Saint Francis shut out archrival Bellarmine, 11-0, behind a six-run fifth inning in front of a large Lancer home crowd. The win enabled the top-ranked Lancers to keep pace with Serra atop the West Catholic Athletic League.
“We came up big when we needed to,” said junior catcher Tim Susnara.
That did not seem to be the case after the first batter came to the plate for Bellarmine. Junior lefty pitcher John Gavin hit second baseman Joey Persons on the second pitch of the game, forcing Susnara to have a chat with his pitcher: “He was a little shaky there, but we calmed him down. It’s a big game, a rivalry, Bellarmine, so we told him to calm down, let them hit you and we’ll adjust to that.”
Then, Susnara made perhaps the most impressive play of the game. Gavin just threw a strike to go up 1-2 in the count on Bell shortstop Scotty Jarvis, when Susnara ripped the ball with remarkable pace over to first base to tag Persons out.
“It was almost like [the first at bat] didn’t happen,” said Gavin. “I was able to get a clean slate.”
Coach Mike Oakland explained the impact of the play on the rest of the game: “That was a big momentum changer...It’s a 2-1 count with a guy at first versus a 2-1 count with nobody on and an out. That changed things.”
From there, Gavin was on a roll, striking out Jarvis, and then downing all three batters on strike outs in the second inning.
The Lancer offense was kick-started by left fielder Austin Guibor, who went yard on a 3-2 pitch. The 320 foot solo shot to right field drew an eruption from the crowd and gave the Lancers the momentum.
Right fielder Hunter Simmons came up to bat next, and the Bells flashed a problem that would plague them throughout the game. Simmons hit a grounder at the gap between third base and the shortstop, and there was more than enough time for either fielder to make the play. Jarvis dropped the ball as he wound up to throw Simmons out. The error was the first of five for the Bells.
“They make a couple of plays that they are capable of making, and it’s a totally different game,” said Oakland.
Bell pitcher Kevin Crane recovered in the second inning with two strike outs, but the Lancers scored again in an error-riddled third inning when designated hitter Eric Peterson scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Guibor to make it 2-0.
The Lancers turned in a big fourth innning as well. Susnara got a base knock, followed by a RBI double that first baseman Mark Cardinelli ripped past the shortstop and third baseman. One out later, shortstop Chris Baker reached base on a walk. After stealing second base, Baker scored when Eric Peterson reached base on another Bellarmine error to make it 5-0.
The offensive hot streak set up a huge fifth inning, that was started by yet another Bell error allowing second baseman Michael Strem to reach. The first five batters of the inning ended up scoring. Bellarmine used four pitchers in the inning, making three pitching changes.
“It’s unbelievable. We’re seeing the ball so well right now,” said Gavin. “It’s incredible to pitch behind it, and it makes my job so much easier, and they’re doing such a great job.”
Gavin went five innings, giving up one hit, recording seven strikeouts, and walking four.
“The fastball and the slider were working well,” said Gavin. “Every time I go out there, there’s not just one pitch that works out. I try to mix it up, and that really helped me today.”
The game was as much about the Lancer’s lefty ace and their bats as it was about Bellarmine’s sloppy field work.
“You expect to every game to be a one-run game,” said Oakland. “This doesn’t normally happen, and I dont think that we’re 11 runs better than Bellarmine. I think they didn’t play enough catch today, and if they would have played better catch it would have been a much tighter game.”
Though the Lancers (18-1, 5-1) were once ranked second in the nation by some before a loss to Serra, they look poised to reclaim a position near a top the national rankings. Still, St. Francis is always looking to get better.
“Our guys are doing a really good job in practice of trying to continue to get better, and not being satisfied with where they are,” said Oakland. “Humility is one of our biggest mottos. It doesn’t matter if you’re the guy who starts or not starts. It’s about trying to get better.”
For Bellarmine (13-5, 3-3), Crane had good stuff for the first four innings, and threw his off-speed pitches well. He also got some batters off balance, but the errors kept adding up.
