By Tray Mason
Correspondent

Nansemond-Suffolk Academy’s baseball team has made a habit of bouncing back this season.

The Saints have lost consecutive games only once this year. On Friday, they needed to respond not from a loss, but a big first inning from visiting Portsmouth Christian High School.

The Saints did more than respond. After the Patriots scored four runs in the opening inning, NSA scored seven big runs in the bottom half of the first and never trailed afterwards, winning 18-5

“We had to respond,” senior Anthony Waldner said. “Me and Taylor Edens got everybody together and said we can fold in or we can respond and do something, and that got everyone pumped.”

Waldner was one of many Saints to have a big day at the plate. He went 4 for 4 with four RBIs. Jacob Laine recorded three RBIs on 2-for-3 hitting. Jake Grady was also 2 for 3, with two doubles.

NSA carried its hot bats into the second inning. After an RBI single from Will Deluca, Grady lined a shot through the infield, scoring two and giving the Saints a 12-4 lead.

The offensive highlight of the game came in the third inning via Waldner. After Portsmouth Christian went to its third pitcher of the game and NSA’s Will Breedlove stole home on a wild pitch to give his team a 14-4 lead, Waldner smacked a pitch to the right field fence. He would score two runners and hustle in safely to third base for a standup triple.

Friday’s 18 is the Saints second-highest run total of the season, behind only the 28 runs the scored against Peninsula Catholic. The outcome could have been marginally worse, but the game was stopped in the fifth inning, honoring the 10-run rule.

“We started slow, but we had a good response,” NSA head coach David Mitchell said. “We had a lot of guys have good days.”

The Saints’ starters got a chance to rest as the younger players were given an opportunity to play. Every NSA player on the roster touched the field, and Mitchell said they brought up players from the junior varsity squad, who also got in the game.

Zach Edwards commanded the pitcher’s mound for the Saints, giving up just three hits and no earned runs.

The Saints will be in action again on April 17 as they travel to take on Bishop Sullivan Catholic.