St. Benedict's repeats at St. Francis tourney

St. Benedict's baseball team defeated Queen of Heaven/St. John Vianney, 4-1, to win the St. Francis High School Baseball Tournament for the second year in a row. Members of the team, pictured from left, are: first row - Matt MacDonald, Jimmy Croglio, Jamie Garand, Pat MacDonald, PJ Anders, Colin Tenney, Joey Insalaco; second row - Bobby Graczyk, coach Bryan Tenney, Nick DeJoy, Brendan Tenney, Dylan Blujus, Dylan Beres, coach Stan Blujus, Marc DiLeo, Sam Insalaco and coach Joe DiLeo.

St. Benedict's baseball team, coming off its 2006-07 diocesan championship season, started off the 2007 season by capturing the prestigious St. Francis High School Baseball Tournament for the second year in a row.

St. Benedict's defeated Queen of Heaven/St. John Vianney, 4-1, in the championship game. The Tigers compiled a 5-1 record during the tournament as they defeated Notre Dame, twice, Nativity of Orchard Park, and St. Ambrose before avenging their only defeat in the finals.

St. Benedict's opened the tournament by defeating Notre Dame, 16-4, with Dylan Blujus and Bobby Graczyk limiting Notre Dame to two hits. Blujus and Matt Mac- Donald led the offense with two hits, while Marc DiLeo added three hits and scored three runs.

Any hope of sweeping through the tournament was dashed when Queen of Heaven came back from an 8-2 deficit to edge the Tigers, 11-10, scoring three runs in the sixth to send the Tigers to the brink of elimination.

Blujus had a tremendous game, hitting three triples, scoring three times, and driving in three runs. Nick DeJoy added two hits and a RBI while Jimmy Croglio doubled and Jamie Garand knocked in a run with a two-out single.

The Tigers bounced back in convincing fashion by outscoring St. Ambrose, 16-3, in a game that was called after four innings. The first five batters reached base and scored as the Tigers opened up an 8-0 lead after one inning.

Graczyk and Matt MacDonald combined to toss a six-hitter while Brendan Tenney, DiLeo (two doubles each), Matt Mac- Donald (four hits), Jamal Davis, Pat MacDonald (first hits), and PJ Anders (two walks, run scored) led the 15-hit attack.

The quarterfinals were a repeat of St. Benedict's and Notre Dame, with the Tigers moving on with a 12-3 win. Blujus (four RBIs) and DiLeo each rapped out three hits while Brendan Tenney, Graczyk, DeJoy, Anders, and Colin Tenney each reaching on base hits.

The semifinal featured the two finalists from last year's tournament, with St. Benedict's taking on perennial powerhouse, Nativity of Orchard Park. Nativity jumped out to 1-0 and 2-1 leads before the Tigers scored twice in the third and six in the sixth inning to break open a close game.

Brendan Tenney pitched a complete game two-hitter, and put Nativity down in order in the third, fourth, and fifth innings. Tenney also contributed to the victory offensively, knocking in two with a single. Blujus continued his hot hitting, going 2 for 3 with two RBIs.

Bolstered by the return of Dylan Beres, Sam and Joey Insalaco, the Tigers were ready to avenge their only loss. Queen of Heaven jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, with St. Benedict's answering with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. DiLeo's RBI triple scored Matt MacDonald, with Blujus following with a RBI single. In the second inning, Colin Tenney started a two-out rally with a walk. Matt MacDonald and DiLeo followed with singles, and Blujus delivered a clutch single to plate Tenney and MacDonald.

Both teams played great defense the rest of the way, with DiLeo and Colin Tenney making web gem plays in the field for the Tigers. Blujus capped off an awesome tournament as he pitched a complete game in the finals, striking out 11 and only giving up two first inning singles.

Blujus was voted tournament MVP, compiling 15 hits (four doubles, five triples), 11 RBIs, and scoring 13 runs. He also won three games as the starting pitcher.