Baseball: St. Bede beats Riverdale in season opener

St. Bede’s season opener proved worth the wait.

After having its weekend trip to Jacksonville canceled by the cold weather, the Bruins baseball team warmed up for the 2023 season with a 14-4 win over Riverdale at the Academy on Monday.

Nathan Husser delivered a two-run, walk-off double to cap a six-run sixth inning.

You saw things in the game we’ve got to work on, but for the most part, our pitchers competed, our defense was fairly solid”

—  St. Bede coach Bill Booker

“I think it was a great start to the season. Finally got some momentum built going into this long stretch of games we’ve got coming,” St. Bede senior Ryan Brady said.

“We talk about executing. You saw things in the game we’ve got to work on, but for the most part, our pitchers competed, our defense was fairly solid, a couple of breakdowns, but it’s the first game of the season, too,” St. Bede coach Bill Booker said.

The sixth inning rally started quietly with Callan Hueneburg and Landon Jackson drawing free passes before the next two Bruins struck out.

Ryan Slingsby drew another walk to load the bases to set the table for an Alex Ankiewicz two-run double. Brendan Pillion followed with another free pass and Luke Tunnell followed with a two-run single to make it 12-4.

Husser sent everybody home a little early with his walk-off double.

The Bruins hitting heroes were many.

Pillion had three hits and two RBIs, Slingsby and Ankiewicz had two hits and two RBIs each, Tunnell had one hit and two RBIs and Ryan Brady had a two-run double while drawing two hit by pitches.

“I told (Brady), ‘Hey if you get in the weight room more, maybe that (double) would have been a home run,” Booker said with a laugh. “Then I said you just got to get on base even if you get hit by pitch and he got hit.”

While he said he preferred getting a hit rather than being hit by a pitch, Brady said he’d do what it takes to get on base and get a run in.

“We’re going to manufacture runs the best we can, bunts, stealing bases and that kind of stuff,” he said.

Booker liked how the Bruins swung the bats for their first game out.

“We had a better approach for the most part,” Booker said. “There’s still a few guys who’ve got to do some things better in the batter’s box, but our approach was better.”

Booker said the Bruins are going to need a lot of contributions down the lineup because “We don’t have one big bopper. We got to have guys set the table and somebody get a key hit.”

Ankiewicz got the win in relief of Seth Ferrari, entering in the top of the third with the bases loaded with just one out and fanning the first two he faced to get out of the jam. The 10-run rule allowed Ankiewicz to finish out the game.

Dawson Peterson staked the Rams to a 2-0 lead with a two-run shot in the top of the first.

Riverdale scored another run in the second inning to go up 3-0.

The Bruins struck for four runs in the home half of the second to take a 4-3 lead. Ryan Brady had a two-run double to center and Slingsby and Pillion added RBI hits around a safety squeeze by Ankiewicz.

Pillion stroked an RBI double in the fourth to put the Bruins ahead for good at 5-4. He was hit by pitch with the bases load to cap a three-run rally for an 8-4 lead.