Brebeuf Jesuit pitcher Cody McFarland had just 101/3 varsity innings this season when coach John Zangrilli told the sophomore left-hander he'd be starting the biggest game of the season to date: Wednesday's sectional semifinal against Class 3A No. 2 Bishop Chatard. McFarland wanted the ball but acknowledges he was a little nervous in the first inning.

And the second.

And the third.

And the fourth . . .

"The first inning I was dealing with my nerves but after I got settled in, things went better," he said after allowing the first two hitters to reach base before getting out of the jam. "That seemed to happen at the beginning of almost every inning. At the beginning of the week I wasn't expecting to be in this position, but I'm glad I got the opportunity."

McFarland allowed the leadoff hitter to reach in five of the seven innings -- and the second batter in the other two -- but led seventh-ranked Brebeuf to a 7-3 victory at Father O'Brien Field. The Braves (21-5) will face Roncalli, which beat Northwest 22-1 behind an 11-strikeout, one-hit performance from Jordan Cox, in the title game at 6 p.m. Friday.

McFarland got out of trouble in the bottom of the first with a fly ball and two strikeouts against the heart of the Chatard order. In the second, catcher Radley Haddad picked off Billy White after a leadoff walk and shortstop Tres Eberhardt made a nice play to throw out Hunter Groves at third following his one-out double. McFarland allowed six hits and four walks -- but just two earned runs -- over six innings, relying primarily on his fastball.

"It was just a gut feeling," Zangrilli said of starting McFarland. "The type of pitches Cody throws, the type of movement he gets, where he locates the ball . . . we thought it was a decent matchup. We figured we'd roll the dice and see what happens. We had five or six guys ready to go in relief if it didn't work."

Brebeuf took a 2-0 lead in the fourth on a two-run home run to right-center by Nate Koontz, his school-record 11th of the season. He finished the Braves' scoring in a five-run fifth with another two-run homer to almost the exact same spot to give his team a 7-0 lead.

McFarland gave up an unearned run in the sixth, then surrendered a leadoff home run to T.J. Agnew in the seventh and walked Bobby Akin. Zangrilli brought in sophomore reliever Brad Altum -- who had seven innings of varsity pitching experience -- and he allowed Akin to score on a pair of singles. Altum, however, completed the victory.

Roncalli defeated Brebeuf 7-4 on April 7.