The Saint Patrick Shamrocks completed one of the most improbable runs in IHSA State Baseball Tournament with a second-place finish. The Shamrocks posted a record of 15-18 in regular season play, finishing 4-14 and tied for eighth place in the East Suburban Catholic Conference. In the playoffs, the Shamrocks caught fire, defeating Gordon, Lane, Fenwick, Oak-Park-River Forest, and New Trier to earn a trip downstate for the IHSA State Class AA Baseball Finals. There the Shamrocks continued rolling to the state championship game before finally falling to Naperville Central.

The Shamrocks beat Limestone High School (30-8) to advance to the semi-finals. The Shamrocks spotted the Rockets a 6-0 lead with four errors in the second inning. Saint Patrick came right back with a five-run rally after two men were out in the third. I tall started innocently enough, as Mike Mockler was hit by a pitch. Dan O’Donnell walked, and Nick Luburich doubled down the right field line, scoring Mockler. Mike Giller was intentionally walked to load the bases, and Noah Reyes reached on an error by the third baseman. Steve Yopchick hit a blooper just out of the reach of the diving right fielder that went for a three-run double that got the Shamrocks right back in the game at 6-5. Limestone added a run in the top of the fifth, but Saint Patrick responded with three in the bottom of the fifth. O’Donnell led off with a single, and Luburich reached on an error. Giller singled home O’Donnell, and Reyes followed with a single that plated Luburich, tying the game at seven. Following a Yopchick pop out, Kevin Cahill came to the plate with Giller at second and Reyes at first. Cahill’s grounder to short looked like an inning ending double play, but he beat the throw at first. Giller, hustling all the way from second base, rounded third and tried to score. Giller’s aggressive play caught the first baseman by surprise, forcing an errant throw that gave Saint Patrick an 8-7 lead. Mike Bolger came on in relief to nail down the win for Mike Kotz. Kotz pitched five innings, allowing nine hits and two earned runs. Bolger was brilliant in the final two innings, striking out three Rocket hitters to pick up the save.

In the semi-final Yopchick beat O’Fallon High School (35-7) with his arm and his bat. Yopchick threw a brilliant, two-hit complete game and added two singles and an RBI at the plate. Yopchick yielded a run in the first, and then he settled in to retire 12 of the next 13 hitters that he faced. The Shamrocks tied the game in the fourth when Giller led off with a single, stole second and took third on a throwing error by the catcher. Yopchick singled home Giller to tie the game. In the sixth, the Shamrocks got back-to-back singles from Reyes and Yopchick, setting up Kevin Cahill to be the hero. Cahill’s third hit of the game drove in Reyes to put the Shamrocks ahead 2-1. Yopchick made that run stand up, pitching over the Shamrocks’ fifth error of the game. Yopchick got the final outs of the game on a soft liner back to the mound, with the runner going from first, that he turned into a double play. Yopchick earned the Shamrocks a spot in the Championship game with his outstanding performance on the mound, allowing only two hits and one walk over seven innings of work.

In the State Championship the Shamrocks faced Naperville Central (35-7), which earned a berth in the title game by shutting out Elk Grove 1-0 in the quarterfinals, and Minooka 9-0 in the semi-finals. The Redhawks got on the board first with a run in the second inning, and they added an unearned run in the fifth to take a 2-0 lead. In the top of the sixth the Shamrock rallied. O’Donnell led off with a single to center, and Luburich followed with a base hit up the middle. With runners at first and second, Giller hit a single through the middle of the infield. O’Donnell rounded third and headed for the plate, arriving at the same time as the throw from center field. Pictures of the play clearly show that the Redhawk catcher never had possession of the ball to tag the runner, but O’Donnell was called out anyway. The umpire ruled that the catcher had dropped the ball while transferring it from his glove to his throwing hand, and then he refused to discuss the call with any of the five other umpires on his crew. Instead of trailing by a run with nobody out and two runners in scoring position, the Shamrocks trailed by two with one out and a pair of runners on base. Naperville Central brought Colin Bates, who shut out Elk Grove on two hits the day before, in to pitch. Bates got Reyes to tap back to the mound, catching Luburich hung up between third base and home plate for the second out. Yopchick then grounded out to end the inning. Bates retired the Shamrocks in order in the seventh for the save. Mike Bolger pitched a terrific game for the Shamrocks, allowing five hits and an earned run in six innings of work. Game Photos