St. Rita’s Chris Delgadillo didn’t like the idea of Providence hanging around in its Catholic League tilt on Wednesday.
Clinging to a 3-0 advantage to start the sixth inning, Delgadillo waved farewell with the biggest hit of the game, knocking in three runs on a double to lead St. Rita to an 8-1 victory in New Lenox.
“It gets a little frustrating after a few innings when you only have three runs,” Delgadillo said. “We always want more. We’re striving and we’re hungry.”
That’s a tough appetite to suppress for St. Rita (24-0, 9-0). In its last 15 outings, the Mustangs have outscored the opposition 144-16.
“We want to prove to everyone that we’re the real deal,” Delgadillo said.
Left-handed starter Mike Costanzo (7-0) played the part, firing six scoreless innings. The Austin Peay recruit kept a good pace on the mound and fanned eight while scattering three hits. He struck out four of seven batters during a torrid stretch through the middle innings.
“I always feel like I throw harder later in the game,” Costanzo said. “My curveball eventually came in, but I felt like I was hitting spots with my fastball all game.”
Brent Villasenor (3-1) was handed the defeat for Providence (15-8, 6-3). Villasenor pitched well to start in limiting St. Rita’s assault, but the Mustangs scored three unearned runs spanning the second and third innings.
“We weren’t able to put any pressure on them,” Providence coach Mark Smith said. “And because we’re down 3-0, they start getting some hits and then all the pressure is on us. We make a mistake and then boom, the floodgates open.”
Villasenor ended up going 5 1/3 innings, giving up four runs on five hits.
The Celtics ended the shutout in the seventh when Zack Pych (1-for-1, two walks) scored on a sacrifice fly via Mike Madej after securing a leadoff walk.
St. Rita’s Nick Goldsmith (2-for-4) was the game’s only batter to secure two hits, the second of which knocked in Jake Shepski. Aaron Fuller added an RBI double and Tyler Halas chipped in a double and run scored for the Mustangs.
