Gino Ferrari, St. Bede edge Putnam County 1-0

PERU - With no outs in the top of the seventh inning of a one-run game, Putnam County courtesy runner Peyton Barto took off for second base as St. Bede’s Gino Ferrari delivered a pitch.

PC’s Cameron Spradling hit a line drive up the middle.

With both Bruin middle infielders moving to cover second base, St. Bede second baseman Stuart McGunnigal was in position to snag the liner.

He then fired to first base to double off Barto.

“It was kind of an ‘Oh shoot’ moment,” Ferrari said. “I thought the ball was going to go into center field. Then I saw Stuart jump up and grab it. It was pretty awesome.”

Ferrari struck out the next batter to put the finishing touches on a 1-0 St. Bede victory in a Tri-County Conference game Thursday at the Academy.

“The team played great,” Ferrari said. “Our defense was very good. We didn’t hit the ball like we wanted to, but our defense made up for it.”

Ferrari and PC’s Johnathon Stunkel battled in a classic pitchers’ duel.

Ferrari threw a two-hitter, striking out seven batters and walking five.

“There were a couple times where he got out of rhythm,” St. Bede coach Bill Booker said. “He had five walks. We’ve got to cut down on those, especially in one-run games, but for the most part he had pretty good command in the strike zone. He had a little bit of zip on his fastball and after about the third inning he found his curveball and it was working pretty well.”

The Bruins (19-4, 10-3 TCC) had a solid defensive performance behind Ferrari as they turned a 5-4-3 double play in the first inning along with the double play in the seventh.

“Defensively, we improved today because we didn’t play good defense Tuesday (against PC),” Booker said. “When it comes to tournament time, we have to play better defense and keep getting the pitching we are.”

The Panthers stranded a runner at third in the second inning and left runners at second and third bases in the sixth.

“We just couldn’t capitalize,” PC coach Chris Newsome said. “I feel like we left a lot of guys on base. Credit to Gino for throwing a good game to keep us off balance and miss barrels.

“Offensively, we’ve been in a funk for a couple weeks now. We need to bust out of that with the postseason around the corner. We have to stay true to our approach and believe in ourselves. There’s a lot of guys who overanalyze, so it’s going back to see ball, hit ball type of philosophy. The guys have talent. They’ve proven it before. It’s just a matter of getting back to what we do best, finding more barrels and balls will fall.”

Stunkel was strong on the mound as well as he gave up one run on three hits with five strikeouts and one walk.

“I thought we had the pitching to compete for a W,” Newsome said. “He was throwing multiple pitches for strikes, which he’s done all year. I don’t know if there’s been a game where he hasn’t given us a shot. He’s been a solid arm for us.

“They had one inning with a pop-up that fell that should have been caught then we self-inflicted and throw it down the line. But we were able to limit the damage.”

St. Bede’s lone run came in the third as AJ Hermes hit a pop-up that fell in shallow right field. Ferrari laid down a sacrifice bunt and an errant throw to first base allowed Hermes to score.

“We played small ball and that put the pressure on them,” Booker said. “We got a break when he threw it away. We probably should have done it in one other situation, but we opted to try to swing away and see what we could do there and it didn’t work out. But our kids really battled at the plate against a real good kid.”

Booker said this type of game will benefit the Bruins, who are the No. 1 seed in sub-sectional B of the St. Bede Sectional, in the postseason.

“These games that are tight against good pitching where it’s a little bit of a rivalry because we’re so close will help us,” Booker said. “It helps them. It helps everybody getting ready for tournament time. We hope to keep riding a little bit of momentum and keep playing better.”

Newsome agreed tight games will help the Panthers (16-9, 6-8), who are the No. 2 seed in sub-sectional B of the St. Bede Sectional.

“We talked about how we’re going to have to win these types of games (in the postseason),” Newsome said. “So it’s one of those games that does prepares us. I think our conference prepares us throughout the season.”

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Putnam County catcher Miles Main tags out St. Bede's Gino Ferrari trying to score on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at St. Bede Academy. (Scott Anderson)