| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal Christian | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| JPII | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 0 |
On Senior Night, it was only fitting that a senior delivered a very clutch hit when needed as the John Paul II Catholic High School baseball team held off visiting Coastal Christian 7-4 on Thursday evening.
After Coastal had pulled with a run at 5-4 in the top of the sixth, JPII mounted a two-out rally in the bottom of the inning to re-establish its three-run lead, doing all its damage with two outs. A leadoff walk eventually turned into a caught-stealing for the Saints, and the second batter also made an out. Then freshman J.T. Williams was walked, and classmate Noah Sugg singled on a line drive to left, with Williams taking third on the play and Sugg ending up at second on the throw. That set the stage for senior Tyler Winkler, a Geneva College-signee, to step into the role of hero. With a full count, Winkler hit a sharp liner to the left side that the shortstop couldn’t stop, driving in both Williams and Sugg with some insurance runs.
Junior Aaron Gregory entered at pitcher in a save situation in the top of the seventh, and although there were some hairy moments, Gregory got the job done.
JPII finished the regular season 14-8, and Coastal finished 8-12. Both teams now await the NCISAA 3A tournament seeding, which will be held Sunday, to find out when and where their next games are.
The Saints took a 1-0 lead in the first. With one out, Nike Wiggins singled to left and took second on an error. Ray Shaw followed with a slow dribbler down the third-base line, enabling Wiggins to take third as Shaw reached safely. After Shaw went to third on defensive indifference, Axel Keller grounded into a fielder’s choice to short — manned ably for Coastal by Christian Marello, who played the first three years of his high school career at JPII — to drive in Wiggins.
The Centurions scored a pair in the top of the second before JPII took the lead for good with three in the bottom of the frame. With two outs and none on, senior Caleb Thrift eventually was hit by a pitch on an eight-pitch at-bat. Gregory singled to left to move Thrift to second before Ryker Butcher hit a liner to left to score Thrift and leave runners again at first and second. Wiggins walked to load the bases, and Shaw then drove in Gregory and Butcher on a line-drive single to right.
The Saints scored their other run in the fourth. Shaw hit a one-out double to left and Keller was walked, leaving runners at first and second. Both moved up a base on a passed ball, and Shaw then scored as Ethan Staton reached on an error.
Williams earned the pitching decision for JPII as he went the first three innings and allowed just the two earned runs. He surrendered four hits and two walks and struck out a pair. Staton pitched the next three innings and had similar numbers, giving up three hits, two walks and a pair of earned runs and also striking out two. Gregory walked a pair and gave up a single in his one inning, but struck out the final batter on a 3-2 count with the bases loaded to finally shut the door.
Shaw led JPII’s nine-hit attack with three hits, including his double, and also drove in a pair and stole a base. Gregory had two hits, and Butcher, Wiggins, Sugg, and Winkler had one each. Gregory and Butcher also had steals, and Winkler had two RBI. Butcher, Keller, and Staton drove in one each.
The Saints played error-free defense.
