CRESTWOOD, Ill. – The Roosevelt baseball team waited as long as possible to wrap up its home slate and keep its 2017 senior class playing in Green and White.
After rain washed out this past weekend's season-capping series against Saint Xavier, the Lakers brought the resumption of Saturday's first game along with Sunday's scheduled home finale into Standard Bank Stadium on Tuesday to finish three innings plus battle in a complete nine-inning affair.
Following a quick trio of innings to conclude Saint Xavier's 3-1 decision over the Lakers, the two teams were embroiled in a four-plus-hour marathon that resulted in a narrow 6-5 win for the Cougars in 12 innings.
While overcast skies and the eventual results were not favorable for the Lakers, there was still a shining light on Tuesday as head coach Steve Marchi saluted his six seniors. In between the games there was a ceremony honoring seniors Mike Marrera, Bronson Wittkamp, Jared Jayne, Dan Mazurkiewicz, Logan Fleener and Colten Trager for their contributions on and off the diamond over the years.
Wittkamp pitched two innings of near-perfect relief in the resumption, while Jayne had started that game on Saturday and was a pinch runner who scored the tying run in the eighth inning of the finale.
Marrera gave it all he had on the mount in the nightcap, throwing 132 pitches in 6.2 innings while allowing just four hits and four earned runs for the no-decision and an ovation as he left in the seventh to give way to freshman Matt Garbacz.
Trager had a pair of hits, and his leadoff triple in the eighth with the Lakers trailing 5-4 served as the eventual tying run in the form of Jayne, who came home on Charley Zeschke's RBI groundout.
Saint Xavier nearly put the go-ahead run at third in the 10th, but Mazurkiewicz made a great throw from left field to get the runner at that aforementioned base and end the threat.
The two sides continued to play to a standstill until the top of the 12th frame, as Saint Xavier scored an unearned run on a sacrifice fly following a passed ball moments earlier despite Garbacz's 5.1 innings of stellar relief.
The Lakers put the tying run aboard with one out in the bottom of the 12th, but reliever Erik Eggert struck out the side to close the books on the lengthy contest.
Roosevelt caps the 2017 season against Saint Xavier on Wednesday, May 3 at 2 p.m. at the Cougars' home field.
