DANA POINT — The Dana Hills baseball team showed El Modena how potent its offense can be this season.
The Dolphins exploded for 12 runs in the second inning as it took down the Vanguards 15-5 on Saturday at Dana Hills High School.
“I’m very happy that we responded the way we did,” Dana Hills coach Tom Faris said. “I felt like we could get to (El Modena’s) pitching, and I give credit to my guys for staying with it.”
Dana Hills (6-0) found themselves behind early as junior pitcher Grant Faris allowed four runs to score to start the game.
When the second inning rolled around, it didn’t take long for the Dolphins to make up the deficit.
El Modena pitcher Michael Mele walked or hit the first five batters. The hits started coming when Jack Moulin, Garrett Leite, Rocco DiFrancesco and Sebastian Moore all singled.
“We did well sitting back and letting the ball travel,” Leite said.
Dana Hills’ station-to-station strategy eventually gave them the lead and the offense continued to pile on.
The team batted around twice as Zach Leite laced an RBI-single to right field, followed by a two-run single by AJ Newcomb.
“It’s always good when you can bat around in the order,” said Moulin, who finished 2-for-4 with an RBI. “It brings the team’s whole energy up.”
The Vanguards (2-3) eventually got out of the inning when Jackson Licata came in and struck out Andrew McKeown but the Dolphins finished by sending 16 players to the plate.
Despite the big inning, Tom Faris said he didn’t want his team to get too comfortable.
“I’ve been around the game a long time.” he said. “I’ve seen a team score 12 runs one inning, and then the very next inning their opponent scores 12 runs. You have to keep playing the game all the way through.”
Dana Hills’ pitching also settled down after the second inning as they used the combination of Newcomb, Sam Lund, and Aedan Anderson to keep El Modena scoreless for the next four innings.
The Dolphin bats woke back up in the fifth and sixth innings as they scored three more runs, the most runs they have scored in a game since defeating Tesoro at home back on April 17, 2019.
“We come with this mentality that we are going to beat you every day,” Garrett Leite said. “Having so much confidence this early is so important.”
Dana Hills will continue its perfect non-league schedule when it travels to Foothill on Monday.
FOOTBALL OR BASEBALL PLAYER?
Dana Hills quarterback Bo Kelly came off the bench and played two innings for the Dolphins, getting two at-bats and pitching two innings of relief.
On the mound he allowed one run on one hit and struck out three.
So, is he a baseball player playing football or a football player playing baseball?
“I’ve played baseball my whole life. I’m a baseball player playing football,” Kelly said. “But it’s fun. Anytime I can complete and be out with my friends is just awesome.”
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”5″ gal_title=”Dana Hills vs. El Modena baseball”]
