No. 2 Basic routs No. 1 Faith Lutheran in 1st place battle — PHOTOS
First place was on the line in Tuesday’s matchup between the Faith Lutheran and Basic baseball teams.
Basic’s bats quickly showed why it is the team to beat in the Class 5A Mountain League.
The Wolves, No. 2 in the Review-Journal’s 5A rankings, exploded for five runs in the top of the second inning and never looked back in a 10-2 road win over No. 1 Faith Lutheran.
“You have to open up games with teams like that, and hopefully you can bring them down a little bit,” Basic interim coach Gino DiMaria said. “We put a little bit of pressure on them and we took control of the game from the get-go, and that’s the mindset that we need to have every game right now.”
Shortstop Ty Southisene went 3-for-5 with two RBIs, two runs scored and two stolen bases for Basic (21-4, 8-1 5A Mountain League), including a steal of home in the first inning.
First baseman Randall Riley went 3-for-4 with two RBIs for Basic, and center fielder Troy Southisene added three RBIs. All nine Basic batters reached base, and eight scored runs.
“That was our goal, and that was our intention. We wanted to get on them early, and that’s what we did,” Ty Southisene said. “The results are what they are. We played good defense, (starting pitcher) Lincoln (Evans) threw a great game, and the bats came to play today.”
Evans kept Faith Lutheran (18-7, 7-2) in check, as he allowed five hits and two runs in 6⅔ innings with four strikeouts.
“They’re focused and ready to roll,” said DiMaria, who took over as Basic’s coach after the school announced previous coach Scott Baker was “no longer with the team” on April 10. The school has not provided a reason for Baker’s dismissal.
“They’re playing for a lot right now. They’ve been through a lot, and right now, they’re focused. It showed today,” DiMaria added. “Faith Lutheran is one of the best teams in the city, if not the state, and we had to come ready today.”
After Ty Southisene stole home in the first inning as Faith Lutheran starter Cash Martin delivered a pitch, he got the five-run second inning started with a two-out RBI single that scored Riley.
Troy Southisene singled down the first-base line to bring home Ty Southisene and Justin Pedro. Tate Southisene doubled in Troy Southisene, then later scored on an Andruw Giles double to put Basic ahead 6-0.
“It was a big boost,” Riley said. “It got everybody’s energy hyped up. That was really big.”
Faith Lutheran’s Christian Gross scored in the second inning when Kingston Kela grounded into a double play.
Ty Southisene singled in the third to score Riley, and Troy Southisene later drove in Adrian Ramos on a groundout. Riley tripled in the fourth, and Lyndon Lee and Derek Bain scored Basic’s final runs.
Rouselle Shepard added an RBI double in the seventh for Faith Lutheran. Kela went 2-for-3 for the Crusaders.
Basic hosts Faith Lutheran at 3:30 p.m. Thursday. DiMaria said it’s a challenge to play a team twice in a few days like many 5A league games have been scheduled this year.
The Wolves’ results last week proved his point. They lost to Centennial 7-6 on April 17 at home, and two days later rolled to a 13-2 road win.
“It’s going to be tough to beat a team like that twice,” DiMaria said. “But if we keep knowing our identity, I think we’ll be OK.”
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.