High school baseball: Juan Diego crushes Bulldogs

The record books will show that it was officially only a nonregion contest in late April, but Juan Diego's 11-0 demolishing of Judge Memorial in five innings on Monday afternoon meant plenty to the Soaring Eagle.

It was the first time Juan Diego beat Judge in baseball in school history, ending a losing streak that had stretched to eight games and dated back to 2001. It finally gave the Soaring Eagle a mental edge in the series between the two teams, which was sorely needed for Juan Diego after it had been eliminated by the Bulldogs in the state tournament the last three years.

It also sent a message that Juan Diego is the team to beat in 3A this season.

"All of 3A will see we smoked them in five innings," said Juan Diego first baseman Caleb Olson. "It's a good message."

The message started with a towering three-run home run hit by Olson in the second inning. Juan Diego got runners on the corners with no outs after a walk and an error. Olson said he could tell Judge starter Keenyn Walker was struggling, so he looked for a fastball and got it.

And he delivered it over the left-field fence, and onto 500 East outside of Judge's home field at St. Ann's.

"It felt really good," Olson said.

Juan Diego coach Steve Cramblitt said Olson's early blast was just what his team needed to get over the hump against Judge.

"What we needed was one guy to step up and hit the ball hard to get the rest of us to relax a little bit," he said.

Olson's bomb made hitting contagious for the rest of the Soaring Eagle. Taylor Berg was the next batter, and he drove a solo home run over the left-field fence and near the spot where Olson's landed. Matt Semancik and Drew Tate added RBI singles as part of an eight-run second inning for Juan Diego.

Tate added a two-run double in the third to shockingly put the Soaring Eagle up 10-0.

"It's the first time we've beaten them and it means a lot to us," Cramblitt said. "The guys have always taken it hard when they've beaten us. I'm happy we could go out and play well against them."

A.J. Begay threw all five innings for Juan Diego, and shut down the Bulldogs. He recorded six strikeouts and allowed just three hits.

"He had a very good outing," Cramblitt said. "He makes you hit the ball on the ground a lot. He's been solid all year."

Juan Diego has won 11 of its last 12 games since being stunned by Emery in March. The Bulldogs have lost four of their last five games.

e-mail: aaragon@desnews.com