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JPII baseball falls to Ensworth in home opener




Dominic Pianto delivers a pitch against the Tigers on Tuesday. RICK MURRAYRick Murray

Dominic Pianto delivers a pitch against the Tigers on Tuesday. RICK MURRAYRick Murray

Hendersonville – It was a chilly afternoon for baseball, as the Pope John Paul ll Knights opened their 2018 season against the Ensworth Tigers with an 11-0 home loss. The game was called after five innings.

JPII coach Chris Parker was disappointed with the results, but felt more time on the field would help his team.

“Obviously, we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Parker said. “We are a team that just needs to get out there and play, and the better we will get.”

After having no baserunners in the first, Ensworth jumped on top 2-0 in the second inning. The Tigers had runners on first and second base with two outs, before an error on a fly ball and a hit by Morgan Willis to centerfield plated both.

The Knights managed two-out walks in each of the first two innings, but failed to capitalize on either opportunity. Nigel Hicks popped out to end the first, while Nick Crum was thrown out trying to steal second base to end the next inning.

JPII had an opportunity to get on the scoreboard in the third inning with runners at first and third base and two outs. However, Ensworth Pitcher Christian Dixon struck out Grayson Lang to end the inning.

Collin O'Berry connects with a pitch for the Knights. RICK MURRAYRick Murray

Collin O’Berry connects with a pitch for the Knights. RICK MURRAYRick Murray

The Tigers increased their lead in the top of the fourth inning. Elijah Brooks led off the fourth with a triple. Brooks then scored after an RBI single from Gage Young, giving the Tigers a 3-0 lead.

Ensworth proceeded to load the bases, and Young scored off an RBI flyout by Andrew Yu. Patrick Vandenbergh capped off the scoring with an RBI single, making the score 5-0.

The Knights got their first hit of the game in the bottom half of the fourth when Hicks started with a leadoff single. However, JPII’s next three hitters went down in order, keeping the deficit at 5-0.

JPII starting pitcher Dominic Pianto was pulled to start the fifth inning in favor of Deuce Drennan. However, the results were similar, as the Tigers erupted for six runs. Ensworth started the inning with runners on the corners and no one out. Tanner Antonutti drove in a run with an RBI flyout, giving the Tigers a six-run cushion. The lead grew to seven with an RBI single from Devin Obee.

Jake Rucker slides into third base safely for the Knights offense. RICK MURRAYRick Murray

Jake Rucker slides into third base safely for the Knights offense. RICK MURRAYRick Murray

“It seemed like every ball they hit went their way,” Parker said. “We fell behind in counts and they were working ahead in counts.”

The Knights made another pitching change, this time going with Collin O’Berry to try and finish off the inning. This didn’t stop the Ensworth offense, as Morgan Willis and Andrew Yu had back-to-back RBI singles – the latter of the two plated two runners – but was thrown out at second base while trying to get a double. This increased the Tiger lead to 10-0.

After another double, this time by Vandenbergh, and a walk to Drew Byers, Christian Dixon hit an RBI single, making it 11-0 before the inning ended.

Pianto lead off the bottom of the fifth inning with a leadoff double, but from there, the Knights were unable to get a runner across home plate. 

The JPII Knights Baseball team. RICK MURRAYRick Murray

The JPII Knights Baseball team. RICK MURRAYRick Murray

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