Orangewood Christian Hangs On To Reach 1A Finals

Box Score & Stats

One step closer.

The Orangewood Christian Rams reached the FHSAA state Final Four for the second consecutive year this season, and on Thursday they took things that final crucial step forward. Thanks to a gritty, 6-4 victory over the St. John Neumann Celtics in the Class 1A state semifinal at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Orangewood Christian advanced to the state championship in pursuit of its first state title.

The Rams (26-4) led right from the start and never looked back, by scoring three runs in the top of the first inning. They connected on four consecutive base hits to get it going, as Addison Lambert lined a one-out single to right field to set it off. Aidan Balls was next with a single to left, and Max Sakala got the scoring started with an RBI single that put runners on the corners. Aidan came home on an error, and courtesy-runner Grayson Hilinski came in off an RBI single from Tre Roach.

The Celtics (20-14) punched back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second to make it a ball game again. Catcher Taylor Reidy singled to right and gave way to courtesy-runner Anthony Rosato, who immediately scored thanks to an RBI double to left from Anthony Kanellos. A passed ball allowed Kanellos to move on to third, and Aiden Miranti delivered an RBI single on an infield grounder.

With a berth in the state championship game on the line, both sides continued to deliver their best. Orangewood Christian answered back with two more runs in the fourth to extend it back to a three-run lead.

Aaron McClarnon led off with a walk and Sam Lambert laid down a bunt and reached on an error that landed both base runners into scoring position. A grounder to short erased McClarnon at the plate on the fielder’s choice off the bat of Austin Wendorf, but Carson Balls picked up his teammates with an infield RBI single. Addison Lambert then placed a perfect bunt base hit that drove in Wendorf with the winning run.

St. John Neumann did not let up. Rowen Lee and Gus Fusco connected for back-to-back singles leading off the fifth, and Darien Kester delivered the big blast with a double to left that drove in both runners to pull back within a run.

The Rams tacked on a valuable insurance run in the top of the seventh. Sakala smacked a double to right field and was replaced by Hilinski, who scored on an RBI single from McClarnon.

While the offenses had starred throughout the game, the pitching made the final difference at the conclusion of the action. Sakala had battled through a gutsy start against the dangerous bats of the Celtics, as he allowed three earned runs on nine hits and a walk to nearly go the distance for the victory. He recorded his eighth strikeout for the first out in the seventh. But the pitch-count proved his undoing in holding him from the complete-game, as Fusco worked a long at bat to earn a single that left Sakala with only one more batter left he could face.

The Rams’ bullpen has been stellar all season, and is a big reason they made it this far. On this day it was Aidan Balls called on to close things out, and he answered the call for a swinging strikeout that preserved the victory for his third save of the year.

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