SARASOTA
The Out-of-Door Academy drained the drama out of the Class 3A-District 10 baseball championship game by exploding for seven runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Second baseman and leadoff hitter Jake Romine paved the way by blasting a leadoff home run and going 4-for-4 to lead the hit parade as the host Thunder rolled over Cardinal Mooney High, 11-1, in a game shortened to five innings under the 10-run mercy rule.
ODA (20-3) will play at home next Thursday night in a region quarterfinal game against the loser of the district final between Calvary Christian and Indian Rocks Beach Christian.
As the district runner-up, Cardinal Mooney (20-6) will hit the road Thursday to play the winner of the Calvary Christian-Indian Rocks game.
“When you score seven runs in the first, you should be all right the rest of the game,” Thunder coach Tim Orlosky said. “That was really good to see. We put a lot of good swings on the ball. We needed to keep the pressure on.”
Romine followed his leadoff homer with an RBI double in the second and RBI singles in the third and fifth, driving in four runs on his four hits.
“Jake had a great night,” Orlosky said. “I’m really happy for him. He deserved it. He’s been working really hard.”
Batting in the No. 8 spot for ODA, center fielder Carson Jungers collected three singles in his three at-bats.
Shortstop Jimmy Kuebler also had three hits for the Thunder beginning with singles in the first and second innings. It was Kuebler’s two-run triple with two out in the bottom of the fifth that gave ODA a 10-run lead and ended the game.
“That was nice, the way we ended it,” Orlosky said. “These guys come through in clutch spots. There is not a lot of fear in their eyes when they are at the plate. They just always look like they are going to come through.”
The two teams played a pair of nail-biters during the regular season with ODA winning at home, 7-6, and losing at Cardinal Mooney, 1-0.
“They are always a tough opponent,” Orlosky said. “They are well-coached. (Coach) Greg Mulhollen does a great job with those guys.”
Cardinal Mooney’s lone run came in the fourth when shortstop Taylor Garris crushed a solo homer off the scoreboard atop the left field wall. Alex Rodman also singled for the Cougars’ other hit.
Owen Ragsdale pitched all five innings for the win. He struck out four, walked one and also collected an RBI double in the first inning. First baseman Najee Rhodes also had an RBI double in the first.
“That’s the thing with baseball,” Mulhollen said. “There is always tomorrow. We’ll give them the weekend off and go hit it Monday.”
