St. Francis Spartans to Compete for State Play

The St. Francis High School baseball program has reached the "Elite 8" in IHSA 3A Baseball for the first time in school history and will compete Monday, Jun. 6 for competing spot in the State Finals.

A good showing of infield defense, upstanding pitching and consistent hitting led the Spartans (25-12) to a victory in the Class 3A Central Sectional Championship game against Richmond-Burton Saturday.

In the second inning, the Spartans put 3 runs on the board and repeated the effort in the fifth, earning them the 6-2 victory.

, 8-1 for the season, pitched through five innings of burning heat, allowed one hit, one run and fanned four batters. Roback also had a triple in the second inning and drove in 2 runs. 

Other Spartans that came through for St. Francis included  and  each had 2 hits; and each drove in a run.

The road to the Elite Eight started with a 6-0 win over Regional host Glenbard South, followed by a 3-2 win in the Regional Championship over rival Montini Catholic. In Sectional play, the Spartans defeated Ridgewood (Norridge) in the Semi Final game by a score of 6-5, which propelled them to the Sectional Championship against Richmond-Burton.

The Spartans are led by senior pitchers Eric Stout, who has committed to Butler University) and Jack Roback, who will attempt to walk on at Purdue University in the fall. Roback was the winning pitcher in the wins against Montini Catholic and Richmond-Burton.

Stout will take the mound at 4:30 p.m. Monday in the Super Sectional game against Nazareth Academy—the defending IHSA Summer State Champion—at North Central College in Naperville.