Preparation was key to Jesuit’s opening win vs Bulls

Story by Jarrett Guthrie
Photos by Mike Camunas

TAMPA – Jesuit game-planned perfectly for Monday’s season opener showdown of our 813Preps preseason-ranked No. 1 & 2 teams, as the Tigers showed patience and proficiency with its two-strike approach. Three Tigers’ runs lit up the scoreboard thanks to two-strike hitting as Jesuit took care of Bloomingdale 4-1 in the night game of the opening day of the 813Preps Bay Bash.

Jesuit starting pitcher Jamie Arnold worked around a two-out Jack Owens single in the first, ending the minor threat with the second of his nine strikeouts in the win.

From there the Tigers offense jumped out early, with back-to-back singles from Jack Martinez and AJ Nessler to start the home-first, both players came around to score as Jake Rupp slapped a two-out, two-strike single through the infield.

“We knew we needed to get a lead early and put pressure on them,” Rupp said. “It was all about having good ABs, working their pitcher and getting runs for Jamie, who did a really great job out there for us tonight.”

Bloomingdale ace Jack Owens pitched five innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on just four hits and tallying eight strikeouts, but found himself again in trouble in the fifth as a walk and an error allowed a run, before Wes Mendes drove in a fourth run with a standup triple.

That RBI shot to the wall in right, was just one of the night’s highlights for Mendes who, as the centerfielder, ran down two hard hit fly balls for outs, before pitching one inning allowing an unearned run, but also recording three strikeouts.

“For the two-strike approach, that was actually something we really worked on last week,” Mendes said. “Every day in practice, we focused on that after not having the best two-strike approach in the preseason. I think that extra work in BP really helped.”

Arnold looked dominate in his five innings on the mound for the Tigers, allowing just two hits and striking out nine.

“Opening day jitters were there,” Arnold said, “but after Jake got us on the board, I just tried to really relax out there. I woxrked ahead and stayed ahead.

“No better way to start the season.”

The Bulls made a pair of walks issued by Mendes in the sixth hurt, cutting the lead when Drake Harman scored on an error for Bloomingdale’s lone run of the game.

Bulls senior Drake Harman slides across the plate in the sixth.

Chase Chappell struck out two in a scoreless inning of relief for the Bulls, while Brooks Chamberlin earned the save for Jesuit with a pair of strikeouts in his clean inning of work.

Bloomingdale faces Seminole Osceola at 7pm on Tuesday from Jesuit, while the Tigers face Plant at 7pm on Wednesday in Bay Bash action.

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