winning the tournament. "You have to finish."

Bishop Eustace 000 200 4 - 6 8 1

Audubon 210 000 0 - 3 6 1

WP: Brian Bernetich. LP: Andrew Fehr.

2B: BE-Dylan Decker. A-Lukas Press.