The Spartans proved over the weekend the number of wins and losses during a season of baseball mean nothing once you get to the playoffs.

With 17 losses behind them, Marian Catholic High School beat the 34-7 LaSalle-Peru Cavaliers for the Class 3A baseball state championship at Silver Cross Field in Joliet.

Scoring eight runs in the third inning was instrumental to Marian's victory, but it was the efforts of pitchers Brett Lilek and Ben Santori that kept LaSalle-Peru at bay. Santori forced ground balls, and Lilek finished 4-for-5 with a double, according to the Chicago Tribune.

"I was just all pumped up with adrenaline flowing," Lilek said to Tribune reporters.

Despite a home run from LaSalle-Peru's Casey Heubbe, the Spartans came out on top.

Let's take a moment to congratulate the Spartans on becoming state baseball champs for the first time in Marian Catholic history!