Raiders stroll their way to 19th consecutive victory by showing patience at plate

QUINCY — Patience is a piece of the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team’s arsenal that often gets overlooked.

The ability to not get jumpy at the plate paid major dividends Wednesday.

The Raiders capitalized on four walks from Gateway Legacy Christian Academy starter Isaac Rosario in the first inning to score three times and set the tone for a 12-2 victory at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield. The Raiders walked 11 times overall.

QND’s 19th consecutive victory boosted its record to 28-2. The Raiders, who finish the regular season Saturday at Jacksonville Routt, went 22-0 at the Ferd, where they will play host to the Class 2A regional beginning Monday.

After allowing first-inning runs in each of the previous two games, the Raiders got off to a better start as right-hander Ethan Rose struck out one and got two flyouts in the opening frame. In the bottom of the inning, Ben Kasparie walked leading off, went to second on an error and took third on Tucker Tollerton’s single.

Following a walk to Dalton Miller, Kasparie scored on a passed ball that allowed the other runners to advance. Alex Connoyer smacked a two-run single up the middle.

Gateway Legacy (16-6) used a solo home run in the second and a two-out RBI double in the third to pull within 3-2. A Jake Schisler walk and a Brady Kindhart double set the stage for the Raiders to score twice in the bottom of the third.

Miller led off the fourth with a home run to right field, while Harry Oden had an RBI double and later scored on a wild pitch. A fielder’s choice, a bases-loaded walk and Michael Stupavsky’s two-run single in the fifth ended the game.

Tollerton, Connoyer and Stupavsky each finished with two hits. Rose struck out five, walked two and allowed two hits over five innings.