Liberty tees off on Foothill in league opener

Liberty baseball coach Nick Didier hoped his team could make a statement Wednesday in its Southeast League opener.

But even the most ardent Patriots fan couldn’t have expected one so loud and so forceful.

Two days before a highly-anticipated matchup with defending Sunrise Region champion Coronado, Liberty batted around in every inning of a 20-2, five-inning rout of visiting Foothill.

“It was very unexpected,” Didier said. “From the first inning on, we just had good pitch selection and swung at the right ones.”

Liberty (13-2) set the tone early, taking a 4-0 lead just nine pitches into the bottom of the first.

Preston Pavlica doubled on the first pitch of the inning, moved to third on Jay Martz’s single and scored on Josh McCollum’s single. Jesse Keiser then fouled off a bunt attempt before smacking an 0-2 pitch over the center-field fence.

Keiser finished 4-for-4 with a double, four runs and three RBis.

Giovanni Battistioni’s three-run double capped a six-run second that gave the Patriots a 10-0 lead. All but one Liberty starter had at least one hit by the end of the second inning.

“Today was just a good day,” Didier said. “When stuff like that happens, you’re just speechless.”

Meanwhile, Chris Bradford was on cruise control on the mound.

The right-hander allowed just six hits, with both runs for Foothill (12-4) coming in the top of the fifth inning. He struck out five and didn’t allow a walk.

“He settled down after the first inning,” Didier said. “There were some nerves with this being the first league game, but we got it out of the way.”

Contact reporter Bartt Davis at bdavis@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5230.