Baseball: Bendeck pitches no-hitter in unbeaten Jesuit’s win over Easton

On a very wet and rain-soaked day, prep baseball games throughout the New Orleans area were canceled.

When you have turf, you have a chance to play on such days.

Such was the case at John Ryan Stadium where Jesuit welcomed Mid-City neighbor Warren Easton in rude fashion.

The Blue Jays remained unbeaten with a 10-0 win over the Eagles in a game which ended in the fifth inning by the mercy rule.

The story was junior James Bendeck, who pitched a no-hitter, using just 63 pitches in his first-ever varsity start on the mound. Bendeck struck out five Eagles and walked just one.

Jesuit scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first on three errors by the Eagles to take a 2-0 lead.

The Blue Jays made it 4-0 with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on RBI doubles by Holden Hess and Collin Loupe.

Jesuit finished it with six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.

In the final frame, highlights included Luke Brandau singling home Zack Casebonne and Giovanni Licciardi had a 2-run single.

Hess went 3-for-3 with two RBI while Casebonne was 2-for-3. Licciardi was 1-for-4 with two RBI.

Jesuit coach Kenny Goodlet was ecstatic with Bendeck’s performance.

“It was Bendeck’s first start for us,” Goodlet said. “He did a nice job for us in the WGNO tournament in relief so we gave him the start. He managed the strike zone well, doing a really nice job.”

The Jesuit offense is humming, averaging 9.7 runs per game. The Blue Jays have outscored their opponents 58-14.

“The season is still young but I like the way we’re going right now,” Goodlet said. “We’re having good practices and I think that’s translating to the games. We are still working on things that we are finding in games that we need to work on. Overall, we have a lot of excitement in the dugout and we’re excited about the season, as a whole. The kids are excited to play with and for each and other and that’s good to see.”

The Blue Jays (6-0) return to action this weekend and the Blue Jays face Belle Chasse on Thursday, Hammond on Friday and Catholic on Saturday.

Warren Easton (3-1) lost its first game and the Eagles return to action Saturday at East St. John at 1 p.m.