Ryan Kairis has been “the guy” all season long for Marist, according to coach Kevin Sefcik.
With the RedHawks’ season on the brink, Marist’s leadoff hitter showed why he’s held in such high regard.
Kairis scored the game-tying run in the fifth inning and knocked in Tyler Haizel in the sixth as Marist rallied to capture a 3-2 victory Thursday against host Andrew in a Class 4A regional semifinal.
“We were not fazed at all,” Kairis said of the deficit. “We were locked in the whole game. It took us awhile to get the bats going after the first inning, but we started putting it together and it worked out.”
Kairis went 2-for-4 with two doubles. His game-winning hit into the gap drove in Haizel, who scored from first base after reaching on a two-out bunt. Haizel raced around the paths and snuck under a tag at the plate.
“I was getting a little exhausted running around the bases,” Haizel said. “I knew it was going to be a close play out the plate, but I got in there — barely. I thought I’d be stopped at third, but (Sefcik) sent me home.
“With two outs, I was just trying to spark an inning. … I knew if I got on, Kairis would start an inning for us. He’s just been phenomenal.”
Sixth-seeded Marist (23-13) will face 14th-seeded Lincoln-Way East at 11 a.m. Saturday at Andrew for the regional title. East upset third-seeded Homewood-Flossmoor 4-3 on Wednesday.
Andrew (19-17) received a strong showing from starter Tom Bushnell. The right-hander went the distance, giving up seven hits and striking out four.
“Their pitcher was throwing gas. I didn’t realize he could throw 88-89 mph,” said Sefcik, who played for the Thunderbolts with Andrew coach Dave DeHaan and is one of two players to have his name honored on Andrew’s wall in right field.
“We battled; everyone did everything they could,” Bushnell said. “I had too many free passes and that was lack of throwing my off-speed pitches for strikes. But give credit to their hitters. Their leadoff is the real deal. Hats off to him and some of their other hitters. It was probably some of the hardest hit balls I gave up all season.”
Marist took a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI single from John Carmody.
Andrew didn’t have much going against starter Jack Synder through three, but the Thunderbolts opened the fourth with three straight hits and took a 2-1 lead after Ramon Padilla and Ramon Gonzales scored on a throwing error.
After a hitless fourth, the rest was all Kairis and Co.
“Their leadoff hitter, we were worried about him,” DeHaan said of Kairis. “We knew he was a great player. He came through when they needed him to.”
Pat Meehan relieved Marist starter Jack Snyder (five hits, four strikeouts) for the final two innings and didn’t allow an Andrew batter to reach base.
More Top Picks Best Talking Clocks For The Blind
“I went to Pat to close it out,” Sefcik said. “He’s a senior and he’s done a great job for us. We’ve got three guys we can use in the playoffs.”
Malloy is a freelance writer.