Baseball: Bradley-Bourbonnais captures All-City win

Hannah Bevis 
hbevis@daily-journal.com

In the bottom of the fifth, before Bradley-Bourbonnais' Trey Blair stepped into the batter's box to face McNamara's Sam O'Connor, BBCHS head coach Kevin Arthur pulled him aside.

"I told him, 'Hey. You have to get on base. If you get on base, we win,'" Arthur said.

Arthur's words turned out to be prophetic. Blair hit a line drive between the shortstop and second baseman for a single and then crossed home plate on Ryan Jemar's hit. Blair's run was the game-winner in a 2-1 Boilermaker victory over All-City rival Bishop McNamara.

Tyler Guertin's performance on the hill was the story of the game. His fastball seemed to have a bit more zip than usual, as he allowed just two hits and no earned runs in the win to improve to 3-0 on the year.

"Tyler Guertin, again, was a monster on the mound," Arthur said. "Every game he's pitched this year, he's been focused, and he's carried us."

That was bad news for a McNamara team that has been struggling to hit early in the season. The Irish weren't able to get many good looks against Guertin, though their pitching and defense limited the Boilers to just five hits.

McNamara struck first, capitalizing on a brutal error by BBCHS's Jordan O'Neal, who dropped a high fly ball to right field.

After that first run, they wouldn't solve Guertin.

"I think at this point, our pitching and our defense is one of the best in the area," said McNamara coach Sam Bumpers. "But, I think we've got to be a little more aggressive out there, and hopefully, as it gets warmer, our bats will get warmer."

There were several close calls for both teams that could have broken the game open. Bishop McNamara's Dylan Post made two outstanding plays in centerfield, helping McNamara to keep it close.

In the bottom of the third, Post made a long throw to home plate to end the inning, preventing a Boilermaker run. Post swung the momentum in McNamara's favor again with a sparkling catch. Bradley-Bourbonnais' Tyler Jasmin smashed a ball into the gap, but Post took off running and made the diving play to get the second out of the inning, which prevented another run from scoring.

Despite Post's web gems, McNamara's strong defense has some holes. BBCHS was able to capitalize on a couple of botched double play attempts to barely eke out the win against its crosstown rival.

"We mark this game on our calendar every year," Guertin said. "It feels good to get the win and bring it back home."​

Hannah Bevis 
hbevis@daily-journal.com

In the bottom of the fifth, before Bradley-Bourbonnais' Trey Blair stepped into the batter's box to face McNamara's Sam O'Connor, BBCHS head coach Kevin Arthur pulled him aside.

"I told him, 'Hey. You have to get on base. If you get on base, we win,'" Arthur said.

Arthur's words turned out to be prophetic. Blair hit a line drive between the shortstop and second baseman for a single and then crossed home plate on Ryan Jemar's hit. Blair's run was the game-winner in a 2-1 Boilermaker victory over All-City rival Bishop McNamara.

Tyler Guertin's performance on the hill was the story of the game. His fastball seemed to have a bit more zip than usual, as he allowed just two hits and no earned runs in the win to improve to 3-0 on the year.

"Tyler Guertin, again, was a monster on the mound," Arthur said. "Every game he's pitched this year, he's been focused, and he's carried us."

That was bad news for a McNamara team that has been struggling to hit early in the season. The Irish weren't able to get many good looks against Guertin, though their pitching and defense limited the Boilers to just five hits.

McNamara struck first, capitalizing on a brutal error by BBCHS's Jordan O'Neal, who dropped a high fly ball to right field.

After that first run, they wouldn't solve Guertin.

"I think at this point, our pitching and our defense is one of the best in the area," said McNamara coach Sam Bumpers. "But, I think we've got to be a little more aggressive out there, and hopefully, as it gets warmer, our bats will get warmer."

There were several close calls for both teams that could have broken the game open. Bishop McNamara's Dylan Post made two outstanding plays in centerfield, helping McNamara to keep it close.

In the bottom of the third, Post made a long throw to home plate to end the inning, preventing a Boilermaker run. Post swung the momentum in McNamara's favor again with a sparkling catch. Bradley-Bourbonnais' Tyler Jasmin smashed a ball into the gap, but Post took off running and made the diving play to get the second out of the inning, which prevented another run from scoring.

Despite Post's web gems, McNamara's strong defense has some holes. BBCHS was able to capitalize on a couple of botched double play attempts to barely eke out the win against its crosstown rival.

"We mark this game on our calendar every year," Guertin said. "It feels good to get the win and bring it back home."​

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