No. 1 St. Rita Rolls on, Blanks No. 20 Fenwick

April 22, 2015

By Sean Duncan
Executive Director

RIVER FOREST, IL – At this point, nothing has slowed down top-ranked St. Rita. On Wednesday, not even frigid 40-degree temperature, a wicked wind or Fenwick ace Quinn Snarskis, whose pure stuff had the potential of cooling off the red-hot Mustangs.

Nope, the St. Rita train rolled on, cruising to a road 4-0 victory over No. 20 Fenwick in a Chicago Catholic League crossover contest. The Mustangs improved to 22-0 and 6-0 in the Catholic League; last year, they opened the season with a school-record 26 straight wins and went on to finish runner-up in Class 4A.

St. Rita didn’t waste any time jumping on Fenwick (9-5), scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. Junior RF Danny Gleaves, who’s one of the premier athletes in the state, led off the game with an infield single, promptly stole second and was sacrificed over to third. Senior CF Shane Peisker then delivered an infield single, scoring Gleaves before the 20 or so fans silly enough to brave the weather could even settle in. Peisker was thrown out stealing before starting pitcher Tyler Halas ripped an opposite-field triple to right field. Halas eventually scored on a double-steal walk-off play.

St. Rita added two more runs in the second inning on Gleaves’ two-run single, giving the Mustangs a 4-0 advantage. Snarskis, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound St. Joseph’s College recruit, would shut out the Mustangs the rest of the way behind his 87-89 mph running fastball that touched 90, and a 77-82 mph slider. A testament to St. Rita’s offensive prowess, the Mustangs only struck out three times in the game against Snarskis, who also walked four and allowed nine hits.

The four runs, however, would be plenty for Halas (6-0), who worked fast and pumped consistent strikes with his three-pitch mix. The Tennessee recruit pitched 6.2 innings, allowing three hits with four strikeouts and four walks. St. Rita’s defense, which is rock-solid at all positions, committed only one error in the game.

Gleaves paced the offense with a pair of hits, two RBI and a run scored. 1B Anthony Faron added two singles, 3B Esteban Martinez added a single, a walk and a run scored, and LF Mateo Zunica contributed a single and a stolen base.

No. 1 St. Rita Rolls on, Blanks No. 20 Fenwick

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