Final: St. John the Baptist 4, Holy Trinity 1
WP: Joseph Randello
S: Ryan AudetteJacob Schmutz went 2-for-2 with a walk, HBP and RBI pic.twitter.com/K6Rx4Am4nc
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 2, 2025
The season is just a week old, but St. John the Baptist has already faced their share of adversity – losing their top two starting pitchers to injury that will have them on the shelf for much of the season.
Good teams, however, can find a way to overcome injuries especially during the sprint of a high school season.
“We’ve talked about adversity a lot, getting knocked down and getting back up, and it’s been part of our motto this year and the guys have done a great job of fighting through it and battling each game,” said head coach Ryan Dalton.
On Wednesday, they were able to salvage a split against a very tough Holy Trinity team that defeated them on Tuesday. The Cougars came away with a 4-1 victory, the same score as the previous game.
They sent senior RHP Joseph Randello to the mound against Holy Trinity senior Joey LaScala. Holy Trinity was able to get on the board first in the top of the first on a well-struck RBI single up the middle by Stony Brook-commit Jalen Josey to score Jayden Alvarez. To his credit, Randello did not allow things to spiral and he escaped further damage.
Jalen Josey rips an RBI single to give Holy Trinity a 1-0 lead in the first pic.twitter.com/zzCVXJC8Fr
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 2, 2025
The game remained 1-0 until the bottom of third when the Cougars bats woke up. After a strikeout to start the inning, John Cullinan singled and Keegan McElligot walked. Jacob Schmutz also singled to load the bases and CJ Everett drew a walk to score a run. With the next batter up, LaScala balked in a run to give the Cougars the lead.
Randello made that run stand up, firing a scoreless fourth and fifth inning to keep the lead in tact.
St. John the Baptist had an opportunity to open the game up in the fifth, when McElligot and Michael Garcia singled before Jacob Schmutz was hit by a pitch to load the bases, but a strikeout and unassisted double play ended the threat.
Ryan Audette came on in relief for SJB and he worked around a leadoff single in the top of the sixth inning.
In the home half of the sixth, Kyle Cahill ripped a leadoff double to right center and a bunt single advanced him to third. An intentional walk was issued to McElligot but consecutive bases loaded walks to Michael Garcia and Jacob Schmutz brought in another two runs.
Audette went back to the mound, and worked around a two-out walk and error to slam the door shut.
Regarding Schmutz, Dalton said, “He’s one of the premier offensive players around I believe. With his speed, anytime he puts the ball in play he’s a threat to be on base and obviously stealing. With his bat alone, he has some serious pop and really can drive the ball. He’s one of the top players in the league and definitely one of the guys we are leaning on this year.”
With the win, the Cougars improve to 2-1 and they’ll be back in action on Saturday against St. Francis Prep at Cunningham Park.
