Baseball: Country Day stays hot with solid win over Riverdale

METAIRIE – Heading into district play, Country Day has found its way, integrating good athletes from basketball to infuse the talent of its baseball program.

The result is clear.

The Cajuns won their fourth straight game, downing Riverdale 11-2 at Mike Miley Stadium Tuesday afternoon.

It was a complete effort, featuring solid pitching, a 13-hit attack and air-tight defense with no errors as the Cajuns handled all 14 infield ground balls. Appropriately, the game ended with Country Day turning a double play.

Sinnott Bland, who plays quarterback for the Country Day football team, had three hits and a run scored while multi-sport star Jake Ibieta, recently joining the team from basketball, doubled, tripled and drove in a run and Owen Marchal drove in a pair of runs.

Maddox Moss, also arriving from basketball, added two hits and two RBI.

In the top of the first inning, Moss laid down a perfect bunt for a single and advanced to second on a passed ball. Bland walked and Ibieta doubled to deep left, scoring Moss to make it 1-0. Marchal grounded out to second, scoring Bland and it was 2-0.

Jack Schwing then walked before Blake Masson hit a roller down the third base line and beat it out, scoring Ibieta and Schwing to make it 4-0.

Riverdale got on the board in the bottom of the first on a single by Michael Ford, a passed ball, a groundout moving Ford to third and an RBI groundout by Gage Dufour and it was 4-1 after one inning.

In the top of the third, Country Day loaded the bases. Marchal singled, Schwing walked and Brody Cummings was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Jay Brady drew a bases loaded walk to increase the lead to 5-1.

The Cajuns expanded the lead in the top of the fifth inning as Masson walked, stole second and scored on a single by Cummings.

Brady laid down a sacrifice bunt. Moss then groundout out and Masson scored when the Rebels tried to throw out Cummings, who was caught between second and third base but was able to get back to second under an attempted tag and it was 7-1.

Country Day added three runs in the sixth inning on a single by Clayton Gehman, two errors an RBI single by Cameron Rizzi and a two-run single by Moss to make it 10-1.

Riverdale picked up a run in the bottom of the sixth on a walk to Jim Avila, Leland Rodriguez was hit by a pitch and Avila scored on a wild pitch and it was 10-2.

Country Day got the run back in the top of the seventh on a triple by Ibieta to right and an RBI groundout by Marchal.

The Rebels completed the scoring in the bottom of the seventh on two walks, a hit batter and an RBI fielder’s choice grounder off the bat of Jaime Keller.

Brady picked up the win, going four and two-third innings, allowing a run on three hits. Brady walked just one. Cameron Rizzi pitched the final two and third innings.

Dufour took the loss for Riverdale, going three innings, allowing five runs on five hits with four walks. Blake Hooper, Avila and Amin Dip combined to pitch the final four innings for the Rebels.

Country Day (7-4) has now won four straight games.

“Our pitching is starting to come along, we’re lasting a little bit deeper into the game,” Country Day coach Chris Chetta said. “We’re starting to see the ball pretty well at the plate. Defensively, we are making plays. We gained three basketball players that are three starters. All three can hit and they pitch for us as well.”

The Cajuns will open District 10-2A play Thursday with the first of two games at St. Charles Catholic, the league favorite. The two teams will play again in LaPlace on Friday.

“We don’t have a home field this year so our home game and our road with St. Charles Catholic are there,” Chetta said. “It’s going to be a challenge. They are the No. 1 team in the state, the defending state champ. We’re looking forward to it.”

Riverdale (6-9) has lost its last three games and the Rebels will host Thomas Jefferson Thursday at 7 p.m.

FINAL
Country Day 401 023 1 — 11 13 0, 10 LOB
Riverdale 100 001 1 — 3 3 4, 9 LOB
WP—Jay Brady
LP—Gage Dufour
Time of Game: 2:19
SB—Jack Schwing, Brock Masson, Brody Cummings
2B—Jake Ibieta
3B—Jake Ibieta

Area Prep Baseball Results from Tuesday, March 21
Archbishop Rummel 7, St. Augustine 3
Archbishop Shaw 3, Hahnville 0
Ascension Catholic 6, Newman 3
Assumption 4, Thibodaux 2
Bonnabel 15, Grace King 1
Brother Martin 8, John Curtis Christian 2
Catholic (BR) 4, Pope John Paul II 1
Centerville 13, Jeanerette 0
Central Lafourche 13, St. James 4
Chalmette 15, John Ehret 0
Country Day 11, Riverdale 3
Crescent City Christian 10, Ecole Classique 3
Destrehan 12, E.D. White Catholic 6
Doyle 15, Madison Prep 0 (game one)
Doyle 16, Madison Prep 0 (game to)
East Jefferson 22, West Jefferson 0
Fisher 10, Willow School 5
Hammond 12, Scotlandville 1
Houma Christian 7, Northlake Christian 6
Jesuit 6, Holy Cross 2
Jewel Sumner 19, Amite 1
Kenner Discovery 9, Higgins 6
McDonogh (35) 15, Abramson 4
Morgan City 5, Ellender 4
Northshore 10, Denham Springs 0
Riverside Academy 13, West St. John 1
Slidell 7, H.L. Bourgeois 0
South Terrebonne 10, South Lafourche 6
St. Paul’s 7, De La Salle 3
St. Martin’s Episcopal 16, Varnado 0
St. Thomas Aquinas 3, Ascension Episcopal 2
Terrebonne 8, Liberty 5
Thomas Jefferson 8, Patterson 4
Vandebilt Catholic 4, Lutcher 3
Warren Easton 11, Douglass