The ball exploded off Bradyn Mundy’s bat and shot down the left-field line as the runners on second and third wheeled around the bases and crossed home. Mundy stood on second base with hands raised, fingers pointed to his teammates in the dugout.
Bishop Brady had battled back from a 6-0 deficit to get within two runs of Belmont. An error by the Red Raiders’ right fielder brought Mundy home a few pitches later. Belief filled the faces of the Giants as the comeback neared completion.
But baseball is a game without mercy. Just as quickly as the bats had come alive, they fell silent. With a shallow fly out to right field, Bishop Brady came up one run short for the second straight game falling, 6-5, to Belmont on Wednesday and to 0-2 on the young season. The Raiders, meanwhile, are now 2-0 and looking like a team that could make some noise in the 2022 season.
“The first game, we were down, 7-1, and lost, 7-6, and today we’re down, 6-0, and lose, 6-5,” said Bishop Brady coach Skip Foy. “The kids are battling back. I’m happy about that. But we’re digging ourselves in a hole in both games, and it’s tough to dig out of a hole all the time.”
The hole was dug one small scoop at a time.
Belmont didn’t have a single extra-base hit but strung together singles and walks to get men on base and into scoring position. Some errors in the field gave the Raiders an extra boost and they surged to a six-run lead in the second inning.
“We had some questionable decisions defensively. It’s early. We could have played better defensively. We’re doing a little bit of hesitation when we shouldn’t, and that hesitation is costing us. If we don’t make the hesitation, we’re going to get the guy out,” said Foy.
Pitching was a strength for Bishop Brady despite the run count. Mundy started the game, limited the damage and avoided a blowout early, only letting up four runs. He was relieved in the second by Chris Grimbilas, who let two of his inherited runners score on an infield single and walk but from that point on was lights out.
The Giants’ true issue on this day and in their opener has been a lack of offense early. Brady managed just two base hits in the first three innings.
“Both games, we haven’t started hitting until the fourth or fifth inning at all,” said Foy.
“But I think it’s taking these guys at least one time around to see the pitcher. And they’re not figuring them out the first time around at all.”
Belmont’s Anakin Underhill was a force on the mound to open his first varsity start. The freshman had Bishop Brady guessing and recorded five strikeouts in the first three innings.
But the Giants looked like a different team after the fifth inning. A.J. Partington got things started with a leadoff single. A walk from Grimbilas was followed by a double into right-center from Owen Thornton that scored Partington to make it 6-2. That’s when Mundy roped one down the line to close within 6-4 and forced Belmont into a pitching change. The error that scored Mundy felt like the result of mounting pressure against the visitors.
But Belmont came out cool and collected in the bottom of the seventh. Isaiah Lambert, who replaced Underhill, threw water on the fire and extinguished Bishop Brady’s hope for a comeback. The Giants still found contact, but balls that had an inning before found open space this time found Belmont’s second baseman, pitcher and right fielder to end the game in a 1-2-3 inning.
“Good team win, and it was great to see our team respond to pressure late in the game and hold on,” said Belmont coach Matt LeBlanc. “A ton of credit goes to Brady, as they kept charging after an early deficit. Our team definitely showed some grit as they were able to settle down and earn the win.”
Foy said he was proud of the resilience his team showed, but the result still stung all the same.
“The bottom line is this is a results-based business and they’re still losses,” he said. “It was a nice comeback, but it’s not going to get in the win column. Nice comeback, but we can’t keep doing this.”