The Raiders didn’t let East Ridge hold onto that lead for very long. Cretin-Derham Hall made it 2-1 in the bottom of the first inning when junior centerfielder Jake Quinn came around on a passed ball. An inning later, Jones helped his team tie the game when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Monday’s game continued and the runs started to pile up for the Raiders as they eventually won via the 10-run rule. The Raiders had 11 hits in the victory but had 26 baserunners. Cretin-Derham Hall recorded their dozen runs in a variety of ways, which was not a surprise to Raiders coach Buzz Hannahan.

“We focus a lot on situational hitting,” Hannahan said. “We take the runs any way we can. We’ve been doing it kind of differently every game.” 

The production came up and down the Cretin-Derham Hall lineup as each player in the starting lineup for the Raiders reached base at least once. Jones led the way as he went 2-for-4, reaching base all four times.

“Everyone in our lineup understands what we have to do,” Jones said. “If someone on the other team makes a mistake, we do our best to capitalize on that.”

This type of offensive outburst is nothing new for Cretin-Derham Hall as the Raiders came into Monday’s game averaging more than 10 runs per game. Their lowest run output of the season occurred when they scored six runs against Mounds View on April 29.

“We have a really deep lineup,” Hannahan said. “We got three guys on the bench that could come in and also hit well for us. They’ve been looking for pitches to hit and executing really well this year.”

While the Raiders (8-0, 8-0) were building their lead, Jones settled in and shut down the East Ridge (6-4, 6-4) lineup. The Maryland commit did not allow a hit in his final three innings of work and allowed just two baserunners, each coming via a walk.

“He’s pitched really good for us in both of his starts,” Hannahan said of Jones. “When he settles in and is in that tempo, he’s tough to hit.”

Jones planned on pitching to start the fifth inning but left during the first at-bat of the inning with some arm soreness. He stayed in the game as the designated hitter and said it was more of a precaution. Senior Trey Gnetz moved from second base to pitch and relieve Jones. He continued the scoreless effort.

“I felt it get a little tight near the elbow,” Jones said. “I know my teammates like (Gnetz) could do it.”

This is the Raiders’ second win of the season over their Suburban East Conference rival East Ridge. Cretin-Derham Hall has won those games by a combined score of 31-10. While there is plenty of confidence on the Raiders’ end of things, Hannahan knows things will likely be different if the two teams meet in the Class 4A, Section 4 tournament.

“It’s early,” Hannahan said. “East Ridge always gets better every single week. You see them early in the season, and then you see them in sections and they’re a completely different team.”