Ladue Powers Past Westminster

The Ladue- baseball game Thursday featured two teams with only four combined losses.

It also included some rain, a lightning delay, more rain, a rainbow and quite a power display by the Rams. Ladue had seven extra  base hits in a 7-3 victory.

"This is what I expect from my guys," Ladue coach Rob Garrett said. "The guys were really anxious to finally play a game. They were tired of being indoors."

Ladue had not played in eight days because of the weather and it appeared at times that the Rams would not get in Thursday's game, especially with the 20-minute lightning delay in the top of third inning.

Westminster, on the strength of two unearned runs in the first inning, led 2-1 at the time and had Tate Matheny on second with no outs and a full-count on clean-up hitter Ryan Allee. Ram southpaw Jason Sandler got out of the third inning with no harm and the Ram bats came alive in the bottom of the inning.

Mitch Montaldo drove in one run with a long double to left center and Turner Miller followed with a three-run homer to right center. It was the sophomore's first career varsity homer.

"I thought Mitch's ball was going out," Miller said. "I had a 2-0 count and was looking for a fastball and I was able to drive it the other way. I felt that I made solid contact and knew it was gone."

That was all the offense that Sandler, who pitched the first four innings, and Robbie Gordon, who struck out five in the final three innings,  would need although the Rams added two runs in the sixth inning on doubles by Sandler and Daniel Sheinbein and singles by Hamm Hooper and Lucas Tamaren.

Eight of the Ladue starters had at least one hit in the game. The Rams had an extra base hit in four of their six innings. They had a hit in every inning and the bottom three in the order (Sandler, Sheinbein and Hooper) combined for five hits, four of them doubles.

"The bottom of our order can be a strength and they were today," said Garrett, whose team improved to 9-2.

Westminster, which had a pair of RBI hits by Allee, fell to 13-3-1.

"I was disappointed that the weather conditions were not better but it was tough for both teams," Westminster coach Rich Van Gilst said. "I told the guys after the game that when we put just three runs on the board and don't have (former first round draft choice) Jacob Turner on the mound that it is going to be hard to us to win. We need to score more runs. They came at us with their number one and two guys and they threw it well and also made some good defensive plays."