The Saint Patrick Shamrocks defeated Oak Park-River Forest 10-8 to claim the championship of the Illinois High School Association’s Oak Park (Fenwick) Sectional on June 3. Mike Giller went three for four with hit a huge three-run home run, and Mike Bolger picked up the win in relief. Dan O’Donnell, Noah Reyes, and Steve Yopchick all had two hits as well. It is the first Sectional Championship in school history.

Oak Park got out to a 4-0 lead with two unearned runs in the first and two more runs in the third. Saint Patrick roared back with four in the top of the fourth. Giller led off with a double to deep left-center. Reyes singled home Giller and Yopchick followed with another single. After an out, Chris Lehr singled home both runs and took second on the throw to the plate. Jack McKenna followed with a pinch-hit double to the wall in left field to tie the game at four. The Huskies plated two more unearned runs on a two-out error with the bases loaded to make it 6-4 Oak Park. The Shamrocks came back with three in the fifth inning to take a 7-6 lead. With one out Giller singled and Reyes doubled him in. Yopchick followed with a walk, then Kevin Cahill doubled down the right field line. Chris Lehr gave the Shamrocks a lead with a sacrifice fly to center field. Saint Patrick stretched it out to a four run lead at 10-6 on Giller’s 430-foot homer off the field house in dead center field. Oak Park got one in the sixth, but the Shamrocks held on for the win.

Yopchick started on the mound, and pitched four innings, allowing only two earned runs. Bolger came on and allowed two runs in two and two-thirds innings of relief before Mike Kotz came on to get the final out of the game on a fly ball to Reyes with the tying runs on second and third in the seventh inning.

The Shamrocks defeated Fenwick 5-2 in the semi-final game on June 1. Kotz threw a complete game, and O’Donnell went four for four with a double and a home run as the Shamrocks advanced to the first Sectional Final game in school history.

The game was scoreless in the bottom of the third when Kotz made his only mistake of the game. Fenwick’s Dave Larsen hit it for a home run over the left field fence to make it 2-0 Friars. The Shamrocks answered in the top of the fourth inning with four runs. Cahill led off with a single to center field, and Chris Lehr drove him in with a double off the fence in left center field. Paul Delles followed with a triple to right field to tie the game at two. Delles scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-2 Shamrocks. Eddie Ortiz drew a walk and advanced to third on O’Donnell’s single to right. Ortiz scored when Fenwick’s pitcher made a wild throw to first on a pickoff attempt. O’Donnell added a solo homer in the top of the sixth to make it 5-2.

Kotz was masterful on the mound, striking out six batters while allowing only three hits and two walks over seven innings. The Shamrock defense struggled, committing five errors on throws in the infield, but Kotz pitched over the mistakes, allowing only two unearned runs.

The Shamrocks play in the Schaumburg (Alexian Field) Super-Sectional on Monday night at 6:30pm. They will face either Glenbrook South or New Trier.