Cretin-Derham Hall adds another top-25 win, defeats Stillwater

SBLive's Minnesota baseball Power 25: Cretin-Derham Hall solidifies the top spot

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The No. 1 Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders defeated the No. 17 Stillwater Ponies 6-1 Saturday at Cretin-Derham Hall High School.

Stillwater was able to find some success in the second inning as it took advantage of a Cretin-Derham Hall error to take an early 1-0 lead over the Raiders. The Raiders answered in the third inning as they plated home four runs which helped them cruise to a 6-1 victory over the Ponies.

Taxdahl goes the distance for the Raiders

This was Cretin-Derham Hall's fourth game in five days so as expected, Its bullpen was depleted and getting quality innings from their starter was crucial. Senior pitcher Jack Taxdahl kept the Raiders' bullpen quiet as he went seven strong innings not allowing a single earned run in the process.

“To have a guy go seven innings and throw a complete game at the end of the week after such a busy week, we needed it,” head coach Buzz Hannahan stated. “We really only had one other arm available off the bench”.

Taxdahl fought through some adversity in the sixth inning as the Ponies tried to mount a rally. They loaded the base, but the right hander kept his composure and got out of the inning unscathed.

“He really went out there and commanded the game; I think they only had four hits in the entire game so he was in control the whole way," Hannahan said.

In the seventh inning, it was busy as usual for the senior pitcher as the Ponies, like they had the most of the game, went down in order as Taxdahl completed the game allowing just the lone run for the Raiders.

Raiders depth too much for the Ponies

It was a smooth sailing for the first two innings for Ponies starting pitcher Cooper Keykal, with the Raiders unable to string together base runners.

The Stillwater pitcher was able to hit his spots, striking out multiple Raiders in the process.

“When their pitcher went out there and mowed through the first six batters, we thought this could've been a long game for us,” Hannahan said.

In the third inning, though the Raiders were able to get some runners on base as the bottom of the order ignited a spark which Cretin-Derham Hall took advantage of. The seven, eight, and nine batters all found their way on base for the Raiders, which found themselves within striking distance.

“We talked about the importance of having everyone contribute in the huddle after the game,” Hannahan said. “We had ten, eleven, and twelve over on the bench too, so we are really deep.”

A base hit from senior David Verdeja loaded the bases with no outs and turned the lineup over to the Raiders big hitters. The top of the order then broke the game open as a multitude of singles and walks saw the Raiders lead swell to three.

After three innings, they led 4-1. The Raiders continued their timely hitting in the fifth inning as they pushed across two more runs which extended their lead to 6-1, the ultimate final score.