BELLFLOWER — St. John Bosco was down 2-0 against Mater Dei in the Trinity League baseball opener for both teams, but the Braves didn’t panic.
Bosco’s offense rallied behind senior starting pitcher Julian Orozco by scoring five runs in the third inning and powering the Braves to a 6-2 win at home against Mater Dei on Tuesday afternoon.
Orozco had a quality start to earn the win. He pitched six innings, had seven strikeouts, and only gave up two runs. He threw 97 pitches, which included 68 strikes.
St. John Bosco coach Don Barbara said the game changed because his team stayed the course and loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the third inning.
“We’ve been in these situations a few times this year,” Barbara said. “This team really dealt with the adversity of being down 2-0, losing one of our better players in (senior shortstop) Dylan Lina today and picking him up. … They did a great job hanging in there, they waited and waited and finally got their at-bats where they wanted them to be and drove in some big-time runs.”
St. John Bosco baseball coach Don Barbara is proud of the way @BoscoBaseball dealt with adversity to beat @MDHS_Baseball 6-2 on opening day of the Trinity League on Tuesday, March 15 in Bellflower. @BeachVarsity @ocvarsity @presstelegram @ocregister @donbarbara31 pic.twitter.com/LHRF8bwzzQ
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) March 16, 2022
The bottom of the third was when senior catcher Dylan Taguiam stepped to the plate and delivered a two-RBI single to tie the game at 2.
“I wasn’t trying to do too much,” said Taguiam, who went 1 for 3. “Hitting is contagious. Once one person gets on, everyone starts hitting, it’s pretty amazing. Our dugout is awesome… I feel like it gets our whole team going. We run off of energy. I feel like that’s what makes us such a good team.”
“Hitting is contagious,” said St. John Bosco senior catcher Dylan Taguiam. @dylantaguiam27’s 2-RBI single got @BoscoBaseball’s offense going in their 6-2 win at home against Mater Dei on opening day of Trinity League Baseball. @BeachVarsity @presstelegram #LBVarsity pic.twitter.com/QAMgw1gULU
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) March 16, 2022
The Braves scored three more runs in the third inning.
Junior outfielder Hunter Friedberg scored when senior first base Niko Riera was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, putting the Braves up 3-2.
A two-RBI single by senior third baseman Aeden Alexander, who went 1 for 3, pushed Bosco’s lead to 5-2 heading into the fourth inning.
Bosco scored the game’s final run on a balk, making it 6-2 in the fourth.
Mater Dei’s only two runs came when senior third baseman Ethan Hedges, who went 2 for 3 with two doubles, hit a two-RBI double in the first inning.
Mater Dei senior starting pitcher Jack Kirrer had a no-hitter after two innings but he was pulled after the Monarchs went down 3-2 in the bottom of the third inning.
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Mater Dei (7-2) will host St. John Bosco (8-1) in a Trinity League game Wednesday, March 16 at 6:30 p.m. in Santa Ana.
St. John Bosco will host Mater Dei on Friday, March 18 at 3:30 p.m. to conclude the three-game series.
St. John Bosco 6, Mater Dei 2. Final in 7th innings in Bellflower. @BoscoBaseball @MDHS_Baseball @BeachVarsity @presstelegram @ocvarsity #LongBeachVarsityReport pic.twitter.com/Qyi416GwZ0
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) March 16, 2022