St. Xavier showcases double-trouble defense, wins opener in state baseball tournament
LEXINGTON — Double plays aren’t common in high school baseball, but they’ve become a hallmark of Andy Porta’s teams at St. Xavier High School.
The Tigers showcased their defensive prowess Friday, turning three double plays in an 8-0 victory over Christian County in the first round of the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop State Tournament at the University of Kentucky’s Kentucky Proud Park.
St. X has turned 33 double plays this season, one shy of the state record the Tigers set in 2017.
“Our defense has been spectacular all year,” sophomore first baseman Jake Gregor said. “Hopefully our pitching and defense will keep carrying us through this tournament.”
Senior Ben Tedesco and junior Ben Purnell combined on a seven-hit shutout and the offense produced four first-inning runs as the No. 3-ranked Tigers improved to 31-10. St. X will face No. 21 Central Hardin (29-9) in a state quarterfinal at 5 p.m. Saturday. Central Hardin beat Corbin 2-1 in another first-round game Friday.
KHSAA power rankings: Ranking the state tournament field, from No. 16 to No. 1
The Tigers took control from the start Friday as their first six batters reached base. Gregor’s two-run single started the scoring, and Landon Akers and Ryan Comella added RBI singles for a 4-0 advantage.
Christian County junior pitcher Elijah Underhill, a Western Kentucky University commit, entered with a 6-1 record and 2.05 ERA.
“All the people I talked to said everything is going to be down and away, so that’s what our approach was all week long getting ready for him,” St. X coach Andy Porta said. “Some guys stuck to the approach, and some guys got crazy on us. But we knew all (Christian County’s) eggs were in that one basket.”
Don't miss this: These 9 college baseball prospects your team should fear in this week's KHSAA regionals
Colonels coach Cole Isom, whose team had as many eighth-graders (two) as seniors in its starting lineup, said the big stage of the state tournament was overwhelming.
“We just came out nervous as a team,” Isom said. “You could see it. We’re normally jumping around and on our toes, and today we were kind of back on our heels. Against a team like St. X, you can’t give them free bags.”
Christian County had seven hits but had rally after rally snuffed out by double plays.
In the second inning, Carter Sholar and Hayden Hunt had back-to-back singles before Jacob Jenkins grounded into an unusual 1-5-3 double play. Tedesco fielded the grounder going toward third base and got the force out there. Third baseman Cooper Smith fired to first to complete the double play.
“I guess they wanted a challenge because we never practice that one,” Porta said with a laugh. “I like the idea of getting the lead runner. That was nice.”
Previous coverage: DeSales' season ends with first-round loss to Woodford County
The Tigers turned a 3-6 double play in the third inning — started by a nice fielding play by Gregor at first base — and a 4-6-3 twin-killing in the sixth.
Senior catcher Jake Bennett led the offense with a double and three RBIs. With the bases loaded and one out in the fourth inning, Bennett delivered a rare two-RBI sacrifice fly to center field that scored Jack Thompson from third and Zach Marks from second.
Porta said Marks may be the fastest player on the team, and the coach didn’t hesitate to send him home from second.
“They know to run hard until I stop them,” Porta said. “I kept an eye on their relay guys and was like, ‘They’re not ready for a play at the plate.’ That was nice to get two for one there.”
The Tigers finished with eight hits, one apiece from eight of the nine spots in the lineup.
More coverage: Sign up for The Courier Journal's high school sports newsletter
“Those guys had some great approaches, and not one of them tried to do too much,” Isom said. “They got after us, got a big lead in the first. It was a hole we couldn’t dig out of.”
Saturday’s quarterfinal will be a rematch from May 9, when St. X won 8-5 at Central Hardin. Bennett homered twice in the victory.
“We were lucky to get the win; we didn’t play well,” Porta said. “Bennett kind of carried us with two home runs. That kind of woke us up. They’re a good ball club. We’ll see what happens. One at a time.”
CHRISTIAN COUNTY 000 000 0 - 0 7 0
ST. XAVIER 400 301 X - 8 8 0
WP – Ben Tedesco (6-1). LP – Elijah Underhill (6-2).
Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @kyhighs.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KHSAA state baseball tournament: St. Xavier shuts out Christian County
