Big Night for Santa Fe Baseball in Win Against St. John Lutheran
ALACHUA — Down 3-1 early in the second inning, the Santa Fe Raiders did not want their seniors to go out with a loss to Ocala St. John Lutheran on Thursday.
Coach Kyle Brooks made it a point that he wanted his seniors to play in the game — with pitcher Brody Rou getting the nod.
“It was his first time he was on the mound in a week,” Brooks said. “He gave up a couple runs, but really locked in.”
Not only did Rou lock in, but his team did too, with Santa Fe (6-14) putting up nine more runs, including a five-run second inning, to get the 10-8 win against the Saints (13-9).
The second inning started with Rou walking to get on base before Santa Fe rattled off six hits to take the lead. Seniors Cohen Bennett and Jackson Ruppert both had RBI singles in the frame.
One more highlight for the Raiders was their cleanup hitter, junior outfielder Ryan Jablonski. He was a perfect 3-3 to knock in two runs with one in the five-second inning that gave Santa Fe a 6-3 lead.
Jablonski and the offense were clicking, Brooks said.
“It was something we all put together,” Santa Fe’s skipper said. “You don’t just win it as individuals. We need to keep finding ways to win like this one tonight.”
The Saints did start to come back against the Raiders, though. Santa Fe senior pitcher Elijah Hood was coasting after reliving Rou in the fifth inning. But the Saints started the sixth with a triple to right field — with outfielder Luis Roman scoring on a double steal attempt later in the frame.
St. John scored four more in the next inning, with Roman being a catalyst in the comeback attempt. There was a runner on first when he got a meatball down the heart of the plate and annihilated the baseball over the scoreboard in right field. Hood’s night was over after giving up that home run.
However, Brooks said he liked what Hood did Thursday night.
“He had two strong innings,” Brooks said. “He hasn’t had the most opportunities on the mound. He started leaving balls up and when you leave them up, guys are going to hit you. However, I think he pitched well.”
The comeback was short-lived, as junior Dylan Doria ripped the heart out of the Saints and picked up the save for the Raiders.
This is the first time the Raiders have won back-to-back games this season. Next, they have a tough opponent ahead in Trenton (16-3) at 6 p.m. Friday at home.
Tough opponents aren’t anything out of the ordinary for Santa Fe. Through the 20 games this season, all but two were against teams above .500.
Category: High School Sports, Santa Fe, Santa Fe High School
