Boca Christian Earns Tough Road Victory

Blazers second baseman Jack Havelka went 3-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored.

In a cross-county battle of biblical proportions, the Boca Christian Blazers used potent offense and good defense to back stellar mound work by Logan Rataziak and Adriel Martinez en route to downing the Coral Springs Christian Crusaders 7-3 on Tuesday afternoon.

“I am really proud of our guys,” Manager Clint Erickson said. “We really earned our win.”

At the plate, the Blazers started their day off by plating four runs in the first inning. After Rataiczak reached on a double and Zach Gray reached on an error that also plated the team’s first run, Jack Havelka drove home two more with a single. Havelka then exhibited great base running instincts by stealing second and coming in to score on an errant throw.

After hanging the crooked number in the first, the Blazers didn’t look back. In the fourth, Austin Smith showed why he belongs in the leadoff spot by creating another scoring opportunity. Reaching on a single, the catcher stole second and third base before being driven in on a two-out RBI single by Casey Carpinello. In the sixth, Carpinello scored on a wild pitch after both he Rataiczak singled to set up the scoring situation.

For the starting pitcher Rataiczak, it was his third time on base and second time crossing the plate. On the other side of the ball, Rataiczak crossed the plate a lot more with the pitches he threw. Using mostly off-speed stuff, the junior pitched to contact effectively, recording 16 outs against 22 hitters.

Rataiczak also made a great defensive play in the fourth inning. With runners at the corners, he noticed the runner at first taking a suicide lead. After stepping off, Rataiczak faked a throw to first, drawing the runner from third to the plate, then made an accurate throw to cut him down.

The rest of the defense behind him got off to a shaky start, forcing Rataiczak to throw some extra pitches and face some extra hitters in the first inning. After that, however, they defense turned in solid work for the rest of the afternoon. Despite the difficult opening frame, Rataiczak never lost confidence in his teammates.

“I knew I could trust my defense,” Rataiczak said. “I knew I could just throw the ball and let them put it in play. I knew that our guys would do their job from there.”

Blazers reliever Adriel Martinez tossed two lights-out innings.

Boca Christian’s position players weren’t the only ones that turned in good work behind Rataiczak on the afternoon. Before giving up hurling duties in the sixth, the starter created a bit of a jam for reliever Adriel Martinez to deal with. The senior, throwing high-80’s heat and mixing in a low-60’s slider, a mix of speeds which would buckle the knees of any hitter, set down the tying run at the plate two times in a row to end the Crusaders’ rally. Martinez then turned in a solid final frame to seal the victory for his team.

“Adriel Martinez did a nice job digging us out in the sixth, and finished well in the seventh,” Erickson said.

The Crusaders had a similar day to their counterpart. Taking what the Blazers gave them, they plated three runs in the first inning. After reaching on an error, leadoff hitter Zack Clark stole second base and came in to score on a double by Jordan Sabates, who was then plated by Louis Pagan’s RBI double. Pagan also came in to score on an RBI single by Austin Marks.

For Pagan, the double was the first of his two hits on the day. He reached base in each of his three at bats.

“Louis has a beautiful swing. We noticed that right away,” Manager Steve Carp said. “He’s also a sophomore so he is still young in a lot of what he does. But one thing he can do is replicate a good swing. In almost every game so far he’s taken a good swing at a pitch and done something good with it. We’re real high on him as a hitter.”

The Crusaders have struggled some to start the season. Carp equates his team’s shortcomings so far to inexperience due to unforeseen circumstances, such as eligibility issues and injuries.

“We’re growing as a team,” Carp said. “Right now, as we speak, we have a lot of guys who should be at the junior varsity level getting an opportunity. That’s good in a way to give them a chance they normally wouldn’t have. But if we get all our guys back in the lineup at full speed, it’ll be a lot different. We will be able to make the plays we aren’t making. But it’s all part of growing pains when you have a young team.”

Leave a comment using your facebook account!