Baseball: Rummel enjoys playing at home, blasts East Jefferson in power display

METAIRIE – It was banner day on the campus of Archbishop Rummel.

The Raiders played a rare game at home, at Raider Park, and the home team found the confines very friendly.

Rummel blasted four home runs in an 18-3 win over East Jefferson in a game which ended in the fifth inning by the mercy rule.

It was just the second varsity game ever on the Rummel campus and a standing room-only crowd was on hand to witness it.

“It’s always special to play here,” Rummel coach Frank Cazeaux said. “We’d like to eventually start playing our games here. The kids came out and played hard. We weren’t too sure last night with the rain if we could play today. We had a great crowd. We hit a couple out today to left field and our pitching was very good.”

Louisiana Tech signee Kyle Walker homered and doubled, Josh Sterling belted a 3-run home run but the star was catcher Ethan Klapatch, who blasted a pair of home runs and drove in four runs.

“I was just hoping to hit a ball in the gap and score runs,” Klapatch said. “I just got a hold of it and the first one went over the fence. The second at-bat, I struggled a little bit. The third at-bat, I came back and hit a ball to the fence and out. The first one felt pretty good. The second one was a line drive, I didn’t think it was going over but it went over. It felt good to play at home.”

The Warriors started fast in the top of the first inning. Tre Manganello drew a one-out walk against Rummel starter Mike Tant before Jordan Gasper belted a 2-run home run to left field to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead.

The Raiders answered in the bottom of the first on a double by Walker, a bunt single by Lance Johnson and a throwing error which scored Walker to make it 2-1. After walks to Logan Bertucci and Tyler Cook, Casey Avrard grounded into a fielder’s choice, scoring Johnson and a throwing error scored Bertucci to give Rummel a 3-2 lead.

Rummel put up three more runs in the bottom of the second on a leadoff home run by Ethan Klapatch, an RBI double by Johnson and a sacrifice fly by Ryan Smilari and an RBI single by Bertucci to make it 7-2. Avrard then doubled home a run and it was 8-2.

East Jefferson got a run back in the top of the third on a single by Jermaine Guillard and an RBI double by Gasper and it was 8-3.

Rummel answered on a home run to center field by Walker and it was 9-3. After an error extended the inning and a single by Smilari, Cook singled home a run and it was 10-3. UNO commit Jake Cabeceiras singled home a pair of runs and it was 12-3. Klapatch then blasted his second home run of the afternoon, a 3-run shot to make it 15-3.

Sterling completed the scoring with a 3-run homer in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Every Raider starter had at least one hit as part of a 15-hit attack.

Mike Tant picked up the win, going three innings, allowing three runs on four hits. Tant struck one out and fanned seven Warriors. Brock Bullinger pitched a perfect fourth inning and Giancarlo Arencibia finished it off with a scoreless fifth inning.

Gasper took the loss for East Jefferson, lasting two and 2/3 innings, allowing 15 runs (nine earned) on 12 hits with four walks and a strikeout. Tre Manganello went the final one and 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on three hits.

The Raiders (9-3) return to action in the Hahnville Tournament Thursday afternoon while the Warriors (6-6), who saw a 5-game win streak end, will host Ellender Friday at 4 p.m.

“We’ve just got to keep playing and I think we’ve got a chance to be pretty good,” Cazeaux said. “The players believe in themselves and the coaches believe in them. We’ve just got to keep battling.”

FINAL
EJ 201 00 — 3 5 2, 2 LOB
RUM 357 3x — 18 15 0, 4 LOB
WP—Mike Tant
LP—Jordan Gasper
Time of Game: 1:40
2B—Kyle Walker, Lance Johnson, Jordan Gasper
HR—John Gasper, Ethan Klapatch-2, Kyle Walker, Josh Sterling