Boca Christian Falls To Zion In 2A-13 Final

It wasn’t what the Boca Christian Blazers were looking for on Thursday in a 10-0 loss to Zion Lutheran in the 2A-13 championship, as they were no-hit.

The Blazers now will focus on next week’s regional quarterfinal. As the runner-up in the district, Boca Christian will play its first regional game on the road. If both teams can pick up a win next week in theregional quarterfinals, it will set up a fourth meeting between the two on the road to Fort Myers.

“For a smaller team, we’ve had some challenges of several games that didn’t go our way, one-run situations where we didn’t finish,” said Blazers Manager Clint Erickson. “Its been a season where we are working on finishing stronger, and we haven’t quite been able to put that together yet. For having 13 on the roster they are being resilient and I am proud of our boys. Some mental mistakes hurt us today, and against good teams like this, we cant get away with it.”

Blayne Baker, who has been part of the past two district titles, received the start for the Lions on the mound. Baker tossed a complete-game no-hitter on the biggest stage of the year.

“That’s him, that what we expect from him everyday,” Lions Manager Ray Ayala said about his ace. “As long as the guys don’t make any mistakes behind him, we will get that from him all day long. He always pounds the ball and hits his spots. He’s my workhorse, my only senior, and I depend on him.”

Baker was pinpoint all afternoon, striking out seven, allowing no hits and only three baserunners by way of hit-by-pitch. Baker was supported by a spread out offense which put together nine hits in four complete innings and scored 10 runs, with at least one run coming in every inning.

“It felt good; winning three in a row is nice,” Baker said. “Moving on to regionals now and hopefully we stay hot. We will probably see these guys again, and its tough to beat a team four times in a year. We have meshed together very well since the beginning of the season as a team and with our first-year coach. Even though we may not be as loaded as in the past, we have a very good team and hopefully we go far.”

The Lions proved how to win as a team, with every player in the lineup either recording an RBI or scoring a run. Jouseph Renovales led the way by going 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs, and added to his county-leading stolen base total with two more.

Zion Lutheran started slow, with just one run in the first despite sending seven batters to the plate. In the second, the offense exploded for five hits and six runs, with contribution from all nine batters.

With a 7-0 lead, the Lions scored one in the third, fourth and fifth to enact the mercy rule and cut the game short.

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