Five hits and three runs were all the Jarvis Christian baseball team needed to top the No. 11 ranked LSU-Shreveport thanks to a stellar performance from Anthony Orta in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Tournament.
The junior lefthander earned the win by allowing only three hits in a complete game, surrendering one hit in the second inning and two in the fifth to LSU-Shreveport while he also struck out 12 batters.
Orta only allowed one base runner to reach second. A double by Shreveport Caleb Lasseigne down the left field line, but that was as far as they would get in the game.
Jarvis Christian scored the games first run in the bottom of the second inning. Chandler Matthews led off with a walk, then a sacrifice bunt by Ismael De Los Santos moved Matthews to second. Romeo Romero was hit by a pitch putting runners on second and third. Joshua Romero’s sacrifice bunt scored Matthews for a 1-0 lead.
The Bulldogs would add another run in the six inning on a run scoring single off the bat of De Los Santos and add an insurance in the seventh. Romero reached on a walk, Austen Pulcher was hit by a pitch moving Romero to second, Carlos Reyes singled to left field with Romero advancing to third, then Jonas Garcia singled to first scoring Romero for the 3-0 lead and eventual victory.
The Bulldog defense offered another solid performance on Friday. They committed no errors in Orta’s commanding performance.
Jarvis Christian will play Texas A&M-Texarkana Saturday in the winner’s bracket of the RRAC Baseball Championship.