Zion Lutheran’s Ryan Ritter Drills Walk-Off Hit For 2-1 Victory Over Glades Day

Seeing how it was Senior Day for host Zion Lutheran, it is only fitting that it was one of its seniors who came through with the winning hit.

Ryan Ritter’s bases-loaded single with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted the Lions to a 2-1 victory over Glades Day.

“Championship teams need to be able to come back,” Ritter said after celebrating his first career walk-off hit. “To come up for my team and to do this on Senior Night is really amazing. I love these guys, and I’d do anything for them. We have each other’s backs, and we have six games left we need to win now.”

Ritter’s teammates parlayed the same sentiments back by surprising him with a cold Gatorade shower after the win.

But in no way did the victory come easy, as for most of the day it seemed as though the Gators (7-12) would hold on with their slim 1-0 lead.

Zion struggled against Gators starter Jesse Barton. Through six innings, the right-hander had worked his way in and out of jams in keeping Zion off the scoreboard and struggling to mount any type of rally against him.

“Their pitcher did a good job against us,” Ritter admitted. “He had us off balance.”

But with the Lions down to their last swings, they finally got through.

J.R. Menesis led off with a single through the right infield gap and advanced into scoring position thanks to a nice sacrifice bunt from Nick Vazquez. Freshman Manny Rojas blooped a hit into shallow right field to bring Menesis in with the tying run.

Catcher Johnny Mendez dropped a bunt down into “no-man’s land” between the mound and first base and easily reached first base. The Gators then elected to walk Eric Hepple to bring Ritter to the plate.

Ritter finished 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base, and Menesis was 2-for-3.

Sophomore Alex Ernestine picked up the victory after pitching a perfect frame in the top of the seventh inning.

Blayne Baker was the real workhorse for Zion, going six full innings on 74 pitches and recording six strikeouts while limiting the Gators to just one run to keep his team in the game.

The Lions put runners on the bases in nearly every inning, but Barton and the Gators kept finding ways to get out of the jams unscathed.

In the second inning, after Robert Barradas singled for Zion’s first hit, Barton promptly picked him off with a quick move to first base. Then in the bottom of the fifth, Glades Day executed a nice 1-4-3 double play after the Lions put a pair of runners on with one out.

Then in the sixth, Zion loaded the bases to earn its best scoring chance thus far, but Barton responded with back-to-back strikeouts to erase the threat.

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