JH Lions (2-7) Erupt Early At Home, Beat Katy Faith West 13-3

Associated Press - Wire Feed

Dorothy wasn’t “lion” when she said there’s no place like home. And this past Thursday night (March 30) the JH boys did their best Tin Man impersonation — showing plenty of heart to bounce back from doubleheader losses on Monday and beat Katy Faith West 13–3 for an historic first victory in the friendly confines of The Ballpark at Legacy.

The Lions clipped the Eagles’ attack in the top of the first inning behind a ground out and two strikeouts from veteran right-hander Collin Dyniewski (3 IP, 3 BB, 6 K). What transpired in the bottom of the first inning was a deluge not seen since Noah last posted to his Instagram account.

Leading off the inning, Brock Belanger (3–3, 4 RBI), Collin Dyniewski (2–2, 1 RBI) and Easton Havemann (2 runs) quickly loaded the bases for Legacy as clean-up hitter Jaime Jones (1–2, 3 RBI) stepped into the batter’s box. Jaime calmly delivered a line drive single into left field that put Legacy up 1–0. Two batters later, Louie Green (2–3, 2 RBI) wasted no time and drove the first pitch he saw into left field for a one-out single that put the Lions up 3–0. A Katy throwing error and four consecutive walks by Luke Henson, Caleb Lightfoot, Aiden Cronan and Saide Micheletti put Legacy up 6–0 with the top of the order again coming to bat.

In his second plate appearance of the inning, lead off hitter Brock Belanger laced a bases-loaded double into center-field that plated three more runs and the Lions were rolling, 9–0. Collin Dyniewski helped his own cause by bringing Brock home on a first-pitch single that pushed the lead to 10–0. Another Easton Havemann walk and a fielding error by Katy extended the Lions lead to 12–0 before the side was finally retired. The bleachers were rocking all the way to the upper deck — full of Legacy fans who hadn’t witnessed this much applause as Lions passed by since the last Pawsitive Parade!

The long inning might have caused some pitchers to cool off but Collin Dyniewski remained sharp in the second inning by collecting two more strikeouts, a walk and ground out to quickly get Legacy back in their dugout.

Caleb Lightfoot (2 BB, 2 runs) continued his mastery of the strike zone by working a one-out walk in the bottom of the second inning. Consecutive singles from Saide Micheletti (1–1, 1 BB, 1 run) and Brock Belanger allowed Caleb to score the lucky 13th run of the evening for the explosive Lions attack before turning things over to the defense.

The Katy Eagles finally scratched out two runs in the top of the third inning to make it 13–2 as Collin Dyniewski started to near his pitch limit. The second out of the inning came courtesy of another catch in left field by BJ Fornero who has endeared himself to legions of Legacy fans as “The Sheriff” for his steady patrol up and down the foul line.

The Legacy bats finally went cold in the home half of the 3rd inning but the team was already well in control of the contest. The final inning saw little change on the scoreboard while Matt Foust and Carson Legunas were inserted as defensive substitutions. Easton Havemann took the mound in relief for the Lions — allowing one run before two defensive plays by shortstop Luke Henson put the finishing touches on an impressive 13–3 Lions victory at home.

The Lions look to continue their home field momentum on Monday, April 3 as they face a rematch with Alpha Omega at The Ballpark at Legacy. Rumor has it that several prominent celebrities are lining up to sing “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” during the seventh inning stretch — but that all depends on whether the JH game makes it to the seventh inning!

See you at the field!