There was a Lou Brescia in the dugout for Cardinal Spellman, just not the team’s head coach. Lou Jr., the school’s JV coach, took over the helm with his father serving the second game of a two-game suspension. And he knew just the way to fire up the players.
“I told them, 'I don’t want my father watching you guys get eliminated from the stands,'” Brescia Jr. said. “If you guys are gonna go down, I want him in this dugout coaching. It seemed to carry over well.”
Chris Sholkoff was brilliant, tossing a complete-game two-hitter with seven strikeouts to lead No. 12 Cardinal Spellman to a 1-0 win over No. 13 Xavier in the CHSAA Class AA baseball second round Wednesday in The Bronx.
Denis Gostev
Spellman's Dom Luongo celebrates his run with teammates.
Photos: Cardinal Spellman-Xavier
Denis Gostev
Spellman's Chris Sholkoff tossed a two-hitter.
Photos: Cardinal Spellman-Xavier
Now, Brescia Sr., who watched the game from a folding chair way down the left-field line, can return to coach the Pilots in a third-round, best-of-three series against an opponent to be determined starting Saturday. The coach was suspended following an ejection last week against Mount St. Michael.
“[Brescia Jr.] said because our coach defended us, we should have his back always,” Sholkoff said. “We did that; we won. Everyone played their heart out.”
The senior right-hander faced just one batter over the minimum and didn’t walk anyone. A Xavier base-runner reached second base just once in the third inning. Sholkoff’s curve was deceptive from the start and his location was on point.
“I lost [my curve] here and there, but I picked it up when I needed to,” Sholkoff said. “I know I don’t throw the hardest, I just work on my location, try to hit the corners, try to size up the hitters.”
Added left fielder Dom Luongo: “Nobody ever found their swing. Nobody was comfortable.”
Sholkoff managed to outduel St. John’s-bound left-hander Nick DiLeo, who was every bit as good, allowing just two hits himself with eight strikeouts and three walks. Spellman (10-8) got its lone run in the sixth when Luongo walked, took second and third on a wild pitch and scored on another wild pitch on a full count to Will Hodges.
“I just thought, I have to get home,” Luongo said. “I saw it coming out of his hand. I just motored it home.”
It was a heartbreaking end for Xavier (8-9), which has been at least in the final eight, championship round in each of DiLeo’s three previous years.
“It’s depressing,” Knights coach Rich Duffell said. “Very frustrating. We played good against the good teams and played down to the bad teams.”
Added DiLeo: “It’s new. We had good runs, this year it just didn’t work out.”
The run continues for Spellman into at least Memorial Day Weekend. Brescia Sr. came in after the game and gathered the players together for a pep talk heading into the best-of-three series. It wasn’t the same as having him in the dugout, but the Pilots made sure he’d be back in his rightful place come Saturday.
“It just made us play a little harder,” Luongo said. “We couldn’t make this the last game of the season.”
mraimondi@nypost.com
Cardinal Spellman, Chris Sholkoff, Brescia Jr., Brescia Sr., Brescia Sr., Dom Luongo, Lou Jr., Xavier
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