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Homer-fest for Spartans bags Panthers, Bears

By Ray DiMonda Corresponden
Posted 3/18/20

Homer-fest for Spartans bags Panthers, Bears

 

By Ray DiMonda

Correspondent

 

ORANGE PARK - St. Johns Country Day School baseball coach Tom Lucas is pretty simple to …

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Homer-fest for Spartans bags Panthers, Bears


Posted

Homer-fest for Spartans bags Panthers, Bears

By Ray DiMonda

Correspondent

ORANGE PARK - St. Johns Country Day School baseball coach Tom Lucas is pretty simple to understand.

ìYouíve got to see good baseball to play good baseballî said Lucas. ìIt does us no good to play inferior teams and win by 10.î 

On Tues., March 10, the St. Johns Country Day Spartans used a walk-off home run by Connor Moore to defeat the Ridgeview Panthers in a storybook ending. 

On Fri., March 13, hosting the Bartram Bears and tied at 2-2 late, the Spartans once again used three home runs; Brad Hodges, Luke Shannahan, Jordan Taylor, to equal, then surpass the Bears in the sixth inning, 4-3. 

ìThis team has a ton of fight in them," said Lucas, after the Bartram Trail thriller. "Quickly theyíre up 2-0 and these guys didnít blink. They just kept grinding it out, good at-bats, and then the home runs.î 

As if the home runs werenít enough drama for the home crowd, the Spartans backed up the offensive push with a double play in the top of the seventh to close out the game, keeping the Spartan victory march at six straight games.

For the Spartans, with Brad Hodges on the mound against Bartram Trail, 5.2 innings, two walks, and six strikeouts, led the Spartan charge on defense which started the hard way. After a quick out in the top of the first, Hodges put a runner on and hit a batter. The next batter, went out of the park for an RBI homer to put the Bears up 2-0 before most fans found a good seat. 

ìBrad is our number one guy and he knew it was a big game," said Lucas. "Everybody was here because it was the last game for two weeks. He was amped up. They were a pre-season top five team.î

The Spartans needed a little more time to prime the pump, waiting until the bottom of the second to wake the bats up. 

In that inning, the Bears were on point as they notched a double play to get the Spartans in a jam. With two outs, Jack Hodges answered the call, dinging a double with a left field line drive. Luke Shannahan followed with a right field, RBI home run which tied the score at 2-2. 

ìI love their fight. Even being down early, they fought back,î said Lucas.

The teams would go 3 more innings without a score.

In the top of the sixth, the Spartan defense put two outs on the board against the first two batters. Hodges made one of his two miscues on the outing, walking a batter. Following the walk, Jacob Thomas relieved to close out the event. 

The first batter Thomas faced hit a single, putting runners on first and second. The next batter sailed a deep shot to right field that went to the fence. After one run scored, now right fielder Brad Hodges used his cannon arm to hurl the ball to second base, taking the Bears by surprise. The runner tried, but the on-target throw earned the third out to retire the inning 3-2.

In the bottom of the sixth, leadoff batter Jordan Taylor missed on the first pitch, then waited for what he was looking for, connecting, and sending the ball out of the park in center field, evening the score 3-3. 

Next up, Brad Hodges proved his all-around skills by jacking the ball over the left field fence to put the Spartans in front for the first time all evening, 4-3.

In the closing inning, more drama. 

This time it was on the defensive side as the Bears had a quick out with a grounder back to Jacob Thomas in the one hole. Then Thomas walked the next batter with only one out. As the crowd held their breath for some sort of energy from the Bears, the next batter grounded over to Connor Moore at shortstop, who flipped the ball to Finn Howell at second for out number two. 

ìDefensively, we are solid," said Lucas. 

Howell pivoted and used a laser shot to get the ball over to Luke Shannahan at first. Shannahan had to stretch like Gumby to make the play work, shutting down any hope the Bears had at a comeback, and feeding the fans what they wanted with another dramatic ending for the second time this week. 

ìThat double play right there to end the game was perfect," said Lucas. "We did not want to face their 1-2-3 batters. That was a huge out for us to get. Thatís what itís going to take to win a state championship. You have to be able to grind out a victory.î 

Panthers regroup for 12-2 win

After their emotional loss to St. Johns Country Day School, 6-4 on Tues., March 10, the Ridgeview High baseball team took a little batting practice out on Trinity Christian in a 12-2 win Thurs., March 12. 

With the game tied at 2-2 to the bottom of the second inning, Ridgeview (5-3) got rolling with doubles from Kyle Richards, Max Williams and Logan Morris to pile on the runs to an 8-2 lead. 

Jayden Long earned the win on the mound with five strikeouts and just three hits and two walks. Mason Richards finished the final inning with two strikeouts.