This story was updated at 5:45 p.m. on the date of publication with the confirmed name of the title challenger.
Joliet, IL-(ENEWSPF)- After belting his second double of the game off the left-field wall in the seventh inning, Christian Beal swiped third base and raced home when the ball got away to give Marian Catholic (24-14) its second IHSA 3A title-game berth with a 4-3 state semifinal victory over Champaign Central on Friday at Joliet Slammers Stadium.
The Spartans will take on ESCC rival Saint Viator in Saturday’s 12 p.m. title contest. Marian won both ESCC meetings, 5-1 and 8-1.
The Maroons had rallied from a 3-0 deficit, scoring an unearned run in the top of the seventh to tie the contest.
Marian tallied three times in the bottom of the second to stake winning hurler Mark DiLuia (8-1 record, five-hitter, eight strikeouts) to the lead. Angelo Cantelo walked and courtesy runner Joey Storiz quickly swiped second. After an A.J. Anderson walk, Sean Taylor sacrificed both runners into scoring position.
Storiz tallied the game’s initial run when Pierce Jones reached on an error, then Beal cracked a two-run double to right-center.
Marian won the 2012 Class 3A championship with a 10-2 decision over LaSalle-Peru.
Champaign Central scored one in the fourth, one in the sixth, and tied the game at the top of the seventh. Marian Catholic scored 3 in the second and the winning run, home stolen in the bottom of the seventh by Christian Beal.
Marian Catholic High School is a Catholic, coeducational, college preparatory high school within the Dominican tradition of study, prayer, community, and preaching. Marian Catholic students seek truth, exhibit personal responsibility, cultivate their individual talents, and demonstrate ethical leadership and Christian service.
