Zablan hits, pitches
Crusaders to a victory

Saint Louis School senior Kelii Zablan was the difference at the plate and on the mound, drilling a go-ahead three-run homer and earning the save as the Crusaders topped visiting Riverdale Baptist (Md.) 10-8 yesterday on day three of the 25th annual Richard Kitamura/Mid-Pacific baseball tournament.

Zablan's blast in the bottom of the fifth came at just the right time for Saint Louis, which watched Riverdale Baptist rally for four runs in the top of the frame to catch the Crusaders, with Daniel Washington's three-run home run providing the biggest blow.

Rick Miyamoto led off Saint Louis' half of the inning with a double down the left-field line, and seemed to be stranded on the bases after a failed sacrifice-bunt attempt and a strikeout accounted for two outs. But Shaun Kauleinamoku walked to bring Zablan to the plate for his two-strike homer that traveled well beyond the 330 feet required to clear the left-field wall at Central Oahu Regional Park.

Fellow senior Chester Wilson followed Zablan's homer with a blast of his own, jumping on the first pitch of the at-bat to deposit his own shot beyond the left-field fence. Wilson was a perfect 4-for-4 with two RBI in the win.

The back-to-back homers gave Saint Louis a 10-7 lead.

"Today we hit the ball well," Wilson said. "Like Coach says, if you just try to hit the ball hard, the homers will come."

Zablan made the short trip from shortstop to the mound in the top of the seventh, after Riverdale clawed back to score a single run to pull within two with runners at first and third and two out. After walking the first batter he faced, Zablan settled down and retired Drew Lydon on a flyout to left, stranding the potential tying run at second.

"That's what's important in the preseason," said Saint Louis head coach Scot Paiva. "We need to see what they can do in the pressure situations, and the team showed a lot of character today. Kelii showed us he can come into the situations and do the job."

Saint Louis' victory was impressive, considering the history of Riverdale's baseball program. Under coach Terry Terrill, the squad also nicknamed the Crusaders, has won more than 700 games and has finished in the national rankings three times.

Riverdale Baptist, which has made preseason trips to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico in past years, has been the top-ranked team in Prince George's County for the past 14 years.

Saint Louis advances to today's pool finals to face Mid-Pacific at 3 p.m. at MPI.