Brother Martin starts playoff series in solid fashion with win over Tioga

NEW ORLEANS – After losing at home as a higher seed to No. 10 Byrd in the regional round of the Select Division I playoffs in 2023 in a three-game series as the No. 7 seed, Brother Martin returned a year later as a seventh-seed Thursday night against No. 10 seed Tioga.

The Crusaders were looking to begin the process or erasing the bad taste which lingered from the disappointing defeat.

The Crusaders erased part of that bad taste with a good performance in a convincing 11-4 win over the Indians in a game streamed live on CrescentCitySports.com.

Junior Cole Navarro took care of business for the Crusaders.

Navarro pitched a complete game, overcoming one bad inning with a good performance to get the win. Navarro allowed five hits, walked three and struck out nine while at the plate, Navarro had two hits, a sacrifice bunt and an RBI.

“It was a shaky fourth inning but the rest of the time, I just let my defense play behind me and trusted them out there,” Navarro said. “I knew my team was going to score runs for me.”

Brother Martin scored a run in the bottom of the second inning without the benefit of a hit. Frank Randol walked, moved to second on a wild pitch advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Cole Navarro and scored on a throwing error to make it 1-0.

The Crusaders expanded the lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the third inning on a leadoff walk again, this time to Brady McCluskey, who advanced to second on a wild pitch, a single by Stan Wiltz, a wild pitch which advanced Wiltz to second, a two-run single by Cody Kropp and an RBI single by Navarro. Courtesy runner Rex LeBlanc stole home to produce the fourth run of the inning.

The Indians fought back in the top of the fourth inning scoring three runs. Trey Harper walked and Tyler Lowry singled. Alex Morrison walked to load the bases and Ryan Reeves delivered a two-run single to make it 5-2, Charlie Bakies drove in a run with an infield to make it 5-3 and Marcos Arrellano produced a fourth run on a groundout and it was 5-4.

Brother Martin got a run back in the bottom of the fourth on a walk to McCluskey, a fielder’s choice, an error, a single by Kropp and a sacrifice fly by Arizona State commit Ryan Darrah to make it 6-4.

The Crusaders added to the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning on a single by Navarro, an RBI double by Reece Roussel and an RBI single by Jack Lupo and it was 8-4. Wiltz followed with a bunt single on a squeeze play, scoring courtesy runner Gavin Berry to make it 9-4.

Brother Martin finished off the scoring in the sixth inning with two runs on a single by Darrah, a walk to Navarro and an RBI single by Roussel and an RBI single by pinch-hitter Christian Michel.

“We were able to put consistent pressure on them up and down the lineup,” Brother Martin coach Jeff Lupo said. “It’s very unsettling when you play a team from this far away and you really don’t know much about them. Cole settled in after that one big inning and he was really good on the mound.”

Now, the Crusaders (21-10) look to permanently erase the taste of a year ago when they go for the series victory at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Kirsch-Rooney Stadium. Should Tioga win, the two teams would be the decision game following game two. The first game and the second game, if necessary, will be streamed live on Crescent City Sports.

FINAL
Tioga 000 400 0 — 4 5 3, 4 LOB
B. Martin 014 132 X — 11 11 1, 7 LOB
WP—Cole Navarro (6-4)
LP—Ryan Reeves (1-2)
Time of Game: 1:58
SB—Ryan Darrah, Rex LeBlanc, Reece Roussel, Cody Kropp
2B—Reece Roussel