DePaul Prep Wins Playoff 1-0 Over Loyola; Lane Tops St. Patrick 8-5

[Preview of this week’s Inside—Booster article.]

By Jack Lydon

“One for the ages.”

That’s what I wrote in a preview early in the week about Saturday’s 4A regional final between Chicago Catholic League rivals DePaul Prep and Loyola Academy. And well, it actually turned out that way.

The DePaul Prep Rams defeated the Loyola Academy Ramblers 1-0 at Kerry Wood Cubs Park in extra innings. Rams’ senior first baseman Nolan Hecht doubled off the right field fence to score Quinn Roberts with one out in the top of the ninth. The only run all day.

The biggest hit of his life?

“Ya, that was really cool,” Hecht said. “It was a four-seam fastball. I got that pitch in the last  at bat. I knew I was getting it again [for the first pitch]. I just jumped on it.”

It was a great day for Rams pitching. Senior left-hander Liam Daly was spectacular starting the game for the Rams; five innings, one hit, no runs. Rams’ junior right-hander Finn Nash finished the game and got the win after four innings of two hit baseball.

“I didn’t even know we were in extras. It was kind of crazy actually. I didn’t even know I was in that moment,” Nash said about his appearance.

This Rams victory seems unlikely from the start. It was against the odds. They had beaten Loyola twice already this year: a 5-4 company win on May 11and a 12-9 slugfest the following day. It’s really hard to beat a team three times in a row.

Not only that but the Rams had chances early in the game and failed to capitalize. First and second with nobody out in the both the top of the second and the top of the third. Runners again in the top of the fifth and six. The Rams looked snakebit.

DePaul Prep skipper Sam Colon knew he had to dig deep to get his team ready for this one.

“This is why you got up at 5:00 to practice in December. You did it for today,” Colon told his team before the game.

Sam also put in a lot of time arguing with the umpires during early innings after some head scratching calls.

“You gotta show intensity. I had to show my guys I was willing to fight for them. I am willing to go to bat for them too. I am a high energy guy and I want to be able to provide that for my team,” Colon said.

It was that kind of intensity that Quinn Roberts, Nolan Hecht and Finn Nash carried into the ninth. It was that intensity that the Ramblers lacked.

The Rams’ gritty victory actually happened right in front of their next opponent. The extra inning affair meant the Lane Tech players and coaches watched the final three innings and saw firsthand the intensity and focus of the immediate neighbors.

The Champions opened fast against the Shamrocks scoring five runs in the first. The Shamrocks drew even in the top of the fourth, but the Champions proved their metal adding three more runs in the fourth and fifth.

Lane Tech’s Cruz Warren earned the victory after going four innings, with four hits, one run and striking out six. The Champions will DePaul Prep at Kerry Wood in Wednesday’s sectional semi-final game, at Kerry Wood Cubs Field, a fitting battleground between the two schools.

DePaul Prep Slugs St. Ignatius 10-3

[a preview of next week’s Inside—Booster article.]

By Jack Lydon

Chicago, Illinois—It was a game of big hits. DePaul Prep’s junior right fielder Quinn Roberts put two into the parking lot east of Kerry Wood Cubs Field. The Rams had a total six extra base hits and dropped the St. Ignatius Wolfpack 10-3 Thursday evening. St. Ignatius’ Cam Andrews also put one over the left field fence for two runs in the top of the sixth.

The dimensions are just a little shorter than Wrigley Field at Kerry Wood Cubs Field. 363 feet in the outfield gaps and 327 down the lines.

“That's my first two home run game ever actually. That’s a good milestone right there. It's pretty fun hitting them at Kerry Wood. It's pretty deep out there,” said Roberts, who ended the game with two home runs, two walks and three runs batted in.

“So that second one of the game was my fourth of the year actually. I hit one at Providence two days ago. I just try and do my best. I try to swing hard enough, but not too hard to where it makes the coach totally angry. I just try to put them in play and see what happens from there.” Roberts ended the game with two home runs, two walks and three runs batted in.

“Quinn is gonna be great. He's playing well. He had to kick in last year as a sophomore when we got hurt. We're really experienced, even the juniors, even the younger guys. They’re experienced. They had to dig and fight in these Catholic League Blue games last year. So they know what this is about and I think it shows,” said Sam Colon, DePaul Prep’s manager, a 2014 graduate of Gordon Tech. Colon took over as head baseball coach for DePaul Prep from legendary Gordon and DePaul Prep coach Chris Haas in 2023. Colon took the Rams to the 2A State Finals in his first year at the helm and a super-sectional game last year.

Although the game ended 10-3, it started a little rough for DePaul Prep’s senior lefthander Owen Rog. Rog walked the first three batters of the game. Not to worry. He struck out the Wolfpack’s Jaiden Ponce swinging and the next hitter Ben Marasovich dutifully bounced into a 6-4-3 double play to end the innings and get Rog out of the jam.

Even with all the extra base hits, it was defense and solid pitching that secured the Rams first Chicago Catholic League Blue Division win of the season. Despite the gaudy 19-4 season record for the Rams, all four of their losses this season have come to CCL Blue rivals Brother Rice and Providence Catholic. The Catholic League is loaded with excellent baseball teams this year. Brother Rice and St. Laurence are the first and fourth ranked teams in the state by Max Preps.

The Rams turned three double plays in the game. In addition to the one in the first inning, first baseman Dylan Hecht fielded a sharp ground ball right to him, through it to shortstop Vance Kurokawa at second to fired it back to Hecht for the bang-bang 3-6-3 inning ending double play in the third.

In the top of the fifth, with a man on first, Rams’ third baseman Charles “Chuck” Pribyl fielded a ground ball, throw to second baseman Beni Espinosa who fired it down to Hecht at first for the third double play of the game.

Owen Rog pitched three innings giving up three hits and one run on four walks and three strikeouts. He was relieved by Gavin Glibowski in the fourth who finished the game giving up four hits and two runs on the aforementioned homerun by Cam Andrews. Glibowski did not walk anyone and struck out six.

The Rams continue with their difficult Catholic League schedule with another game against St. Ignatius, then IC Catholic and Mount Carmel in coming days.