Free passes aid St. Edmund
{{tncms-inline content="<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>District 4-1A | </strong></span><span class="s1"><strong>St. Edmund </strong></span><span class="s1"><strong>10, </strong></span><span class="s1"><strong>Grand Lake </strong></span><span class="s1"><strong>0, </strong></span><strong>6 innings</strong></p>" id="082eda61-b0b8-4286-b627-cdc4eea2674f" style-type="quote" title="Pull Quote" type="relcontent"}}
<p class="p1">GRAND LAKE — Wednesday’s rematch between Grand Lake and St. Edmund had the makings of another barn burner, but the Blue Jays rocked the Hornets for nine runs over the final two innings to win 10-0 in six innings.
<p class="p3">“Last time they were up 4-1, and we went up 7-4 and 9-6 and they scored a couple of runs in the last innings and we looked like we were well on our way to doing the same thing,” Grand Lake head coach Mark Young said. “We had chances early in the game and didn’t take advantage of it.”
<p class="p3">Grand Lake catcher Aaron Young threw out two runners in the top of the first inning, but the Hornets left runners at the corners in the bottom half of the inning. Jose Del Rosal hit a leadoff single in the second and moved to third on a passed ball and wild pitch but was left stranded.
<p class="p3">The last time the Hornets (13-9, 5-1 District 4-1A) played the Blue Jays (14-15, 6-1), they won 10-9 and pelted St. Edmund pitcher Dawson Ardoin for 10 hits. But this time around, Ardoin shut out the Hornets, holding them to five hits with six strikeouts in a complete-game shutout.
<p class="p3">“We were not patient enough,” Young said. “Their guy started to get in a rhythm and started hitting the spots with his curveball.
<p class="p3">“We never squared anything up really hard. That is baseball. I would have like to have seen us battle a little harder and keep it a one run or two-run game and have a shot to win it.”
<p class="p3">St. Edmund scored a run in the third inning on an error, but Grand Lake was able to limit the damage and trailed 1-0 heading into the fifth inning when things started to unravel. Two walks and a bunt by Will Turk loaded the bases with no outs. Grand Lake starter Jaren Sonnier hit two batters to give St. Edmund a 3-0 lead and Ardoin added a two-run double.
<p class="p3">Sonnier and reliever Del Rosal combined for six walks and four hit batsmen.
<p class="p3">St. Edmund added five runs in the sixth inning.
<p class="p3">“Somehow we couldn’t find the plate,” Young said. “I think we ended up walking 10 batters this game. It is not a coincidence — 10 batters, 10 runs.”
<p class="p3">St. Edmund’s win ended Grand Lake’s seven-game win streak. Both teams have on district loss with a week left in the regular season. Grand Lake will have to rebound quickly as it hosts Merryville today.
<p class="p3">“Hopefully we can finish on a winning streak and get some momentum going into the playoffs,” Young said. “We have to do a better job all the way around.”
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>District 4-1A | </strong></span><span class="s1"><strong>St. Edmund </strong></span><span class="s1"><strong>10, </strong></span><span class="s1"><strong>Grand Lake </strong></span><span class="s1"><strong>0, </strong></span><strong>6 innings</strong>