Don’t get too close to Will Ryan because there aren’t many players who have a hotter bat at the plate.
The senior picked up 13 hits in 70 at-bats a season ago and is already close to topping that.
Things have been completely different so far this spring and Ryan helped lead the charge again on Wednesday.
He went 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles, five runs, three steals and two RBIs to power Pope John to a 10-6 win over Randolph in Randolph.
“(It’s) just my approach, trying to see pitches early,” Ryan said. “It’s the beauty of the leadoff spot. Keep trying to hunt the fastball, even adjusting to the off-speed. (I’ve) been hitting pretty well, just seeing the ball well right now.”
It’s already his second four-hit performance of the season. Through five games, Ryan has 10 hits and a .526 average. Those 10 hits are tied for the 15th-most in the state through Wednesday’s games.
“A lot of pressure taken off, it’s your senior year,” Ryan said. “Just trying to have more fun this year and (I’m committed to the University of Scranton). So now I can kind of chill, try to do my best, have some fun with the boys this year.”
Every time he touched first base on Wednesday, he ultimately scored.
“Right now, he’s on fire,” said Pope John head coach James Manco. “He’s hitting the ball well, seeing the ball well and it’s nice. It’s nice to have when you’re on fire like that, especially at the top of the lineup. He makes things happen on the bases.”
His first hit sparked a two-run first inning that was answered by Randolph with three runs in the bottom half of the inning. It was a bumpy start for Miles Masone, who saw six different runners reach base in the opening frame.
He settled into the game from there, retiring 14 of his final 21 batters.
“Miles is a workhorse,” Manco said. “He’s just one that just wants to get the ball and he’ll just throw and throw and throw. He’ll get into jams and he gets himself out of jams. Towards the end of the game, he was still throwing hard. Another great kid. Another kid that has worked really, really hard to get to this point as a senior, so you couldn’t be prouder of him.”
Though Pope John fell behind going into the second inning, the response was immediate.
Ryan’s RBI double promptly tied the game and he later scored on an RBI single from Nick Struble, who had three hits and three RBIs of his own.
Struble knocked in Ryan with another single in the fifth inning to pad the lead and Pope John really pulled away with three runs in the sixth. Joseph Manco, Jack Portman and Andrew Pami each had RBI extra-base hits with Manco and Pami picking up doubles and Portman hustling out a triple.
Portman then took over on the mound in the seventh inning with a 10-6 lead and retired three in a row after Joey Bosotina got on board for the fourth time in the game and first without being hit by a pitch.
In all, six different players had at least two hits in the team’s second victory over Randolph in as many days. It’s three wins in the last four games overall for a group that’s proven to be as close and as resilient as any in the NJAC.
“We’re really close this year,” Ryan said. “We have so much fun with each other. We’re all boys, we hang out every day. It’s a great energy to have on a team. Keep winning, bond’s going to get even closer. It’s going to be harder to stop us.”
Brian Bobal may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @BrianBobal.
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