By Matt Yarber

No. 9 St. Rita shut down No. 29 Bloomington 5-0 on Thursday, LHP Mike Costanzo, the No. 14 player in Illinois' 2014 class, faced 24 batters, striking out 12 of them. The Austin Peay recruit was perfect through 5.2 before a single broke it up. The junior bats came alive for St. Rita as they totaled for five out of the nine hits on the day. 

St. Rita

Mike Costanzo, LHP, Class of 2014 - The Austin Peay State commit came out strong from the very beginning and didn’t disappoint.  Costanzo faced 24 batters and struck out 12 of them.  He had a perfect game going with two outs in the sixth before the first Raider got a hit on a lazy ground ball back up the middle. Costanzo's line for the day was 7 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 HBP, and 12 Ks. Costanzo improved to 3-0 for the year.

Jake Shepski, SS, Class of 2014 - The left-handed hitting shortstop went 2-for-4 on the day with a double to deep right-center and an RBI triple. The Notre Dame recruit is one of the premier Class of 2014 prospects with his sure hands and aggressive approach at the plate.

Nate Soria, C, Class of 2014 - Soria looks to be one of the premier catchers in the Class of 2014.  The 5-foot-10, 165-pound catcher showed high-level defensive actions and a strong arm.  At the plate, Soria went 2-for-3 with 2 singles and 2 RBIs.

Jake Drada, 3B, Class of 2014 - Drada was unknown to us coming in to the game but impressed at the plate, showing raw power and bat speed. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound junior went 1-for-3 on the day with a double that one hopped the left field fence. 

Bloomington

Deion Thompson, SS, Class of 2015 - A lean middle infielder who has a prototypical middle infielder’s body, has quick hands at the plate. He has projectable athleticism, though currently needs to develop more foot speed.

Tyler Workman, RHP, Class of 2015 - the 6-foot, 170-pound RHP held off the St. Rita offense for 3 innings before he was tagged with 5 runs. Workman’s final line was 4.1 IP, 6 Hits, 5 ER, 2 BB, and 3 K.