Aside from the usual excitement of playing in a state semifinal game, senior infielder Ben Geary had another reason to be extra grateful to be taking the field Friday for St. Laurence.
The South Suburban College recruit missed Monday’s 2-1 supersectional win over Simeon with an illness. Knowing there was a chance his high school career could end with him at home sick, Geary was thankful his teammates came through and gave him another chance to play.
“I was sweating and biting my nails following the game on Monday night,” Geary said. “I wasn’t expecting it to be as close as it was. I didn’t want that to be my final high school game and not even be there for my teammates, but I knew it wouldn’t be. I had confidence in my teammates.
“It meant the world to be out there. This is my home. I need to be there with my teammates.”
Geary returned and delivered an RBI single Friday morning, helping the Vikings roll to an 11-6 win over Troy Triad in a Class 3A semifinal at Duly Health and Care Field in Joliet.
Wisconsin-Stout recruit Connor Marino went 2-for-5 with four RBIs to lead St. Laurence (36-5). Danny Donovan finished 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs, while Adrian Perez added two hits, two runs and an RBI and Mickey Lotus went 3-for-4 with a run.
The Vikings will try to win their first state title in program history at 1 p.m. Saturday against the semifinal winner between Benet (26-12) and Cary-Grove (25-12). It’s their second appearance in the state championship game. In 2019, St. Laurence lost 6-3 to Montini in the Class 3A final.
Sophomore left-hander Jimmy Benson threw 5 2/3 strong innings Friday against a lefty-heavy lineup for Triad (34-7). He allowed three earned runs on seven hits and struck out six for the win.
“It was fun,” Benson said. “I was waiting for this moment. I want to pitch in the biggest game possible for us. I like the feeling of pitching in big games with the adrenaline and all that.
“I feel like it helps me do better.”
Geary, meanwhile, started feeling ill Sunday and it only got worse as Monday rolled around.
“I couldn’t sleep the whole night on Sunday,” Geary said. “I was just as sick as can be. I just didn’t feel like I could play. I could barely stand up.
“I just got a lot of fluids in my body and tried to be ready for state.”
Geary said he still wasn’t feeling close to 100% Friday, but there was no way he was missing this. He came through with an RBI single during a four-run fourth inning and also drew a walk.
“I wasn’t feeling as good as I had hoped, but I just wanted to stay simple,” Geary said. “Try not to do too much at the plate. Just do my job, play my role and pass the torch on to the next guy.”
That is essentially the motto for St. Laurence’s entire lineup.
The Vikings, who led 8-0 after five innings, put together three long rallies — scoring four times in the second inning, four times in the fourth and three in the seventh.
St. Laurence finished with 12 hits, including 10 singles, plus doubles from Lotus and Donovan.
“I feel like we’ve always been kind of scrappy hitters,” Lotus said. “We have Cory Les, but other than that, we don’t really have anyone that can hit the ball crazy far or anything.
“We made that first pitcher work, and I don’t think he’s worked like that before. I feel like we really got to him.”
And now, the Vikings are one win away from history.
“This is what we work for,” Geary said. “I think our team deserves it, and I’m glad we get the opportunity. We’re going to play our hearts out.”
