Four years ago, Jace Boudreau and Eric Rainbolt helped the Bishop McNamara jr. high baseball team repeat as IESA state champions.

But against the Fightin’ Irish and their former teammates on Saturday, the seniors were two of the biggest reasons why Bradley-Bourbonnais is this year’s All-City champion.

Boudreau’s RBI triple in the sixth inning plated Rainbolt, who reached on a leadoff walk before sophomore catcher Cody Youngblood drove in Boudreau for the go-ahead run in a 3-2 Boilers win over the defending city champions.

“The energy, it was a great game, a close game,” said Boudreau, the Boilers’ senior shortstop. “Facing all those guys is super cool. I get to go see them and say what’s up to them after the game and stuff. It’s just awesome.”

Boilers coach Brad Schweigert, who inserted Boudreau into his infield the moment he came over from McNamara ahead of his sophomore year, was ecstatic to see one of his senior leaders have a moment to remember.

“I couldn’t be more proud,” Schweigert said. “He’s one of those guys that puts a little more pressure on himself in this game because of what it is. To see him be able to succeed there, he’s just a great kid, an awesome worker and those are the kids you want to see succeed.”

Runs were at a premium as Bradley-Bourbonnais’ Liam Martin and McNamara’s Callaghan O’Connor were both dialed in from the go.

The Boilers (2-4) pushed across the first run when Youngblood opened the second with a triple and saw his courtesy runner Byron Sumrall score on a fielding error later in the frame. Youngblood’s three-bagger was one of just two hits O’Connor allowed in five-plus innings of work, the same amount Martin allowed in four.

Those hits both came in McNamara’s two-run fourth with Nick Pigatiello singling in Gavin Jones and later scoring on a Braylon Ricketts single for a 2-1 Irish advantage that lingered into the sixth.

O’Connor issued a free pass to Rainbolt to open the frame, prompting McNamara coach Aaron Fuerst to pull the Notre Dame commit after 80 pitches. In came Preston Payne, who quickly worked Boudreau into an 0-2 count.

But after fouling the first two offerings away, Boudreau took an outside heater to the right field fence to knot things up.

“I was just looking for a fastball in my zone,” Boudreau said. “I had a tight zone – a one-run ballgame, I was just trying to move Eric over and score him. First two swings I just missed my pitch, then he threw me one up and out when I was looking outside and I just took it the other way."

Youngblood, who’s dad Greg is the McNamara football coach, followed suit the next at-bat, as the lefty took a 1-1 offering to left field to score Boudreau before Jack Kanoski’s perfect top of the seventh brought the All-City title back to the Boilers.

Just a sophomore playing in his first All-City action this weekend, what would Youngblood have said pregame if he’d been told he’d have two of the Boilers three hits, including the eventual game-winner?

“I have confidence in myself that I could do that in any game,” Youngblood said. “I’d believe it.”

Schweigert may not have believed his sophomore would be the one to come through a few weeks ago, but after the start Youngblood has had both at the plate and behind it so far, he’s quickly developed all the faith in the world in his young backstop.

“All year so far he’s been doing a phenomenal job back there as a sophomore handling our pitchers,” Schweigert said. “And we didn’t realize how good his bat was going to be. He’s been swinging it all year and that’s why he’s in the four-hole for us.

“I’m just super proud for him. It’s a super cool moment for him as a sophomore, especially with his dad being Mac head football coach too. But it’s really cool as a sophomore for him to get the job done. And we have the confidence to do it.”

Kanoski allowed two hits and struck out six over three relief innings to earn the win. Martin allowed two earned runs on two hits, a walk and three strikeouts over four frames. Youngblood was 2 for 3 with the go-ahead RBI, with Boudreau’s tying triple the other Boilers hit.

O’Connor finished the day charged with two runs (one earned) on two hits on a hit, three walks and 10 strikeouts in five-plus innings. Pignatiello was 2 for 3 with a run and RBI apiece, with Ricketts’ RBI single the other Irish hit.

While the Irish (3-2) obviously had their sights set on defending their championship, a relatively young roster that had four juniors and a sophomore in Saturday’s starting lineup got to learn a lot.

“I think this is the first step,” Fuerst said. “For a lot of these guys, we just talked about in our postgame meeting how this is their first taste of being in a big ballgame. This game is going to make us better in the end to face a team like B-B, and we’re going to be better for it.”