Wild rally sends Neumann-Goretti to Catholic final

It didn't take Josh Ockimey anywhere close to four years to develop Neumann-Goretti's no-surrender approach in baseball.

"Yeah, I picked up that mentality from the beginning," the freshman first baseman said. "No game is over until the final out, no matter the score. It's about believing in each other and what we can do as a team."

The refusal to quit was needed in a big way Saturday om a Catholic League semifinal against La Salle. Hurt by four errors, Neumann-Goretti was stuck in an 11-0 canyon after 11/2 innings. Soon to be lost, it seemed, was an undefeated record and a crack at the title.

But a 13-run explosion in the sixth, highlighted by Ockimey's three-run triple and Jimmy Kerrigan's two-run homer, propelled the Saints to an improbable 18-13 victory over the stunned Explorers at sun-splashed Widener University.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Ockimey, a lefthanded hitter, went 3 for 4 with three runs and five RBIs.

"The ball finds his barrel every time up," Saints coach Lou Spadaccini said.

Ahead by 13-3 in the bottom of the fifth, La Salle was one out from triumphing via the mercy rule. On a 3-1 pitch, Ockimey saved his squad from defeat with a two-run blast to right-center field.

"I knew going up there that it was a do-or-die situation," the 15-year-old said. "I said to myself, 'I'm not going to be the last out.' I got a fastball right down the middle and hit it right on the button."

On Tuesday, at 4 p.m. back at Widener, Neumann-Goretti (20-0) will face defending champ Monsignor Bonner (16-4) for the title. In Saturday's other semifinal, Bonner topped Archbishop Wood, 5-4, in 11 innings.

In the decisive sixth, the Saints were aided by seven walks, including four in a row. With the bases loaded, Mike "Zoom" Zolk, Joey Gorman, and Marty Venafro each drew an RBI pass. Zolk and Gorman walked on four pitches.

"We were down by 11, but I knew the game wasn't over," said Zolk, a hard-hitting second baseman and North Carolina recruit. "We have a team full of heart. We're the perfect example of a team."

Joe Kinee, the Saints' sophomore starter, allowed three runs, including Corey Baiada's two-run homer to right, in the first inning.

In the second, when Zolk took over, La Salle, helped by three errors, scored eight runs on five hits. Later, Spadaccini sent Joe Jaep and Gorman to the hill. With three whiffs in the last two innings, Gorman, an ace lefty, picked up the victory.

Gorman was 2 for 2 with three RBIs and three runs; Kerrigan, a leftfielder and cleanup man, went 3 for 5 with three runs; and third baseman Joey Glennon (2 for 2, three RBIs) slapped a two-run single to left in the sixth.

For the season, Ockimey is hitting about .500 with 23 RBIs, 20 runs, and 2 homers. "He's a stud, an absolute stud," said Zolk, who was 1 for 3 with a pair of runs.

La Salle (15-6) equaled Neumann-Goretti's 14 hits. Starting pitcher Nick Burns (3 for 4) and leadoff man Ryan Otis (3 for 4, two runs) keyed the attack.

La Salle   38020 00 - 13142

Neumann-Goretti   03002 13x - 18144

WP: Joey Gorman. LP: Mike Piscopo. 2B: LS-P.J. Acierno; NG-Gorman. 3B: NG-Josh Ockimey. HR: LS-Corey Baiada; NG-Ockimey, Kerrigan.