London takes 1-0 lead against Santa Gertrudis Academy in regional final series

London sophomore RJ Olivares knew the importance of jumping ahead early against Santa Gertrudis Academy — especially with pitcher Adin Ruiz on the mound for the Lions.

Olivares set the tone for the Pirates by hitting an RBI triple in the first inning and added an RBI double in the third as London went on to a 4-0 win in Game 1 of the Region IV-3A final on Friday at Calallen's Steve Chapman Field.

The Pirates held a 2-0 lead until the seventh when Christian Olivares hit an RBI double and Ethan Ortega connected on a sacrifice fly two batters later to give London some insurance.

"Adin is a good pitcher," Olivares said. "All of these years he's been shutting us down, but we wanted to get off to a good start — that was our game plan and I was able to do that."

London and Santa Gertrudis Academy have seen each other plenty in recent years, but never with a trip to the UIL Class 3A state tournament on the line.

Now, the defending state champion Pirates are one win away from returning to the state tournament for the third consecutive season.

The series will resume at 1 p.m. Saturday back at Calallen's Steve Chapman Field.

"Going up against a team from our district is always tough — especially SGA," London co-coach Albert Amaya said. "Adin Ruiz always does a good job pitching against us so we knew we had to bring out best game today. It took a full team effort and the guys did it."

London starting pitcher Henry Supleveda kept the Lions in check by allowing one hit in five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and threw 66 pitches. Blake Watters pitched the final two innings for the Pirates, allowing two hits with two strikeouts.

Ruiz pitched a complete game for Santa Gertrudis Academy, allowing four runs with six strikeouts.

"I knew it was going to be a battle going in," Ruiz said. "I just had to be confident knowing my pitches and battling."

Friday's highlights

Henry Sepulveda reaching on the error and Jacob Gonzalez moving Sepulveda into scoring position allowed RJ Olivares to drive him in with a triple for the game's first run. Sepulveda settled in on the mound by retiring the first 11 SGA batters before Ryan Carrillo singled in the fourth inning. Landon Salinas led the seventh off with a double and scored on a double by Christian Olivares. Ethan Ortega hit a sacrifice fly to score Christian Olivares for the game's final run.

Friday's stars

RJ Olivares led the Pirates with to hits and two RBI in three at-bats. Landon Salinas, Christian Olivares and Mason Arispe also had hits for London. Sepulveda shined on the mound by throwing five scoreless innings and only allowing one hit with seven strikeouts. Adin Ruiz pitched seven innings for Santa Gertrudis Academy, allowing four runs with six strikeouts. Ryan Carrillo finished with two of the Lions' four hits and Tony DeLaCruz had a double in the sixth inning for Santa Gertrudis Academy.

They said it

London sophomore RJ Olivares on taking a 1-0 series lead: "Everybody wants to win the first game because it gets you off to a good start and gives you confidence going into the next game. We have to keep the same mindset and getting the timely hits."

London co-coach Albert Amaya on RJ Olivares setting the tone to back Henry Sepulveda: "RJ has gotten big hits all year long. Offensively, he leads our team and he did it again tonight. That was a boost with Henry on the mound."

Santa Gertrudis Academy pitcher Adin Ruiz on bouncing back from a Game 1 loss: "We just have to keep our heads up because nothing is over. They still have to beat us one more time."

Santa Gertrudis Academy coach Frank Galvan on looking ahead to Game 2: "We have to put it behind us and not look back. I thought we came out a little flat and we can't come out flat against London. They put up one early on us and we just never bounced back. Usually we're better than three hits but today we were't. We just have to regroup."

Up next

London vs. Santa Gertrudis Academy Region IV-3A final Game 2, 1 p.m. Saturday, Calallen's Steve Chapman Field

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: London blanks Santa Gertrudis Academy to open regional final series