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Looking to repeat as Moore League champions, the Millikan baseball team continued their hot start to league play on Wednesday afternoon in a 10-0 mercy-rule win over visiting Jordan.
After getting the start on the bump for Millikan, senior Thomas Ramsey got off to a hot start by striking out the side in what was a short but productive outing.
“My goal was to just go in there and pound the strike zone,” Ramsey said.
Millikan (6-4, 2-0) didn’t waste time getting on the board after an Andrew Perez pop-up that was dropped, allowing him to advance to second.
The Rams continued to capitalize on the Panthers’ miscues as Connor Patton hit a grounder and reached base safely after an error.
Ben Keisler then delivered a single that allowed Perez to score to give Millikan a 1-0 lead.
Along with Jordan’s early miscues, the Rams were able to string together some timely hits as they pushed the lead to 7-0 through half of the first frame.
Ramsey followed up his team’s dominant first inning with another 1-2-3 frame and finished his day with four strikeouts in two innings of work.
After a leadoff walk by Shane Wally and a double by Xavier Kennard in the bottom of the second, Adrian Ramirez hit a grounder to first that allowed Wally to score. Millikan pushed the lead to 9-0 after a wild pitch gave Kennard enough time to score.
In the third inning, the Rams had a familiar face in a new position as Anthony Pack replaced Ramsey on the mound.
Pack walked the first batter but was able to get out of the inning with no runs scored after he turned a double play on a hit right up the middle.
“It was my first time pitching in a couple months,” Pack said. “I’ve been bullpenning in practice, so hopefully I can make a contribution to the team on the mound this year.”
The Rams offensive onslaught continued in the bottom of the third as Millikan added another run to push the lead to 10-0.
Looking to keep the shutout going, Daniel Steimke took over In the fourth and went two scoreless inning while striking out five batters.
“I just had to perform and had to show up,” Steimke said. “Had to do what I always do.”
For Jordan, it was a disappointing outing that mirrored the week leading up to the game.
“I didn’t like our practices Monday or Tuesday,” Jordan coach Philip Berman said. “It showed up on the first two plays of the game. We buried ourself right then and there. Some positives are some of our young guys pitched great.”
The Panthers (5-5-1, 0-2) will be back in action on Friday against Compton while Millikan will take on Poly at Blair Field.
