Junior Aidan Cunningham tags out an Eagles’ hitter running to first base in the Cavs’ 11-1 win over Elliot Christian, May 16.
The Cavs made it into the section playoffs by pure luck and were awarded the ninth seed out of 10 teams.
But when they blew out the eighth-seeded Elliot Christian Eagles, 11-1, the boys weren’t surprised.
“We played by far the most complete game of the year (against Elliot Christian),” freshman Nate Jakobs said.
Senior Jacob Sands attributed the Cavs’ success to one thing:
“We just consistently batted well,” Sands said.
And the scoreboard shows just that.
The Cavs had nine hits through seven innings, instead of having their usual surge of runs in one inning.
After going up by one run in the first inning, the Cavs grounded the Eagles, holding the lead throughout the entire game.
But the third is when the boys caught fire.
Sands led off the inning with a line-drive triple to right field.
Then freshman Jack Christian hit a groundball to second, allowing Sands to score and Christian to reach first by error.
Later in the lineup, junior Aidan Cunningham singled to left field, bringing home Jakobs, who had been walked.
Then with bases loaded, junior Daniel Hernried was walked, bringing in senior Ben Felix.
And even though the Eagles put up one run in the bottom of the third, they were no match for the bloodthirsty Cavs.
The Cavs put up two more runs in the fourth, two in the sixth and two in the seventh, all while shutting out the Eagles.
But it won’t be a walk in the park on the way to the championship.
The boys are walking right into Lion territory when they take on reigning league champions, and number-one seed, Valley Christian Academy.
But Sands said the difference between a win and loss will come down to basics.
“Hit better and field better,” he said.
Hopefully, the boys will do that when they face off at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 18, at McAuliffe Field.
—By Jake Longoria
